25 September 2010

Day-by-Day

James and I got about 6-7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. No waiting for results. No emergent situations. No pagers going off in the middle of the night. Ewan continues to sail through these hours, floating on the prayers you're sending up for him.

To call us "thankful" is the hyperbole of understatement. After a nap and some lunch yesterday, we went to the in-hospital Starbucks. We walked outside to breathe in some fresh air and soak up some sunlight. It felt like we hadn't done that in years. I can't even begin to describe the gift it is to know your child is resting easy in the arms of Jesus and his angels, as well as some exceedingly compassionate and competent nurses and doctors. At a time like this, that's exactly what we need.

And so we went to the hospital chapel, fell on our knees, and gave humble thanks to God for the life of our son. About fifteen hours before that, no one was sure that he would make it. While we know that we are far from done with this fight, we have passed a major hurdle in this first surgery. Just a little over twenty-four hours ago, no one thought we'd be this far.

Thank you, thank you Jesus!!

And so we don't look to next week or even to tomorrow, but to each moment and day as it comes. Never have we been given such grace truly to be able to live in the present.

Medical updates:
Today is going to be an important day. After morning rounds at 8 am, the medical team is going to start warming Ewan back up. After as traumatic a surgery as he endured, it is common to keep these recovering little ones at lower than body temp (91 degrees F) to ward off any chance of fever and optimize the opportunity to heal. They will gradually start warming him up a bit and slowly weaning off the support he's getting from ECMO. This will also give them the opportunity to see how blood is moving through the shunt since ECMO bypasses that right now.

We're already seeing a lot of good signs: he's been moving his arms and legs a lot, his lungs are functioning as they should -- exchanging O2 and CO2 on their own, and his heart rate and BP are perfect. Please rejoice with us in this news, and continue to pray his poor little body through this. Our little fighter needs everyone behind him!!

When I went to pump and see him this morning, the nurses had him all cuddled up with a little monkey. He was moving around enough that they wanted to give him something to snuggle. Aside from being terribly cute, I couldn't help but think about how appropriate it was. Throughout my pregnancy, I referred to him as "my little monkey."

My little monkey is a snuggler and a fighter!!

Many thanks and much love to you, Team Ewan -- keep those fervent prayers coming!!

18 comments:

Tara said...

I am so glad all is calm and smooth for you right now. Praying for the warming time to continue to go smoothly and for God to continue to heal and carry Ewan through recovery =) Thanks for the update - I have been praying for you all and thinking of you constantly! Sending hugs, prayers and blessings your way!

Shay said...

so thankful that you are able to have some time to rest and that things are more calm...God is SO good and I am rejoicing with you for His protection and His mighty miracles! God is our Healer and I know He will bring Ewan to full recovery, in His time and according to His will. Ewan and you two are still in my prayers! SO glad to hear your little monkey is a fighter and how adorable and perfect that he has his own little monkey to snuggle! :) you are on my heart and mind and in my prayers constantly. love you!

Marcus Goodyear said...

We're all praying for you at The High Calling. Every little bit of good news is good, and we'll keep praying.

Anonymous said...

Praise God for the day by day victories, and a night of solid sleep. Prayers are still flowing from this neck of the woods and thank you for the updates.

Sean, Jen, Rylee & Haylee Patterson

Nadine said...

Such great news! I'm so happy! We will most certainly continue to pray hard! We're ready for many more miracles for your little monkey ;)

Stefenie said...

Rejoicing in the calmness you are surrounded in. Especially as you are about to cross one more hurdle....weaning and eventually coming off of echmo. Praying for a continued smooth ride!

Melissa said...

Praise the Lord for some peace... sleep... food... coffee... and a snuggley little monkey who isn't giving up.

Sarah said...

The part about the monkey brought tears to my eyes. How perfect, and how sweet! And how much they must love him, too, to find something for him to snuggle with!

Kristi McInerney said...

God bless you, I'm praying too!

Danielle said...

Overjoyed to hear that sweet Ewan is beating all the odds and continues to do so well! Keeping the prayers up for all of you!

Tea said...

I'm so thankful for what God is doing!! I will keep you all in my prayers.

C Issler said...

I will continue to pray.

Anonymous said...

Glory be to God! Praying that weaning off ECMO will go smooth. The Power of Prayer is amazing to witness. Remember that some moments will be better than others but that is all part of the dance.

Ewan, Jesus has special plans for you, you little fighter. Show these doctors that prayers are just as powerful as medicine, sometimes even more so!

Kirsten and James, never ever give up hope for your son. Miracles happen every moment.

For these heartfelt, incredibly hard days you have Jesus. For through the rain you will see a rainbow.

Be blessed,

Shannon Egan

Joy said...

So thankful to hear that some peace in the moment has been found, and will continue to pray that it continues through out.

And many, many prayers for your little monkey are shooting heavenward! Grow in grace, Ewan...we're cheering for you!

christianne said...

That is SO AWESOME, Kirsten!! This update is amazing! I loved every minute of this post. Ewan is your fighter monkey!

We praise you, Jesus!

Ingrid's Organic Body Care said...

praying for you and so thankful to see what the Lord has done. so amazed at tiny shunts for a tiny heart. so thankful that your baby continues to improve. so glad you are looking to Jesus, may you life be a reflection of his goodness and mercy. team you-win (ewan)! i can't help but thing of that. our family will continue to pray for your family. sincerely, karen (leslie's sister)

Mary Ellen said...

I am a friend of Kristen and Kent's and came across your blog through her blog.
My thoughts prayers are with you and your beautiful baby boy Ewan right now. He sounds like a fighter and so do his Mommy and Daddy. :)

Wendy said...

We are constantly praying for all of you. Ewan is such a fighter and he is a true miracle. God works in AWESOME ways! Your blog gives us encouragement that our Little Jordan will be a fighter also. We will be leaving one week from today going to Atlanta to face the same unknown journey. God has is hands on everyone of our children. Many prayers for all of you!