One day at a time

Every once in a while, Daniel and I stop and take a "thankfulness inventory".  We take turns saying things we're thankful for that day.  It is never hard to get a long list going, no matter how crappy or scary the day's circumstances have been.  For example, last night we got into the Ronald McDonald House!  We are able to stay there for the rest of the time Caleb is in the hospital, and it's really nice and only $15 a night.  And Jonah is able to stay there too.  That's one thing to be thankful for.  The biggest thing to be thankful for today is that Caleb has had two stable days in a row.  He is eating, talking, and even smiling!  When the doctors came in for rounds today they were very pleased with how well he's recovered from his cardiac arrest last week.  Thank God, there was no lasting damage to any of his body's systems.  

Caleb is stable enough to move out of the intensive care unit and up to the Heart Center, where he will spend the rest of his time here while waiting for a new heart.  We are very close to getting the approval from insurance and if all goes well, Caleb will officially be on the transplant list this week.  Our life will consist of a lot of waiting and praying over the next weeks.  We met with a member of the transplant team yesterday, a nurse named Debbie, who gave us some more information.  Here at Riley, they do on average about 5 heart transplants a year.  She said one child last year waited only a week for a new heart, and another waited 4 months.  There's no way to know how long it will take.  We are just so thankful that Caleb has stabilized to the point that he can get out of the ICU and can be in a much better room, where he will be able to get up and play some.  That will be good for morale, because he definitely wants to get up and out of this little room.

We are encouraged, and it's wonderful to have some uneventful days, but we know there are many more challenges ahead.  For now, we're enjoying some quiet time, some time to just be bored.  Boring is good!

Things to pray for today:

1- Pray for Caleb's spirits to stay up.  Pray for him to feel safe and secure, and to actually be able to laugh and play.

2- Pray for the insurance company to quickly approve us so we can get on the transplant list.

3- Pray for us to have wisdom to discern what to do with Jonah.  Pray for us to have as much time as possible as a family.

We love you all and are forever grateful for your support!