One Week Old

Since Sarah wrote the last update, thought I would take my turn again. Today Elora is 1 week old. In some ways it seems as if the last week flew by and in other ways it feels like about a year's worth has happened. We are getting to know Children's Hospital quite well, and today took advantage of dinner provided by volunteers at the Ronald McDonald House. What an amazing place to help take care of the families who are working through some really tough situations. I especially appreciated it because I realize I haven't been eating very much over the past couple of weeks and I don't want to be skin and bones when Elora comes home.

Elora has shown some positive signs that are worth celebrating. She switched from a higher powered ventilator to the normal one that is in some ways less abrasive to the lungs. She has been responding well and they are setting the amount of help she has been receiving lower each day. There has even been talk of taking the breathing tube out in the next couple of days. In addition to this, we are still waiting to get the digestive system going and it is possible that we would begin giving her some milk in the next couple of days.

Beyond the positive signs, we did get some pretty big news that isn't so rosy. After a follow up brain scan, they have found that Elora has some bleeding in her brain. The amount appears to be fairly significant and this could cause some major issues for her long term. Many children who have similar bleeding end up developing cerebral palsy or other types of physical and/or cognitive disabilities. Needless to say we were pretty shocked and continue to work through this new information. These are the times in life when you ask yourself if you really believe in God or not. It's one thing to say "Thank you Jesus" when things are going well, and quite another when your heart is broken. We are choosing to step out into the space beyond what we can control, and ask God to intervene on our behalf and heal Elora's body. We have been humbled and encouraged by all who are partnering with us in asking for this as well.

I'll close by just saying that the song "Because He Lives" has been going over and over in my mind. There is an amazing version of this on YouTube by Kim Burrell (the best runs you will find anywhere), but these words have been particularly helpful in calming me down and grounding me in the reality that God loves us and can be trusted with the days to come, no matter the outcome.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know who holds the future
And life is worth the living, just because He lives.

God sent His son and they called him Jesus
He came to save, heal and forgive
He bled and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Saviour lives.