See ya!!!

We're OUTTA THERE!!!

After almost 5 days at Children's Hospital I have one simple thought - we are so very, very blessed. This week, while my hopes were held high by the Lord Most High, I got to meet a whole lot of people who didn't have it as easy as we did.


Today, we're going to ask you to pray. But, not for Presleigh.

See, our little girl came home today. Others will not. Our baby has a healthy prognosis. Not all of them do. We were in residence for 5 days, not two weeks or for the fifth time in a month. So, today, we thank God with open eyes and hands held high and we thank you for all the prayer that sustained us in Him.

But, today we returned home to hard news.

We have a friend, a dear friend, a young woman who should not have tumors in her body, who does. Today, we ask you, while we guard her privacy with anonymity, to pray for our friend, who is now scheduled for chemo starting this week.

As for Presleigh:
The fever has been gone for about 48 hours. Today, she's home, on antibiotics, sleeping in a familiar crib. Her appetite hasn't completely returned, but we're working on it with prayer, persistence, and patience. Below are a few photos to chronicle the past couple of days - Daddy didn't have a way to get these photos on the blog until he got back today.

Day 3, Presleigh still looked a little pale. Holding onto a low grade fever, we did what we could to get her to drink, drink, drink. This would be the only way to get that IV out of her arm.











Here's Presleigh enjoying one of the perks of Children's Hospital - a red wagon we call "The Presleigh Express"!











Our super awesome nurses and tech's were kind enough to procure a "Jumpa" as we call it in our house. By whatever name we called it, Presleigh called it "fun."

On the Mend...

Presleigh continues to recover today, drinking several buh-buhs of formula, and coming off the IV liquids around 2:30. Aunt Sarah came by to give Mommy & Daddy a brief reprieve, so Mommy could actually leave Ground Zero. God has sustained my wife incredibly in light of the fact that she's literally been at Children's Hospital since Wednesday at noon. Regardless, the spirit is willing but the flesh was weak. Thankfully, Cristine was able to go home for a real shower, pick up a more "matching" change of clothes (since Daddy doesn't really know how to pack a Mommy bag all that well...), and breath fresh air.

The support of all of your prayers has been great sustenance for us during this time. Our spirits have been high, Presleigh has been delightful in spite of her malaise(s), and the nurses are all thoroughly entertained by her surprisingly positive demeanor. That's our girl!

CRP level (which measures infection vis-a-vis inflammation) will be checked again tonight. She's due for another round of antibiotics and once her "output is 'solid' ", she'll be free to go home. Oh, and we will, too!!!

Keep praying for restful sleep for Mommy, God's sustaining grace in Daddy, and "solid output" for Presleigh.

Weekend Update: Presleigh and Infection

Update:
So, it appears Presleigh may have a 3rd ureter. This is the connector between the kidney and the bladder. One side has one, the other side may have two. Alright! Spare parts - anyone need another ureter?
Apparently, this is not so rare, occuring in 1 in 4,000 infants, 90% of them being girls. You'd think, if you're anything like me, two tubes would mean a more efficient system, wouldn't ya? Apparently, if you factor in all of the laws of physics, the second ureter uses the capillary effect (like when the level of soda in your straw is slightly higher than the surface of the rest of the soda) to create backflow or "kidney reflux." Not so good long term.

Long story short:
Presleigh's temp is back to normal - Praise God. Her infection numbers were at 19, came down to 17.6, and are now at 8.6. It's a far cry from 1 or less. But, I'm just going to give God the credit for making her body work the way He built it. Thank y'all, all of you, for your prayers. (Some have even sent "positive thoughts". God knows your heart, even if you don't address Him.)

How Big is your God?
One of my favorite verses of scripture from Paul's letter to the church at Thessalonika is "Faithful is He who calls you and He will bring it to pass." Ain't that the truth?!
1. Not only was I needlessly stressing out about possibly not having quorum for our Board meeting Friday, but a previously excused absentee was able to make it last minute.
2. We were supposed to speak at a retreat this weekend and I'm lying on my face with God telling Him how He's got to reconcile the fact that I need to be with my little baby and relieve Cristine from no-sleep-land. Meanwhile, He brings the only 3 guys to my mind that I would trust to deliver these messages - and one happens to be registered for the retreat!
3. While stressing out like God's all small or something, I get to the board meeting and Brent (the guy who's registered for the retreat) calls me and says "I've got a couple of talks already prepared that cover the topics you were going to cover..." If that ain't a Godsmack...

When God's got a job to do, He sometimes calls the equipped, more often, He just equips the called. And while he sometimes calms the storm, other times He lets the storm rage, but calms His child. Keep Presleigh in your prayers (healing). Keep Mommy in your prayers (sleep). Pray for our daughter, Brianna, that despite all the attention her little sister is getting, she knows Mommy and Daddy love her just as much and Christ loves her even more.

How great, how awesome is He?