The Terms Author: Elisabeth Elliot Source: A Lamp For My Feet Scripture Reference: John 16:33 "The man who is challenged by Fate does not take umbrage at the terms," wrote Dag Hammarskjold. So the man called by Christ. Any terms at all are acceptable if we may be permitted to walk with Him. "But is this the path, Lord? Must we take this one in order to reach Home?" "Trust Me." When the way to the house of the Lord leads through the "Valley of the Shadow," we accept those terms, too. If we suffer loss, scorn, misunderstanding, false accusation, or any other form of trouble, it is what we agreed on to begin with. Compared with the rewards promised, it is nothing; so let us not take umbrage. Let us be quite clear and matter-of-fact about it: "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer [cheer up!] I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).

A little update early Sunday morning... Joe was neither worse nor better when we left him last night. When we go in today, we'll hopefully have good news and nothing exciting. Exciting is not a good thing in his little life right now. We have an incredible peace. The thing is, Joe is God's baby, not ours, and particularly because he was a huge surprise to us, we are so assured of his life in God's hands. Please pray for me this morning as I am battling a b*east infection due to weaning. Not fun, and the last thing I need right now is mastitis, eh? Thank you all for your prayers. We feel them! ~Kendra

Psalm 33 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

We just met with the doctors (his main doctor and a kidney specialist). Overall the status is the same, Joe is still very sick and the demeanor of the doctors is one of heightened concerned. We've exchanged some good and bad results in the last 24 hours. Here is what's better: 1. Last night, the ER in our home town reported that he tested positive for E.Coli (which would have meant a dual infection - bacterial and viral - very bad!). They called back today after further cultures revealed it was negative. Praise the Lord for His goodness! 2. This morning he opened his eyes when we visited him and he's been crying (yesterday he acted sedated all day). We still can't hold him, but he generally looks better! 3. His urine output has slightly increased! Medical Assessment: 1. Kidneys - The nephrologist believes the virus has caused them to stop functioning. It's all based on urine output. They are trying two medications today, but he prepared us for dialysis beginning tomorrow or Monday. No idea how long he will need it or when his kidneys will start again. They are giving him two medications today to increase urine output. PRAY FOR PEE! 2. Blood - He has a blood infection. It has decreased his ability to clot. He also has capillary leakage, meaning the fluids are leaking out of his tiny vessels into his body. That has led to swelling and other problems. 3. Lungs - He has fluid on his lungs (due to the capillary leakage). He's currently on room air, but if fluids and pressure increase, He may need oxygen and a ventilator as the days go on. 4. Heart - He has an infection which has damaged the muscle tissue of his heart. They are treating him with IV antibodies. 5. Brain - They are still monitoring him for seizures due to a brain infection. They still expect some brain damage. The neurologist will come and read the report later today and potentially stop the EEG. Parent's Assessment: Joe looks better than yesterday! He is crying more, he is not as swollen and he has opened his eyes and even taken the pacifier. Continue to pray for Joe's immune system to kick in and overcome this virus! Pray for all the systems to improve and return to normal! Fletch...for Kendra

Praise the Lord for His care of us through such a competent staff. We just met with his doctor and we were told that Joe has tested positive for Enterovirus. For adults, that means vomiting and diarrhea, but with little guys like Joe...it is worse. In his case, the virus has caused sepsis (entire body infection) including his brain. The bummer is that there is no way to treat a virus directly, so we just treat the symptoms.

Prayer Requests: *They know Joe has had some brain damage due to fluid swelling, but there is no conclusive test/evaluation to figure out the extent of the damage. We might not know for weeks, months or years...Join us in praying for NO long term damage. *Since he has multiple systems struggling right now, please pray for protection of further damage and for quick healing and function. *He has an EEG right now and just had an ultrasound to check his kidneys. Pray that the brain activity is normal and that the kidneys start working. *He may require dialysis. Pray that his kidneys just start working. *The doctor has informed us that a diagnosis is only the start. The potential roller coaster ride is just starting and it will most likely get worse before it gets better. Pray with us that Joe blows away the statistics and gets better. Praise the Lord: *It was not the herpes virus (magnified brain damage) *Because God is Good all of the time!

Thank you all for your faithful prayers.

Thank you so much for praying. We are buoyed by the prayers of our online friends and those here in real life, too. Yesterday morning I thought Little Joe was sleeping just a bit too late for my comfort and when I went to wake him he was white, purple lips, eyes rolled back, clammy skin. I called 911 and he was transported to the local ER. Care there was very good, but his signs were puzzling (extremely low blood sugar, dangerously high potassium levels, among other things) so they transported him to a children's hospital 2 hours from our home. Thankfully, my sister-in-law is a nurse here and my family lives in this city so we have places to stay when we need a bit of sleep. Joe has been a normal, healthy baby with no signs of anything abnormal. He ate well at 1 a.m. the night before I found him struggling. That's Little Joe with me in the photo to the right. They have prepared us for the long haul (both in and out of the hospital). Joe will be in the PICU for a good portion of next week at least. He has multiple systems affected. They have completed CT Scans, EEG, Spinal Taps, Viral cultures and they want an MRI. We desire your prayers more than anything right now, so please remember our Little Joe. ~Kendra

Fletch again: Our local hospital continued to be worried with Baby Joe's responses, so he was transported to a Children's hospital about two hours south of our home. He's in the Pediatric ICU and they continue to run a bunch of tests to determine what's going on in his little body. The current theory is that he has a systemic bacterial infection or "nasty" virus. They are running tests tonight and should know more in the morning. He's getting the best care we can give him and the doctors/nurses working on him had me so confident that I snuck Kendra away for a few hours sleep. For those who will go to the Lord on our behalf:

Praise God: The admitting staff at our local hospital knew us and took great care of us and all of our needs. The doctors/nurses recognized that we needed to be transferred. The transfer team was top notch and cared for him in route to the Children's hospital. The doctors/nurses treating him in the ICU are fantastic. He's getting one on one attention with the pediatric specialist and nursing staff. Kendra's SIL is an RN at this specific Children's hospital and her brother/family live about 10 minutes away. Kendra's folks came to stay with our kids and their house was equally close which gave us a place to catch up on some sleep (and still be close enough if they needed us!). Pray with us: For a complete and correct diagnosis. That his fluids would regulate and all of his blood numbers would stabilize (he's all over the map with his lab results). That the test results would be conclusive. For our kids at home.

We have great internet access and we will update as we can. God is good...all of the time, Fletch