Katie and I are in the PICU (that's the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) at the Peyton Manning's Children's Hospital. I'm sitting on Peyton's couch watching Caleb. We watched the Sunday service at our home church streaming live on our new computer (Thanks, UJ and AJ!). We're thankful for the technology that both keeps us connected to the world and sustains our son. God, in his wisdom and foresight, made a world where all this is possible: A world where the stuff that makes up rocks and earth could be molded into computer chips and oxygen monitors. I marvel at the depth of possibility in his creation. This earth is literally filled with the evidence of His creative glory.
Caleb spent Saturday breathing on his own (without ventilator)! Saturday was a great day. Jonah met his little brother for the first time. Katie got to hold Caleb for the first time since Thursday. Our small group came by and we worshipped God in the chapel and had communion (a.k.a. dinner at Chipotle). By last night, Caleb was struggling to breathe. He heaved his entire body into a single breath. It was so painful to watch... I sent out a text for people to pray, and (seriously) he calmed down and breathed normally for a few hours.
The reality is that Caleb needed to be back on the ventilator to continue resting, recovering from surgery, and adjusting to the changes in his heart. Breathing on his own was wearing him out. The nurse re-intubated him at 1:30 am. The doctor said it's common for babies to fail the first extubation. Interestingly, white males are most likely to fail. This trend is well documented in PICU circles -- around here, it's known as the "wimpy white boy" phenomenon. Girls and non-caucasian boys are more likely to succeed at their first attempt off of the ventilator. Katie commented that the trend continues into adulthood for most of us. What a jokester! sigh... she's kind of right.
Caleb will be on the ventilator for another couple of days. He's (finally) on a feeding tube connected to huge plastic syringe full of Katie's milk! That's exciting. 1) Please keep praying for his strength and improvement. 2) Pray for God to sustain the life in his lungs and heart. 3) Pray for the success of the next extubation. Failing the next attempt at getting off of the ventilator could point to more heart issues & more hospital time.
Please keep our family in your prayers. As parents, this is inexplicably difficult. All these ups and downs (though Caleb seems to trend toward improvement) are beginning to wear on us... especially Katie this time. 4) Continue to pray for encouragement/faith and against depression/doubt.
Daniel
February 6
Praying God's will!
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