Thursday Morning Update: Improvement!

Getting ready for the PICC line

Fletch Here:

I called Kendra today and after a barrage of questions, she finally handed her cell phone to the doctor and let me talk with him. In general, his condition is the same. After the morning rundown of blood tests and lab cultures, he gave me

today's good news:

***Viral activity has slowed, so blood tests have all improved. (Liver numbers, clotting factors, etc...)

***He is able to eat out of a bottle and he is tolerating all of the food very well.

***They are able to place a PICC line today and replace his central line and his regular IV.

***The only things keeping him in PICU at this point are his non-functioning kidneys and some elevated blood pressure.

So, those who like to pray for specifics:

Pray for his kidneys to kick in today!

Pray for a successful PICC line placement (some risk)!

Pray for his blood pressure to be controlled!

Of course all this means that we merely transfer from one wing of the hospital to another, but we are so jazzed, because it means one step closer to home and one step away from critical care!

All along we have prayed for great things from our Mighty God, but in case you're coming in late or you have missed seeing his hand in action, let me highlight a few of them for you...

ER in our hometown

1. We were greeted by staff that knew us personally and we were visited throughout the day by other hospital employees who heard we were there.

2. Quick decisions by the ER doctors and our family doctor to transfer him to a children's hospital.

3. Super care from the ER nurses and support staff.

3. Readily available Critical Care Transport units.

Children's Hospital

1. Of the five Children's Hospitals available in Northern California, the one we were sent to is only 1.5 hours from our house, 20 minutes from Kendra's parents, 10 minutes from her brothers family and her sister-in-law works at this specific hospital as an RN.

2. Our doctors were right on the money with their initial diagnosis and began treating Joe accordingly. They have been available personally to take phone calls and answer all of our questions.

3. Our first nurse, when asked if she liked Joe replied, "Like him? I love him..." - she wins the award for best answer!

4. The hospital has full hookups for RVs and my folks immediately parked their "wonderbus" for Kendra to use.

5. Kendra's high school friend is an OB in the area and was able to examine her and prescribe the right medication for her to begin to feel better.

Mighty Joe's Body

The doctors prepared us for the possibilities of multiple treatment scenarios, but Joe responded better than they hoped:

1. He has not needed dialysis.

2. He has not needed a ventilator.

3. He has not needed surgery.

Back at Home

1. Our kids have been cared for in loving environments.

2. Hot meals have been provided by a church that has wrapped its arms around us.

3. My office staff has gone above and beyond to make my work week peaceful.

These are the practical ways in which God has gone before us to answer prayer. There are many more relationships and situations where we have seen God's hand and many others to come. Praise the Lord for His goodness to His people!

Thanks for praying for Mighty Joe!

Fletch