Good Report!

It has been a looonnnggg weekend, including dressing changes every 3-4 hours and whenever there's a dirty diaper, but it was worth it for our follow up appointment today. Our doctor and the other staff were impressed with how brother is doing. They all said that it looked better today than they expected it would, which was incredibly encouraging to us. If it continues to progress as it is now, it could likely heal on it's own without need for surgery or grafting. We are so grateful!! We are to continue the dressing changes for the next few days and go back in on Thursday. We are praying for continued healing without scarring or surgery. Since this is in the diaper area it is also critical that the area stay as clean as possible and we are praying that he remain infection free. We are certainly not out of the woods yet, but it appears we are moving in the right direction.

Thank you so much for calls, emails, comments, words of encouragement, and especially your prayers. The outpouring of love and support we have experienced has been immense and an unbelievable help to us. Thankfully, we haven't often been on this side of a situation like this. I know there have been times when friends and acquaintances of ours have gone through terrible experiences and I want to support them, but sometimes I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I think "should I call? Do they want to be left alone? I don't want to bother them...Could I make a meal? Should I offer to have their kids over?" I want to support, but not bother and interfere. I have to confess, there have been times that I have just ended up praying, but not taking any tangible action toward them. After this experience, I will be much more prone to step in without fear of interfering/bothering. I don't know if any of you ever have those same feelings, but I would encourage you to put those thoughts aside and call, email, go visit, keep their kids, pick up groceries, etc. I also encourage to not only pray FOR people, but pray WITH them, in person or even if it's just over the phone.

I have so many other thoughts congealed in a mess in my head, but I'll have to wait for further posts to make any sense of them. My head feels like jell-o and I have to be up with him again in an hour, so I'm going to try and get a little sleep. Thanks again for your support. I'll give more updates this week and definitely after we go back for our next appointment in a few days.

Little Man Needs PRAYERS!

I'm sitting here trying to think where I should begin. I was planning on posting about our recent trip to Arizona, or a late Mother's day post, or how we had an early 1 year birthday party for this little man with some family that will be out of town on his birthday. Instead, I am desperately asking for your prayers and that you would ask others to pray for him.

Poor little guy has had some bad diapers {what we call cha cha around here} this week. A friend was watching him and he had terrible blow out mess in the crib while he was sleeping. She went to put him in the bath, tested the water twice before putting him in, and set him in the tub, but didn't plug the drain. In just a matter of seconds she put the diaper in the trash and grabbed a towel off the rack. When she turned back to him the hot water had come through the pipes at that point and was hot enough to burn him.

We immediately got him to the ER and were treated in the burn unit and told it looked like a second degree burn and would probably take 10-14 days to heal, but may get worse over the next few days. We took him back today and in fact, it was worse. Now they think it could actually be a third degree burn. We initially thought it would mean 2 miserable weeks of our poor baby in pain as we would have to do multiple dressing changes a day since he is in diapers, but today were informed he could need skin grafting. We were utterly devastated by that. Our doctor said we will have to wait until Monday to know what the likely outcome will be. It could heal on it's own within 10-14 days with little to no scarring or it could be to the point that skin grafting is indicated.

Please pray that God will work mightily and heal him without scarring or the need for surgery. I know my God is bigger and more powerful than I can even imagine and we have already seen His hand in this tragedy. We are thankful that the drain wasn't shut and the burn is only on the right buttock. It could have easily been all over his bottom, legs, hands, feet, or anywhere if he had tried to crawl away from the water. We are also thankful that the diarrhea is much better, reducing the risk for infection and how often we have to change the dressing. Also, amazingly enough, the only time he really seems uncomfortable, or is fussy, is when we change the dressing. He is on pain medication, which makes him sleepy, and he is sleeping most the day and night. This helps his pain level, but also helps that he isn't moving the area and pulling on the dressing.

We do have specific prayer requests

1. As above, for healing. That God would quickly heal him in a way that would clearly show His power. That it would heal on it's own without scar, surgery, or infection.

2. That the diarrhea would resolve. Again, as above, it would reduce infection risk, help with dressing changes, and make him more comfortable.

3. Wisdom for our doctors and nurses. Much of burn treatment is decided by opinion as to what the best healing methods are and what treatment is indicated. Pray God would give them clear wisdom to know the best treatment for him.

4. Pray for J and me. We are experiencing so much guilt right of now of "what if we had done....." I think hindsight we both feel ways the situation could have ended differently and we are torturing ourselves with those thoughts. It has also been a long week in general-we had to have our chimney repaired, our garage flooded on Monday, and before we went to the hospital for our follow up appointment today we had a plumber here to repair ALL the toilets in our house. Of course, all these are minuscule in the big picture, but are certainly not helping my sanity right now.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We are so thankful for the friends and family that have come around us and supported us at a time when I feel I am on on the verge of physical and emotional collapse at any moment. Meals, words of encouragement, prayer, and the many other ways you have served us have meant more to us than I can express in words.

Most of all, I am thankful for a God that heals, that is all mighty, wise, and powerful, and that only He is able to do more than I could ever ask or imagine. I am thankful that He understands the heartache of watching His son in pain. As we are told all throughout the gospels, He is powerful to heal with just a touch of his cloak or one word from his mouth. Please, please pray, ask others to pray, and if you have blog (and wouldn't mind) ask for prayer there as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Hebrews 4:14-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

Psalm 34:17-18 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted 
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.