I wanted to share with you a poem Hannah (12) wrote to me yesterday!
E is for Elijah, who gives Endurance shows;
N is for "Nice and slow," when he wiggles his tiny toes.
D is for Dilaudid, which he gets when he's fussy,
U is for Uncombed, when his hair is awfully messy.
R is for Race, with him we're running fast!
A is for "Ahhh," when I reach his room at last.
N is for Nice and Neat, he's as cute as can be,
C is for Cute, when he looks up at me!
E is for Endurance, who loves his Mama such, but she loves him even more; she loves him very much!
This sure cheered me up!
Last night our nurse asked if we would give him permission to have Endurance put on his mother's prayer group list back in Georgia! He said he did this on occasion and knew that we believed in prayer. What a blessing it was to talk with him about God's will and sovereignty!
Please pray as Mike fervently seeks several second opinions throughout the U.S. on surgical options for Endurance. He's spoken with many doctors and has sent out several pkgs with Endurance's reports and echocardiograms on cds. I'll keep you posted as this progresses.
~heather
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Getting Better!
Just a quick update to let you know that Endurance still has his blood infection, which seems to be getting better. He is just on two antibiotics now and the doctors have slowly turned his nitric oxide off. With that said, he is spiking a fever when he's awake, which is keeping the doctors in wonderment, hence, they've taken more blood cultures this morning.
So, he's getting better, but being watched to see if something new is brewing.
"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." ~Philippians 4:11 NASB
So, he's getting better, but being watched to see if something new is brewing.
"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." ~Philippians 4:11 NASB
Thursday, March 17, 2011
This is Mike's posting to our church on Tuesday. I will post the update at the bottom of this post:
Endurance is struggling right now. He was confirmed for a blood
infection this morning. He is allergic to the best antibiotic for
this infection, but they have decided to give it to him anyway with
doses of Benadryl to counteract the side effects, and then they give
the antibiotic slowly
He also is being checked for a virus. We won't know about that until tomorrow.
His oxygen saturation levels are at the lowest levels that I have ever
seen on a consistent basis, even though we have increased his
ventilator to the maximum support. We are beginning, as I write this,
a second heart medication to force his heart to beat harder in order
to help force out the CO2. Praise God that we have a good nurse
tonight, and Endurance is her only patient.
Thank you for bringing Endurance before the Throne of Grace.
For Christ and His Kingdom,
Mike (for Mike & Heather)
P.S. The Ethics Committee situation was blessed by God. I won't
waste your time with the details, but our Lord is good. Romans 8:28
definitely applies in this situation.
Update....
So much has happened to Endurance that I will probably forget things, but I'll do my best. Endurance has a blood infection. In fact, the Cardiac ICU's record for no infections was 163 days until little Endurance. Sorry CICU, back to zero! They don't know for sure yet what exact infection he has, but are giving him 3 antibiotics to fight it. The pharmacist was quite concerned about his kidneys, so they are watching this as well.
This infection has been testing all of Endurance's caregivers, as they are having to come up with ideas on what to do to control his numbers and keep him alive. As one doctor said, "we have a few things in our back pocket." Today I told her that her back pocket must be pretty big as they keep coming up with stuff.
The doctors want Endurance's "sats" to be between 75-85%. A normal person with no problems would most likely have 100%. Yesterday his sats at best were in the low 60's and that wasn't for long...mostly in the 40's. At one time while we were talking to the doctor, his sats starting dropping to 0! Oh boy did that make our hearts leap. Due to his poor sats, Endurance is now getting nitric oxide.
The doctors were also very concerned about Endurance's body trying to fight his infection and not being able to. High concerns of him passing away. (One of our favorite doctors said that Monday night she would go home and not worry about Endurance, yet tonight (Tues) she would be.) So, since his sats were too low, fighting a fever, and lots of body movement, they are now giving him an IV drip of something called vecuronium (vec), which paralyzes him. If you were to just walk in the room, you'd think he was dead. Even his eyes don't move, yet his heart is not disturbed from this. He is also in an upright/reclined position.
Endurance was on a "vec holiday" as they put it, today. A small trial to see what he does when he "wakes up." It took a bit over an hour for him to come off the meds. He seemed to do fine for about 30 minutes. Then his sats dropped and the nurse turned the IV back on.
Endurance is also in isolation for upper respiratory virus indications. For this, they can give him nothing. He just has to ride this one out.
Also, Endurance's heart has gotten bigger since yesterday. He's has two echocaridograms. It's rather floppy and slow.
Endurance has been given so many medications these past two days as well.
He's not out of the woods, but we praise God that Endurance is still with us and everything that his nurses and doctors are doing seem to be for his best interest. We see God's handiwork in all of this and clinging to Him even more.
Thank you for your prayers! Sorry for any grammatical errors, fellow homeschooler! My brain is quite fogged! :)
Endurance is struggling right now. He was confirmed for a blood
infection this morning. He is allergic to the best antibiotic for
this infection, but they have decided to give it to him anyway with
doses of Benadryl to counteract the side effects, and then they give
the antibiotic slowly
He also is being checked for a virus. We won't know about that until tomorrow.
His oxygen saturation levels are at the lowest levels that I have ever
seen on a consistent basis, even though we have increased his
ventilator to the maximum support. We are beginning, as I write this,
a second heart medication to force his heart to beat harder in order
to help force out the CO2. Praise God that we have a good nurse
tonight, and Endurance is her only patient.
Thank you for bringing Endurance before the Throne of Grace.
For Christ and His Kingdom,
Mike (for Mike & Heather)
P.S. The Ethics Committee situation was blessed by God. I won't
waste your time with the details, but our Lord is good. Romans 8:28
definitely applies in this situation.
Update....
So much has happened to Endurance that I will probably forget things, but I'll do my best. Endurance has a blood infection. In fact, the Cardiac ICU's record for no infections was 163 days until little Endurance. Sorry CICU, back to zero! They don't know for sure yet what exact infection he has, but are giving him 3 antibiotics to fight it. The pharmacist was quite concerned about his kidneys, so they are watching this as well.
This infection has been testing all of Endurance's caregivers, as they are having to come up with ideas on what to do to control his numbers and keep him alive. As one doctor said, "we have a few things in our back pocket." Today I told her that her back pocket must be pretty big as they keep coming up with stuff.
The doctors want Endurance's "sats" to be between 75-85%. A normal person with no problems would most likely have 100%. Yesterday his sats at best were in the low 60's and that wasn't for long...mostly in the 40's. At one time while we were talking to the doctor, his sats starting dropping to 0! Oh boy did that make our hearts leap. Due to his poor sats, Endurance is now getting nitric oxide.
The doctors were also very concerned about Endurance's body trying to fight his infection and not being able to. High concerns of him passing away. (One of our favorite doctors said that Monday night she would go home and not worry about Endurance, yet tonight (Tues) she would be.) So, since his sats were too low, fighting a fever, and lots of body movement, they are now giving him an IV drip of something called vecuronium (vec), which paralyzes him. If you were to just walk in the room, you'd think he was dead. Even his eyes don't move, yet his heart is not disturbed from this. He is also in an upright/reclined position.
Endurance was on a "vec holiday" as they put it, today. A small trial to see what he does when he "wakes up." It took a bit over an hour for him to come off the meds. He seemed to do fine for about 30 minutes. Then his sats dropped and the nurse turned the IV back on.
Endurance is also in isolation for upper respiratory virus indications. For this, they can give him nothing. He just has to ride this one out.
Also, Endurance's heart has gotten bigger since yesterday. He's has two echocaridograms. It's rather floppy and slow.
Endurance has been given so many medications these past two days as well.
He's not out of the woods, but we praise God that Endurance is still with us and everything that his nurses and doctors are doing seem to be for his best interest. We see God's handiwork in all of this and clinging to Him even more.
Thank you for your prayers! Sorry for any grammatical errors, fellow homeschooler! My brain is quite fogged! :)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Six Months Old!
God be praised! Endurance celebrated his 6-month old birthday today! (Pictures coming soon) I believe he enjoyed every minute of it. His room was decorated when I got there this morning, by Wendy, part of the Child Life department. Endurance's brothers and sisters made a birthday poster that was posted outside his sliding glass door today, so people would walk by, read the poster, and then pop their heads in to say "Happy Birthday Endurance!" Also, the girls had made a lot of cupcakes to give to so many people that have taken part of caring for Endurance. It was so nice to bless so many people! It was so nice to have a "different" day around here.
The doctors really want to try to get Endurance to "eat." They started him off this week with 1ml (1/5 tsp) every 6 hours. He seemed to be tolerating it, though it usually takes a day to really see. Yesterday they raised his feeds to every 3 hours. Last night through this morning was terrible on his gut. A lot of painful kicking and crying for hours. The nurse checked his residuals and got 3ml out (9 hours worth was still undigested in his gut). So, again they turned off his feeds.
In this morning's rounds, the fellow doctor said that they should still try and start it again at every 3 hours, but was up for discussing this. Praise God that I was able to pipe in my two cents and ask to please, if they really want to try this, to try it at 1 ml every 6 hours again for a few days. They said sure. On a lighter side, his doctor even said he'd take a bite of his cupcake every six hours for Endurance's sake! So now we wait. Please pray that he'll do okay with his feeds. His gut really needs to have something, anything, in it to "work" and get his good bacteria moving around. Endurance is surely living up to his name.
All in all Endurance has had a good day. May he be blessed with a good night as well. In everything may God be glorified.
The doctors really want to try to get Endurance to "eat." They started him off this week with 1ml (1/5 tsp) every 6 hours. He seemed to be tolerating it, though it usually takes a day to really see. Yesterday they raised his feeds to every 3 hours. Last night through this morning was terrible on his gut. A lot of painful kicking and crying for hours. The nurse checked his residuals and got 3ml out (9 hours worth was still undigested in his gut). So, again they turned off his feeds.
In this morning's rounds, the fellow doctor said that they should still try and start it again at every 3 hours, but was up for discussing this. Praise God that I was able to pipe in my two cents and ask to please, if they really want to try this, to try it at 1 ml every 6 hours again for a few days. They said sure. On a lighter side, his doctor even said he'd take a bite of his cupcake every six hours for Endurance's sake! So now we wait. Please pray that he'll do okay with his feeds. His gut really needs to have something, anything, in it to "work" and get his good bacteria moving around. Endurance is surely living up to his name.
All in all Endurance has had a good day. May he be blessed with a good night as well. In everything may God be glorified.
Friday, March 4, 2011
God is still in Control!
Psalm 20:7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.
Well, Wednesday's presentation never happened. The head cardiac surgeon and the cardiologist that dreamed about Endurance had a (very short notice) meeting with Mike and I. To put this quite briefly, the surgeon informed us that there is no surgery, except a transplant, that can be done for Endurance. He, (I won't give his name) gave one more effort to promote the heart transplant, and with our decline, got rather upset and said he needed to bring our case up to the ethics committee. We are blessed to be part of Heritage Defense and are presently keeping them informed of Endurance's situation, and if anything comes up with this committee.
After the meeting, I felt like all hope for Endurance was gone. I had put my trust in the Echo he had on Friday and in the doctors! I walked in Endurance's room and just cried over him. It wasn't until the cardiologist came in a while later and apologized for possibly getting our hopes up and that they (the medical staff, not the surgeons) are "not giving up on Endurance." She said "You can't give up hope. You need to keep praying for a miracle in his life." Her words struck me. We're going through Ezra at church and learning how God uses even the ungodly to perform His will. And here this cardiologist's words are what caused me to drop to my knees in repentance for losing hope, not in Endurance to get better necessarily, but showing me that God still is, and always has been in control. He knew what the meeting was about. He knew what the surgeon would say. He knows already, the outcome of Endurance's life!
So, in spite of the surgeon's comments, we are further pressing on, depending on God as our refuge and provider. His grace still abounds in Endurance's precious life.
Please pray for us, Mike especially, as we don't know what lies ahead. Who knows, but God.
I need to write this again... Psalm 20:7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God!!!!!!!!!
Well, Wednesday's presentation never happened. The head cardiac surgeon and the cardiologist that dreamed about Endurance had a (very short notice) meeting with Mike and I. To put this quite briefly, the surgeon informed us that there is no surgery, except a transplant, that can be done for Endurance. He, (I won't give his name) gave one more effort to promote the heart transplant, and with our decline, got rather upset and said he needed to bring our case up to the ethics committee. We are blessed to be part of Heritage Defense and are presently keeping them informed of Endurance's situation, and if anything comes up with this committee.
After the meeting, I felt like all hope for Endurance was gone. I had put my trust in the Echo he had on Friday and in the doctors! I walked in Endurance's room and just cried over him. It wasn't until the cardiologist came in a while later and apologized for possibly getting our hopes up and that they (the medical staff, not the surgeons) are "not giving up on Endurance." She said "You can't give up hope. You need to keep praying for a miracle in his life." Her words struck me. We're going through Ezra at church and learning how God uses even the ungodly to perform His will. And here this cardiologist's words are what caused me to drop to my knees in repentance for losing hope, not in Endurance to get better necessarily, but showing me that God still is, and always has been in control. He knew what the meeting was about. He knew what the surgeon would say. He knows already, the outcome of Endurance's life!
So, in spite of the surgeon's comments, we are further pressing on, depending on God as our refuge and provider. His grace still abounds in Endurance's precious life.
Please pray for us, Mike especially, as we don't know what lies ahead. Who knows, but God.
I need to write this again... Psalm 20:7 Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God!!!!!!!!!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Two Updates
I have had a difficult time finding time to post updates for Endurance. My apologies. They get written in my head and stay there. So, here are two updates that Mike sent to our church family, the first from Sunday morning and the second is Monday evening. May God be praised!
Sunday...
They asked for a "3-D" Echocardiogram this week, a newer technology, and using a machine that the hospital has recently purchased. They were "testing it out," so to speak, on Endurance. One of the reasons, is that a Dr that had been off on maternity leave and recently came back had a dream (!!!!) of Endurance the other night, and came in that day telling the other Cardiologists that they needed to see if there was something more they could find as an option for Endurance!
Sunday...
They asked for a "3-D" Echocardiogram this week, a newer technology, and using a machine that the hospital has recently purchased. They were "testing it out," so to speak, on Endurance. One of the reasons, is that a Dr that had been off on maternity leave and recently came back had a dream (!!!!) of Endurance the other night, and came in that day telling the other Cardiologists that they needed to see if there was something more they could find as an option for Endurance!
The Lord be praised! They will present Endurance's case again to the full Monday morning 40 member decision group within the next couple of weeks. Maybe they will see something new, or at least make a decision to try a surgery that may be very risky, but may have life lengthening possibilities. It is in the Lord's hands, and we thank Him for his loving mercies.
An update regarding his "presentation" before the group of doctors......the presentation will be this Wednesday!
Monday.....
Early this morning, while Sarah and the nurse where changing Endurance's linens, his PICC line (where his medicine's are given to him) came out - just came all the way out of his leg, and fell right onto the bed! We're talking about a line that goes in his leg, tunnels around under the skin, enters into a femoral vein in his groin area, then goes all the way up into his right Atrium (part of his heart). It just came out!
They had an IV put in his foot temporarily. The praise is that this afternoon, Endurance successfully underwent a surgery / procedure to put in a new Central Line! Not only were there no complications, but all of us, (8 or so?) were following him all the way down the long hallway to the surgery room to say "goodbye for now," and they let us halfway into the room there to pray for him and to see him one more time.
Due to Endurance growing to over 5 Kilos now, they were able to fit in a double lumen line - something the ICU staff are all thrilled about. It means they can draw blood on one of the lines, without having to stop all of his meds from the other line, as they are forced to do now. And they can also give meds at the same time that are not compatible through the same "lumen" or line.
God is Good. Yes, He can even use a short term 'catastrophe' to turn out for the Best!
In Christ,
Mike (for all of the Holstons)
They had an IV put in his foot temporarily. The praise is that this afternoon, Endurance successfully underwent a surgery / procedure to put in a new Central Line! Not only were there no complications, but all of us, (8 or so?) were following him all the way down the long hallway to the surgery room to say "goodbye for now," and they let us halfway into the room there to pray for him and to see him one more time.
Due to Endurance growing to over 5 Kilos now, they were able to fit in a double lumen line - something the ICU staff are all thrilled about. It means they can draw blood on one of the lines, without having to stop all of his meds from the other line, as they are forced to do now. And they can also give meds at the same time that are not compatible through the same "lumen" or line.
God is Good. Yes, He can even use a short term 'catastrophe' to turn out for the Best!
In Christ,
Mike (for all of the Holstons)
Thank you for all of your prayers for little Endurance. God is using this little pumpkin in mighty ways here in Seattle.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
I was looking through some pictures......
Endurance is having a good day, he is as cute as a button! We are praising God for this little sweetpea, what a precious gift!!!
I was looking through some pictures and I thought I would share.........
I was looking through some pictures and I thought I would share.........
January: Getting groomed for the day!
Starting out with a shampoo...
(photo credits go to David:)
 |
 | ||
| Sweetpea!
|
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| In case you're wondering "how's he breathing?" The clear tube behind Endurance is blowing out oxygen. I think he was more concern about remembering his sibling's names! |
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| A very tender moment...! |
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| A dear friend made Endurance a "pumpkin" hat and mittens! |
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| One of the most recent photos of our little boy! His breathing tube is now going down his nose. Maybe we'll get a smile from him yet! |
Friday, February 11, 2011
Pictures and Prayer
Yesterday's pictures graciously taken by a dear friend Mrs. Hatch...
Underneath the breathing tube, picc line, wires, bruises, and scars is our precious pumpkin.
The mouse is one of his favorites. He loves to feel his blanket when he's not in "sock prison." The socks are to prevent him from pulling on his breathing tube, another favorite past time of his.
Enjoying this precious moment!
My what big eyes you have! Endurance is fascinated with cameras!
Prayer....
These past couple of days have been quite stressful for us. Endurance's feeds have been turned on, turned up, and turned up even more. Now they are turned off again. I asked if he could be given a non-FDA approved, yet being used in Europe with great results, something called Omega-van. It would greatly improve his liver. And prevent damage. Unfortunately he is not a candidate since his liver is not as bad as it's supposed to be.
With more greater concern, I speak rather sadly on the subject of his care. Due to our "outrageous" decision to re-intubate him, meaning taking the next step to keep him alive with a breathing tube, I was told today by Endurance's nurse that "to be honest, a lot of nurses and RT's will not take care of Endurance since they believe Mike and I are being inhumane!" What? Well, that crushed me more than I ever thought I could be. Of course, now that I know that "they" have weeded themselves out, then we know that the ones taking care of him don't mind, yet I am still entangled by what she said.
I have had other comments about our decision for Endurance's life. One nurse told me that she would never in-tubate her children. Another has stated, "We're going farther than most parents." One of our heart failure doctors asked in an interesting tone, "is he really comfortable?" and after saying that he left Endurance's room.
Are we that wacko? No! We're requesting that they give food and air to our little one. Mike told me that most staff here would probably believe that Terry Schiavo's death was humane. This is crazy! This is real.
Please keep us in your prayers as we stand in our faith with Endurance. God is and will be our strength!
Deuteronomy 30:19
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,"Tuesday, February 8, 2011
A Quick Update
I have a quick update regarding Endurance...
Last Thursday night, sadly when we were all at dinner, Endurance was intubated (a breathing tube down his mouth and connected to a ventilator). It was an event that God's hands were completely in charge. The procedure went better than expected, from the doctor's standpoint. Oh how God directs the hands of the doctors. They gave him the sedatives so slowly due to his condition. He came out of them quite well.
Had he not been intubated, his nurse said that he most likely would have passed away that night or early the next morning. When Endurance's next nurse came in for her shift in the morning, she looked at Endurance and started crying. Mike was there and said she then took a deep breath and said she'd be fine, and then went on to her duties. Now, nobody can convince me that this cute little pumpkin has not had an influence on the staff here.
He is showing improvment in his over-all counts and numbers. He had a nice nap this morning with his heart rate going as low as 138.
They started his feeds again. If this doesn't take my breath away when I hear that they want to try. I have done a complete turn around by not wanting to push him any farther about his feeds. So we're just watching him today. He's been gagging a lot and needing suctioned a lot. Also throwing up, but that happened yesterday as well, before his feeds. So the watch to see if he'll stomach the breastmilk is on. God is in such control of even this situation. The nurse said they will retape his breathing tube and see if that will help stop some of the gagging.
Other than all of this, he seems to be doing "well." You have to watch him more closely so you know when he's awake, as you cannot hear him anymore. He used to be the loudest pair of lungs in the CICU! He was famous! I could recognize his cry from down the hall. Now his room is pretty silent, except for his cooling blanket machine and the slight sounds of his ventilator.
I will have to write later to talk just about the "end-of-life" conversations we've been having with doctors and nurses.
We've been praying for God to give Endurance the best nurses that will really take good care of him and not walk out of the room much. I praise God that today's nurse was the exact one we asked for! God is so sweet to have given Kelly as Endurance's nurse today. She's the nurse that kissed him and said "I love him!"
Until then, we thank you for your consistant prayers for Endurance!
Last Thursday night, sadly when we were all at dinner, Endurance was intubated (a breathing tube down his mouth and connected to a ventilator). It was an event that God's hands were completely in charge. The procedure went better than expected, from the doctor's standpoint. Oh how God directs the hands of the doctors. They gave him the sedatives so slowly due to his condition. He came out of them quite well.
Had he not been intubated, his nurse said that he most likely would have passed away that night or early the next morning. When Endurance's next nurse came in for her shift in the morning, she looked at Endurance and started crying. Mike was there and said she then took a deep breath and said she'd be fine, and then went on to her duties. Now, nobody can convince me that this cute little pumpkin has not had an influence on the staff here.
He is showing improvment in his over-all counts and numbers. He had a nice nap this morning with his heart rate going as low as 138.
They started his feeds again. If this doesn't take my breath away when I hear that they want to try. I have done a complete turn around by not wanting to push him any farther about his feeds. So we're just watching him today. He's been gagging a lot and needing suctioned a lot. Also throwing up, but that happened yesterday as well, before his feeds. So the watch to see if he'll stomach the breastmilk is on. God is in such control of even this situation. The nurse said they will retape his breathing tube and see if that will help stop some of the gagging.
Other than all of this, he seems to be doing "well." You have to watch him more closely so you know when he's awake, as you cannot hear him anymore. He used to be the loudest pair of lungs in the CICU! He was famous! I could recognize his cry from down the hall. Now his room is pretty silent, except for his cooling blanket machine and the slight sounds of his ventilator.
I will have to write later to talk just about the "end-of-life" conversations we've been having with doctors and nurses.
We've been praying for God to give Endurance the best nurses that will really take good care of him and not walk out of the room much. I praise God that today's nurse was the exact one we asked for! God is so sweet to have given Kelly as Endurance's nurse today. She's the nurse that kissed him and said "I love him!"
Until then, we thank you for your consistant prayers for Endurance!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
February 1st, 2011
It has been a while, again. So much happens when you live in the ICU. To catch you up to speed, Endurance "crashed" almost two weeks ago...at 2:30 am to be precise. They paged us and said that they were considering intubating Endurance again. Mike immediately ran over to the hospital (I praise God we live so close to do this very thing!), and discussed with the attending doctor and decided that they would put him back on the C-PAP. Hence, that's what he's been on since then. Also his feeds have been shut off.
Endurance's heart rates are regularly in the 170s - 180s. His respiratory is a bit higher now as well. He also was diagnosed with a virus called the adenovirus or the "killer cold," which has put him in isolation for over a week so far. Anyone who comes in his room now garbs themselves with yellow robes, masks, and gloves. And our little ones under 10 may not see him (a new curve ball as to who goes to the hospital with Mama and who stays home). It's been hard on "the littles" not getting to see "Dernance," as little Faith calls her little brother.
And then today...
Our little pumpkin started his day not well. Not well at all. Each breath was a huge tug on his lungs and rib cage. His heart rate was high. His saturations, something I'm still learning about, were low. Very low. Too low for this little man. X-rays were taken to see if he had a collapsed lung. No. An echocardiogram was given to see if there was any perfusion around his heart. No. Blood was drawn. Tests and more tests were taken. I called Mike and asked him to come over right away. He was not doing well. Re-intubating him was discussed in rounds. That's what Mike and I have requested if Endurance cannot under any other circumstances tolerate the C-PAP anymore. The doctors expressed their agreement that they don't want to intubate Endurance unless absolutely necessary and if he didn't get any better, it would be absolutely necessary. AND if they had to do it, to make sure we knew that he could die during the procedure. He could possibly have a cardiac arrest, or not handle the paralytic drug that must be given, etc, etc.
After rounds Mike called one of our dear church elders to let him know what was going on. Immediately the urgent prayer request was spread with a request to pray and fast if possible. God answers prayers!!!!! Within 45 minutes after the doctors rounded and the next set of tests were performed, his lactate level had gotten lower (the most crucial), his heart rate was lowering, his temperature lowered, and praise God, his breathing was showing much improvement. God answered in His time, and showed me in so many ways today how He is in charge of Endurance.
I am (oh so slowly) learning that I can do nothing except with God's strength. I am running this race with Endurance only with His strength. Only His amazing grace. I never really, really understood what that beautiful hymn meant until Endurance was born. Now it's a daily walk in God's amazing grace. And how sweet it is.
I ask that you pray for God to heal Endurance, if it pleases Him.
May God bless you! ~Heather
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