In His Hands

I love to hold Luke's little hand. It feels so good to feel him squeeze my finger, probably just a reaction in his sleep, but it still feels good to connect with him. His little hands have been so swollen and still have a ways to go, but even swollen I would hold his hand and hope he felt the connection and it made him feel good. Often I feel I walk through the day holding God's hand just so I can be close and feel connected to him. My prayers are usually a running conversation off and on all day as I hold on to God. Meanwhile he is holding the whole world in his hands. I am reminded of this as I pray for others who also hold onto God's hand, a little friend who will face heart surgery tomorrow, her parents as they wait during her surgery, a friend who tries to recover from a really bad car accident...how overwhelming to us to think God cares and is involved in so many lives. Lives he created and people he calls his children, his very own. Oh how he loves you and me.

1 John 4:9-10 "This is how God showed his love among us; He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

Luke continues to do well. They weaned him quite a bit today and have had to go back a bit on it tonight, but hopefully by morning they can get him back to some of his settings from today. His labs continue to be good and he was resting really well today. Thank you for continuing to pray for Luke.

Looking Good!

Luke just looks better every day. We just sit there and study him to see what might be different. Today he was really moving his mouth, sucking on his tube and opening his mouth really big. He can shut his mouth all the way now too. Today he was moving his head just a little too. His hands are still swollen, but you can squish the fluid in them where before they were tight and looked ready to pop. Today the doctor raised his feeds and lowered his vent settings a little. So far he has done well with both. One thing I really want to pray against is more infection. That could really set him back again. Today the doctor used the words that he is improving! How wonderful and how far we are from last week.

Today in My Utmost for His Highest the title is "Gracious Uncertainty". Oswald Chambers goes on to explain, "Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life - gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation" I think that is how I have been feeling lately - still uncertain of exactly where we are headed with Luke, but certain of my belief in God and that he is in control and answering our prayers each day. I am filled with expectation of what the future will bring and excited to see what God will do next. He is so good and brings new strength and blessings every morning. We face each day with gracious uncertainty - abandoned to God and expectant in what he will bring each day on Luke's journey.

Psalm 71:14 "But as for me, I will always have hope, I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone."

Kendall, we will get a better hand picture tomorrow!

Slowly but...Slowly

Luke continues to amaze the hospital staff & his parents :) Susan & I can't believe how far he has come with his swelling, he still has a long way to go but we are so encouraged. His condition improves with the reduction in swelling, it caused so many complications. We are watching his eyes like a couple of seeds that were planted in the ground, just waiting for them to emerge. His swelling will need to go down a good bit more to see them, but we can see them moving around under his eyelids now.

Matthew 5:14-16

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp & put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds & praise your father in heaven.

I believe that for this short moment in eternity Luke is shining God's light on many people. Maybe he is just a little like the moon, in how it reflects the light of the sun & lights up the dark of the earth at night for a short time, allowing those who could not see a chance to see. Because of this we praise our father in heaven. We are so very thankful that he has used Luke in the way he has & continue to pray that God works miracles not only in Luke's life but in the lives of all of you who have showered us with your affection & prayers.

He will be weaned off his sedation for more than a month & his steroids will take a long time to be weaned as well. I had a tough time hearing the nurse mention that he will be off of the medications by June. That seems so far away, April 29th seemed so far away a coule of months ago however & the Lord's grace has carried us this far, I trust it is sufficient to carry us as far as we need to go.

I am going to try to find a picture from the 1st day in this hospital, the peak of his swelling & today so that you can compare them & see more clearly the progress he has made. God Bless all of you, I don't even know some of you but you have touched my family deeply with your concern. Only through God is it possible to be blessed by a stranger in this way. Take care!!

More Progress!!!!

Luke is just doing so well. Eric and I could see so much progress with his swelling. His little ears are taking shape again. His chest and stomach are much smaller. We can see the holes in his nose now! We love to sit there and check out every inch of him to see how he changes. He continues to do well breathing on the new vent. Today I took him some music and a little player with a pillow speaker. Now he can listen to the same music Hogan and Sydney listened to as they went to sleep as babies. I just talked to the nurse and she thought it seemed soothing to him. We just praise God for how far he has brought Luke this week.

This morning at church the speaker talked about the relationship this certain kind of sheep have with their shepherd and how they learn his voice from the moment they are born and follow his voice when he calls to them. God wants this kind of relationship with us from the moment we come to know him. He wants us to learn his voice, love him and build our relationship with him so that we know and depend on him as our heavenly father. In trials like we have been going through, we hear God's voice calling us closer to him. We follow his word and trust in his will for our lives. I have spent the last nine weeks building my relationship with Luke as he hears my voice and I learn his ways, all the while leaning on my heavenly father. I pray Luke finds comfort from me and my voice as I find comfort in God.

Isaiah 40:11 "He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart, he gently leads those that have young."

Luke is just doing so great! He continues to do well on the new vent. He didn't even de-sat when I picked him up to change his bed today and even calmed himself down (quit breathing over the vent and brought his co2 down) without extra sedation. They are beginning to wean his sedation but that will take a while since he has been on it so long. Our weekend nurse was just knocked out at the progress he had made. Today you could definitely tell the swelling is going down. He has little wrinkles on his hand where it was tight and ready to pop! We are so thrilled he is doing so well. The next hurdle will be can he do okay as they wean the steroid that has helped his progress. We praise God for all he is doing for Luke. He is mighty! He created a strong little boy to go through all Luke has and we know God is carrying him through all these struggles.

Psalm 106:1-2

"Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?"

I am filled with such a feeling of excitement. Luke is still doing well. We know God has answered so many prayers. Even if Luke is not completely healed here on earth, God will have done great things. As I think back over all he has brought Luke through already, he has performed miracles. Our miracle for today is that Luke is still doing well on the new vent, having good blood gases and co2 levels that are within his limits. The fact that the nurse and I could move Luke (I finally got to pick him up in my own hands!) to change his bed and massage him, and he didn't de-sat. A couple weeks ago he could not have handled us handling him. All the infection God has brought him through is a miracle. The fact that he is still here after his kidneys weren't functioning is amazing. The confirmation he has given us when Eric and I are immediately in agreement is a blessing. The peace he has given is indescribable. I thank God for all the mighty acts he has already performed in Luke's life and continue to ask for healing from Jehovah Rophe, God our healer.

For most of this last year I have prayed that God would use us. I know he led Eric to go to Nigeria a year ago and gave him the desire to help provide water for the people there. I know he continually calls me to work with children at church, but I felt led to pray for direction for us as to where he wanted us to work next. He has definitely answered that with Luke. Whether it is for a short time or a lifetime, we will proclaim his power, his love and his miracles we have experienced and hope to experience to everyone. We pray people will come to know Jesus through our faith in God we feel led to share.


1 Peter 1:6-7 " In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. "

Doin' OK !

Luke is doing fine this evening on his new ventilator. The transition from one to the other went VERY smooth. His labs all seem to be good since he started on this new vent, so it seems to agree with him. We were thankful that all his nurses & his doctor worked so hard (the respiratory techs actually did the tough stuff today) in making the changeover. His swelling is not dramatically different, but both Susan & I think his face looks less swollen. From the neck down there is not much change that is visually perceptable. We had some tough decisions to make today that required prayer, Susan & I felt that the prayers were answered in a clear fashion just as we had prayed. Not all prayers are answered in the way that we want them, some appear never to be answered...at least in our human eyes, but if we look closely enough many are answered. God does not answer all of our prayers for good reason, sometimes we may ask for something that may not be good for us or may not be part of God's plan for us, I believe that in those cases prayers are not answered. God knows best...ALWAYS. We still trust him completely in Luke's life, as I have said to many folks, God created him perfectly. He may not seem perfect by many measures, but the only measure that counts is God's. We judge our lives through human eyes & see many flaws in them, what we need to see is God at work, no matter what the circumstance.

We were actually amazed to see his little chest "breathing" today. It is probably as exciting as watching grass grow for many of you, but in this case, for us it was a joy to see. There is a video below.

A friend forwarded us an amazing inspirational video today, we were moved by it & amazed at how small all of the "big" things in our lives seemed after viewing it. It is about a man with no arms or legs & how he praises God for making him the way he is. The link is www.wretch.cc/video/ritahsia&func=single&vid=2282608&o=time_&p=0

We will continue to face more challenges & trials with Luke as long as he is alive. We do look at them differently each time I think, we are more thankful after each roadblock that God is with us & see the miracle that he has blessed us with in Luke. We wouldn't change him a bit! We love you all for supporting us, each of you supports us in a unique & different way. God Bless You !!

THE PICTURE BELOW IS ACTUALLY A VIDEO, just click on it.

new vent...

Susan just called me and asked that I post a quick update. The doctors have successfully moved Luke to the other ventilator. Susan and Eric are up there watching Luke as he adapts to the new machine. I know they said they are blessed with a wonderful nurse and doctor to walk them through this transition.

Prayer Request

So far it seems the steroid is helping Luke. They were able to go down on the pressure on his ventilator lower than he has been in weeks and hope to get all the settings lower overnight. If that all goes the way the doctor wants it to he is going to try Luke on a conventional ventilator tomorrow. This will allow him to do some of the breathing and hopefully allow them to bring him off some of the sedation. This way he can move around more and maybe more of the swelling will come off. This all may or may not work and if it doesn't he said we could try again after a few more days of steroid treatment. His labs looked good again today and he is resting very well. He doesn't de-sat as much as he has been when he is messed with, even picked up. This is progress since a week or so ago they had to cancel his twice a day x-rays and go to once a day because he couldn't handle being picked up for the x-ray. We do see a little less swelling today so that was good. We are praying that the ventilator switch will work tomorrow. Please join us in praying for this as well as Luke's blood gases tonight, rest so his body is ready to breathe and make the switch and wisdom for the doctors. We ask God to bring healing to Luke's body.

I go back to one of my favorite verses as we make our requests known to God.

Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition make your requests known to God. And the peace which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

For your info. only !!

Just a quick note for everyone. You can zoom in on the pictures if you click on them (many people were not aware). There are videos from time to time as well, including one about 4-5 days ago that look like pictures as well, they have a little "play" button on them & must be clicked 2x.

New idea

Luke has remained about the same for a few days. Up a little then down a little. No huge changes. As I was driving to the hospital today I was just wondering how long this would go on. When I got there I was praying over Luke and just telling God I was in need of some change or an answer - just something. About twenty minutes later the doctor walked over and said he had been talking with a colleague about Luke. This was the same man he talked with a few weeks ago about Luke's kidneys. The man couldn't believe Luke was still here! After their discussion our doctor decided it would be good to try a steroid that had shown some improvements in premie lungs if we would agree to it. We decided it was definitely worth trying so Luke got his first dose today. He will get it for five days and if it is going to help him we should see some results quickly. I think it just helps to at least be trying something after so many days of up and down. They also think nutrition is very important and are upping Luke's feeds and adding calories. Luke's labs are getting better every day. His albumin is actually going up each day. We continue to rest in God's will for Luke's life. We just love him more every day we have with him and are thankful for each day. His little life continues to reach people - more every day. We are thankful God has allowed us to take this journey with Him as we know He is leading us, carrying us sometimes, giving us strength and teaching us patience.

Psalm 105:1-4 "Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him, tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always."

Outstanding

Luke is very stable and has made little steps. He is down a few parts on his nitric oxide (they are trying to wean him off it 1 part every 8 hours). His labs were very good today. His ventilator settings are heading down with each blood gas (he was very high again Saturday). His swelling remains the same. At this point the doctors don't seem to give us much hope that it will come down after so much time. It seems we just come back to the fact that God is the only one who knows Luke and can heal him. We keep our eyes on God and know He holds each day.

We find so many blessings in the midst of our storm. It just seemed like every word at church today was a word we needed to hear. We are always so filled in worship and in the relationships we have at church. As always we are brought to tears many times. Today through a song sung by John Waller and dedicated to Luke today and always as we cry out to God on the altar and so many of you gather to pray with us. Our pastor spoke about outstanding prayers - prayers that haven't been answered yet. We are right there with Luke. God has answered many prayers daily and nightly as we pray over settings and blood gases and labs. We wait with our outstanding prayer for healing. He also talked about outstanding requests and being bold in what we ask for. We are boldly requesting healing for Luke. We trust God that however he chooses to answer that prayer it will be the best for all of us. We can't know the response yet, but know in God's time he will give us an outstanding response and we will praise him with outstanding follow-through. I love the words John sang today. This is where we are...

We need you
Yes we need you now
We're desperate for
Your presence, Lord
you are able and willing
and we know

You are the God
Who saves us
You are the God
Who heals us
You are the One
Who restores and delivers
God, you are able and more than willing
God, you are able and more... than willing

This song is new, but you can learn more about John and listen to his music on his site.

http://www.johnwallermusic.com/

One step forward two steps back

Eric and I decided a few days ago just not to watch Luke's ventilator settings because they change so often. You get a little excited about a decrease only to have an increase with the next blood gas. Luke has been trending down with his amp settings on his ventilator for the last couple days and this afternoon and tonight has gone back up. Not as high as a few days ago, but higher than yesterday! Otherwise he is pretty stable. His kidneys are still functioning well and his labs look good. We don't see much visual improvement on the swelling, but keep watching. He has been very comfortable today and not needed much extra sedation (he is on a lot already, they just use some extra drugs when he needs them!) We continue to pray for healing and whatever is God's will.

Today I was able to talk to a few nurses about all the people who were praying for Luke and how I believed God had brought him through so many of the days when the doctors thought he might not make it. A lot of them seem so open to talking about God and how he works in these babies lives in the NICU. One respiratory therapist, who I like to talk to, was telling me today about her 18 month-old niece who was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor a couple weeks ago and is not doing too well after surgery. Then I met a mom who was bringing her 5 month old to visit his twin brother who was still in the NICU. It made me realize how many other stories there are out there that are just as hard to handle as what we are going through. We all face trials in our lives. Some are big ones and some are small. As Christians we are not promised an easy life and one free of struggles. Isn't it wonderful that God gave us his word in the Bible to turn to in these trials and know that he himself is with us each step of the way and will make us stronger followers of him and closer in relationship with him through these trials. It makes them so much easier to face even when we don't know the outcome - we know who will bring us through trial and be with us still after it's over.

James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

I think Luke is making progress. He definitely was not more swollen today and certain parts of him looked less swollen. The doctor said he didn't want to get my hopes up too soon, but he thought it looked like this swelling might be turning around. They are going to be able to give Luke lasix once a day as long as his labs stay good. Tonight he had the biggest response in a long time with a huge diaper. We are just praying for the fluid to keep coming off. He is still eating jsut a little, but still doing well with that. Overall he had a good day today and a good night last night. God is so good to answer our prayers for each day. We come to him with so many little requests that seem so big to us and he hears each one and cares about every little happening in our lives. Thank you for praying for Luke and for us. We are truly blessed by so all of you and strengthened by your prayers.

Children

Luke had a down up day. He started off on very high ventilator settings and is ending them at much lower settings. He seems to have bad nights so I just told the nurse who is on tonight that the kids and I prayed for Luke, the nurse and his night tonight. She laughed and said so far it was good! It was a rough day emotionally with our doctor getting some news from another doctor that we were ready to stop treatment on Luke. I thought he was coming to tell me he was dying so it was a roller coaster morning. I just told him I pray we never have to make that decision - that God will make it for us. That is a prayer concern that God will just reveal his will and direction very clearly to us. Luke remains stable in his very sick condition. His labs were okay today and he is oxygenating well, he just remains on a lot of ventilator support. I didn't see much change today in the swelling. We'll just keep praying.

I love children of any age. I teach a 3 year-old choir at church on Wednesday nights and tonight as I sat singing with them I just smiled at their sweet little voices singing praise to God. They just sing (shout) with all their might about "all things, everything, absolutely anything, God can do anything." I think how God must smile to hear them sing. I pray that each on of them will grow up learning and experiencing the absolute power of God. It seems like I hear so many stories about how children are following the blog and praying for Luke. We are so touched to hear the stories. God cares so much for children and I know loves their prayers.

Psalm 8:2 "From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise."

Matthew 19:14 "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Mountain Mover

Luke is still doing okay. His labs are still good. His CRP has dropped again so the antibiotics are working. We think the swelling is continuing to go down very slowly but we see it. He is doing well with his little bit of feeding. He is still having good diapers. His vent settings continue to be up and down so we don't really watch them very closely at this time.

I was filled today with the overwhelming power of God. He created this whole world, each and every one of us down to each little detail. He made the human body so intricate that science can't explain the way it works sometimes. God has the power to heal anything, whether here on earth or in heaven. God can lift us out of the deepest, darkest valley if we only trust in him. He just asks us to place our faith in him. I like the words to this song on a CD a friend shared with me.

"My God is a mountain mover, my Gods gonna make a way. Can't count all the times he's proven, we can trust him just have faith. Take a hopeless situation, watch him turn it all around. Nothing is impossible. Can't hold back I've got to shout - my God is a mountain mover."

Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusts in him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to him in song."

Wine not Whine

I admit I did a little whining today. I just wish God could give us a glimpse into the near future so we could see God's plan for Luke. I am thrilled with the progress he is making, it just seems slow sometimes and we wish we could just make things go quicker. It seems God just gives me answers and assurance. Today it was in a devotional book. "... to those who have no might He increases strength. Isaiah 40:29 God comes and takes us out of our emotionalism, and then our complaining turns into a hymn of praise. The only way to know the strength of God is to take the yoke of Jesus upon us and to learn from Him...The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine. If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out." I will concentrate on the wine God is producing in my life in this burden of the unknown. God continually gives all of us the strength to face every day no matter what the burden because He will lighten our load when we "cast our burdens on the Lord..." Psalm 55:22 I am so thankful we have a God who cares about each little thing we are going through on this earth and walks with us through each one.

Luke had a very stable day today with not many changes other than the doctor began feeding him again. They start out slowly but usually Luke does well with that - he must have that eating gene from me! He is still having good diapers and the swelling is still just a tiny bit better. I know it will be a slow process for it to come off.

Progress!!!

Today at the hospital with Luke we could finally see progress with the swelling going down! It is slight progress but we are on the right track. His head is now cushy instead of tight with fluid and you can now move the skin on his hand instead of it looking like it will explode. The doctor is very happy with his direction and said he may begin to feed him again if everything looks as good tomorrow. Today the nephrologist told our nurse he didn't think Luke would still be here today. It really hits home how sick he is and has been. We are so thankful God has brought him this far. The only culture that has grown is in the ET tube which is showing staph. He is being covered by antibiotics and his CRP is heading down. It was such an exhilarating feeling to have good news today, especially after we started the day in the ER with Hogan getting a stitch over his eye where he hit his head when he fell out of bed in the night! We are really just trying to hit every hospital in town. He is fine but gave Eric a scare when he passed out during the stitch.

We felt so good to be in church today with so many of you who are praying with us. We will never be able to express our thanks enough or to all of you who are standing with us, but know we are being blessed by God's love shown through you. As we prayed at the altar today the congregation was singing one of my favorite Brooklyn Tabernacle songs.

"For you, Oh Lord, are my strength, my shield, my glory and the lifter of my head. "

God is our strength and our shield and our glory. He lifts us up from the things of this world to keep our focus on Him and the work he is doing.

Let Go and Let God

I saw this on a bumper sticker as I was leaving the parking lot yesterday. I like that saying and it stuck with me while we watched Finding Nemo. All through the movie the dad is having to "let go" of Nemo and let him learn on his own. Then I was reading My Utmost For His Highest and there it was again. " Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to let go. But any effort to hang on to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us." Letting go is not always easy, but I have found God's way is so much better than our way. I love holding on to my children, physically and in my heart. With Luke I can only hold a small hand but hold him very close to my heart. Over and over I tell God I am turning him over to you (God) because he is yours and I know your power is the only power that can help him. Saying good-bye to him each day is very hard, but putting him in God's hands is easy because I know HE is the only way. I have found this so true in every situation in my life. If I let go and let God it will always be best for me.

We are seeing answered prayers. In spite of the fact that his CRP (which is a marker for infection) had jumped up, his other lab numbers are getting better or staying good. Today the CRP is down some. His albumin is finally up so maybe we will see some progress with the swelling. He really had a good day even though he seems to have an infection somewhere. So far the blood cultures haven't grown anything. They take 5 days to be final so we will watch that for a few more days. I called this morning and he is battling his co2 but we have a good respiratory therapist today who knows Luke and will work to get that down. I didn't take a picture yesterday. I forgot - could be I was a little busy keeping Sydney quiet and still for 3-4 hours! She really did well and was so sweet singing to Luke and telling him stories. She came home and played NICU with Hogan. He was the RT and she was the nurse. They were busy taking blood gases! A whole new world of knowledge for them.

In God's Hands

Luke is very serious once again. Last night in the night his blood pressure dropped and they had trouble getting it back up. They finally did and it has been good today. Then his morning labs showed evidence of an infection. That is what the doctor thinks caused his blood pressure to drop. Anyway they have sent his blood off to culture and started him on 3 antibiotics. In the midst of being so sick his co2 and blood gases have been good. We need to pray that the infection is not in his central line which is where he is receiving all his meds and fluids. The doctor is very worried about this and how his little body can battle another infection.

We were so thankful to be together today - all 5 of us. Hogan and Sydney feel so much better that they have been with Luke again. We spent some time with him this morning and went back tonight too. We all continue to have a peace that God is holding Luke in His hands and he's going to be okay. We continue to draw strength from God and turn to him in this storm. We do not dispair, we trust in God's perfect plan for Luke's life.

Psalm 59:16 "But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble."

The Battle Belongs to The Lord

I think of this song when I see Luke and all the battles his little body is facing every day. I was asked the question today, "What is the long-term objective?" I answered to get through each day - even each hour at this point. Things just change so quickly. This morning the doctor called to say they couldn't keep Luke's co2 down and there just wasn't anything else to try. We would just have to wait and see if it would go down. The good news was he was oxygenating okay. By the time Eric and I got up there he was doing okay. They were able to try some new ventilator settings and keep his level down all day. It seems like his swelling is down a little in his head, but has moved down into his chest and abdomen which is causing the increased breathing problems. This is mainly because his bed has been tipped a little to try and decrease the swelling in his head. Anything to get this fluid moving out of him! They were able to draw blood from his central line today which gave them some more accurate lab results. These all look good but the albumin still hasn't gone up. The best news is that the RSV season is over and the kids can now go in the NICU to see Luke. They haven't seen their brother in 5 weeks so they are thrilled. As Luke faces each new battle we are reminded that God is in control and we are all covered with His armor. We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. We thank God for continuing to protect Luke and bring him through the daily sometimes hourly battles.

Epesians 6:10-17 " Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes..."

Prayers

There is such beauty in children praying. I know we have heard from so many of you about your children praying for Luke. Tonight I was praying with our kids before bed and it just made me smile to hear them pray so fervently for their brother - whom they haven't seen for 5 weeks, but can finally go in and see as of today! They prayed for God to have his hand upon Luke and heal him, to make him just "pop up off the ventilator and be healed". They prayed that it would be okay if God wanted to heal him in heaven because they would still have a brother there. They also prayed for each of you who are reading our blog and have helped us. They prayed that God would bless you as you have blessed us. I can't help but think how God must be smiling at the way these kids are growing in their faith, their prayer time and the way they are seeing love in Christ portrayed. Even though it is difficult some days, I wouldn't trade this experience. That is the way it is when you truly experience God - His love, His strength, His comfort, His peace - you just want more of it.

Psalm 62:1-2 "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

Luke had a good day with not many changes. His labs continue to improve each morning. The albumin is still low, but I know with all of us praying it will be up soon! His kidneys are functioning great. His average output for today was 3.3 cc/kilo/hour. That is the highest yet and his diaper so far tonight was great. I know some of you mentioned less swelling. He could be the tiniest bit less swollen (I studied him quite hard today after you mentioning it) or it could be the camera angle - I try for the best looking shot! We are in such a better place than a week ago. We see your prayers answered every day. Thank you!

Babies everywhere!

I took the kids to the zoo today so they could do something fun on spring break. It was a zoo of people today as well as animals. It seemed everyone had the same idea for spring break and it seemed everywhere I looked there were people with infants. It left me realizing I have such an empty place in my heart with Luke in the hospital. It is fun to see babies, just makes me miss mine more. Even the gorillas had babies - they sure were cute! I felt better leaving there and getting to go hold Luke's hand. He was "awake" meaning he was moving his mouth, moving his eyes under the swelling and moving his hands and feet. That is how I know he is awake. It always makes me glad to see that - it's just a glimpse of the darling little boy that is still there inside all that swelling and sedation.

Luke is about the same. Still having good diapers and his lab results look better every day. Last night they really had to work to keep his co2 down, but did and he had a pretty good day. I don't think he is any more swollen than yesterday, although at this point it is hard to tell. We continue to pray for the swelling to go down.

Tonight I asked the kids what a favorite verse was for each of them. Sydney's favorite right now is John 3:16 "all the way through 17" "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Hogan liked Psalm 139:13-15 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth." He said that is because we know God made Luke the way he wanted him and he could heal him.

We thank God for giving us all this learning and growing experience. We thank him for his goodness, faithfulness, provision but most of all love that he would give his very own Son for each one of us.

Patience...It's not easy !!

Everyone says they can tell when Susan blogs & when I do. Most of the wonderful content you have read all comes from my incredible wife. Luke is so blessed to have her for a mother, she is the glue that holds us all together & I don't what I'd do without her.

At times I feel very strong & can deal with all that is being thrown at us. Other times I feel that I may crumble. This week has been particularly hard for me, I don't know why. I feel so incredibly helpless when I am with Luke & can't help him. I am doing my best to stay on top of his treatment, but not to get tangled up in all of the settings of his machines & all of the numbers that we digest each week in relation to his treatments. I must seek God at these times to take this burden from me, I cannot carry it on my small shoulders.

He continues to swell, they don't know why & that part is tough to deal with, we are blessed with some of the best doctors available & I know they & the nurses are doing everything in their power to keep Luke alive, that is unfortunately the main goal right now. I particularly like his doctor (Dr. Kapasi) that is on for the next 7-9 days. He is a wonderful man & a VERY comprehensive doctor. Luke has had a couple of relatively quiet days with the exception of one episode where Dr. Kapasi couldn't get his oxygen levels to recover & had to remove him from the ventilator & "bag" him with a hand ventilator to get him to recover. We are getting better overall output from his kidneys (thanks to all of your prayers) but to help eliminate all the excess fluid we need MASSIVE output. Please pray for that. I continue to thank God for all of the friends past & present (hey Mark) that bless us with their kind words & massive amounts of prayer. We trust God's plan for Luke & he was made perfect in God's eyes to serve his purpose. We don't know Luke's future, but we don't know our's either. Today is a gift from God, enjoy it, embrace it & LIVE IT !! We love you all...stay tuned.

I am putting an older video (you need to click the "play" button 2 times to play it) in with the latest pic from today, so that you can see where he is currently, compared to 5 weeks ago when he 1st arrived at this hospital. He will be 7 weeks old on Wednesday.

Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. Psalm 61.

Prayer Request

I like to pray specifically so I am asking for prayer that Luke's albumin level will go up. This is a protein in the blood that acts like a sponge and keeps the fluid in his intravascular system. This is what will pull the fluid back into his system and reduce the swelling. God has really answered the prayers about the kidneys so lets move on to the swelling. Luke is now having an average of 3cc/kilo per hour in his diaper - that is great compared to where we were!

Luke continues to have wet diapers. The doctor said today he is pleased with his progress there. They had to work with his vent settings and drugs today to keep his oxygen saturation where it needs to be, he just hates to be moved but has to several times a day. This causes his sat to go down and sometimes they have to work to get him where he needs to be. We are thankful to have nurses who are getting to know Luke and work well with him. He is still very swollen and we are sure ready to see that change. I told the doctor today I wish I could just wave a magic wand over him and make it disappear! It all just takes time which is hard to take. Eric and I both wish we had a glimpse into the future to see where we will be in six months. We know we will still be in God's hands as we know He holds the future. We know whatever He has in store will be the best for all of us.

Lamentations 3:22-24 "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"

The words the doctor used today were that he was happy with Luke's progress. Luke's kidneys continue to be working. He had some great diapers overnight - more than he has had in over a week! His cultures continue to not grow anything so there doesn't seem to be any infection now. I think they will all be final by Monday. Today he seemed very comfortable - unless they move him, then his saturation level goes down and he needs oxygen. I'm sure it wouldn't be too comfortable to be moved in his current situation. His swelling hasn't gone down yet. It will probably take time to move out of his system.

I was reading My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers where he was talking about faith. It says - Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason - a life of knowing Him who calls us to go.

We don't know where this road we are on leads but we know who we are following. God is carrying us all each step of the way with Luke securely in His arms. We continue to walk in faith.

My grandmother died this morning. We all called her "Nanny Howard" She was almost 93 years old and so ready to go meet her God. We rejoice in he victory over death and her new life in heaven. I know she is there because she had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior and followed him all her life. She was always a good Christian example for her kids and grandkids. We knew what she believed and she was always ready to share her faith with others. She was a fun person, always ready for laughter and usually the instigator of trouble - even water fights! Nanny loved to cook and sew. She made us nightgowns, clothes, quilts, dolls, afghans and taught us to make them too. She loved to tell stories and always new the exact year something had taken place. I am thankful to have had such a loving grandmother for so many years.

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Luke is finally having output! Yesterday he hadn't had anything in his diaper since early Wednesday morning. Thursday the doctor said she was worried about his kidneys since there was no output and his numbers we watch were going up. I went to lunch just turning Luke over to God once more and praying "whatever your will". I came back from lunch and the nurses were so excited to tell me he had 3cc in his diaper. I just looked at him and once again I felt he was going to make it. This continued the rest of the day with the output numbers going up slowly. By this morning he was having 27cc diapers and even a 31cc diaper! The doctor said this in addition to his lab numbers which had gone back down gave her hope for the kidneys. The infectious disease doctor said he is considering Luke infection-free at this point. They have done some cultures this week and so far nothing has grown. He seemed to have really turned a corner today. We just keep praying for healing and feel God has definitely brought Luke through a tough week. God is so good to listen to us and answer our prayers.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circmstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

We have had some internet trouble right in the middle of trying to post on Wednesday night so here is what I was trying to post. I will update again this afternoon.

Luke made it through another scare today. I came back from lunch to see the doctor by his bedside which meant something was going on. They said his saturation level dropped and wouldn't come up no matter what they did. He thought is was due to his swelling and the blood vessels between his heart and lungs so he was trying some nitric oxide gas. If it was going to work it would work immediately - if it didn't there was nothing else he could do. They hooked the machine up and Luke's level came up immediately. He has remained stable now on the gas in addition to his ventilator. He continues to be so swollen as you can see in the picture. We are so thankful again for doctors with wisdom! I had been sitting there all morning praying for the nurse, the respiratory therapist and the doctor.
It is so good to hear so many stories of how this situation is touching lives. We know God has a purpose in Luke's life and the struggles he is going through. God gives us peace to get through each day, sometimes even each hour.

2 Corinthians 4: 8-9 " We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We alwasy carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."

Sorry I had no picture yesterday. I have misplaced my camera so today I took an old one. Luke is still stable. His output has been more consistent last night and today. Yesterday he hadn't had any output all day then last night he began having some output. It is amazing how excited you can get about a little wet diaper! The doctor explained today that this is capillary leak syndrome where the fluid has leaked out of his capillaries and into the tissue. He said sometimes they will get back to normal and sometimes they don't. He really couldn't give us any time frame - we are still in a wait and see time. He feels this has probably happened due to the infection Luke has been fighting. The doctors continue to keep up Luke's intravascular volume to try to pull some of the fluid back into this system. Luke has been stable these last few days which is good he's not going backwards.

I feel like God is answering our prayers a little each day. We are seeing more wet diapers, we are covered in God's peace, Luke is stable, we got an answer today to what the doctor thinks is going on, we are so taken care of by our family and friends with phone calls, food, cards and prayers. God is so good to us every day.

I found my verse today in a funny way. Our white lab, Sugar, has been a little out of sorts with our crazy schedules. She has been really good for about a week so she was bound to do something soon and today was the day. She chose to eat my little bible which was on the kitchen table. She didn't do much damage just a few bites out of the back cover, Genesis chapter 5 is missing and the last page of Zephaniah. Looking at what was missing in Zephaniah led me to a verse I like.

Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."