This is Joel writing. Thankyou to the hundreds and hundreds of people who were praying today. God chose not to do what a lot of us were praying for - heal Emily without surgery. We don't know why - he certainly can and does heal in this day and age, even in this part of the world. But He must have something bigger in mind. He is good. He is loving. And Emily came through surgery with much Grace! She now has a 2.5 cm (1 inch) Gore-tex shunt going from a branch in her aorta to her pulmonary artery. (No I didn't ask the surgeon if he had a spare shunt in his pocket for me to take home.) She is getting blood to the lungs and looking good.
After she was prepped for surgery this morning, just before they wheeled her off, Emily opened her eyes and looked right into ours. I felt like she was saying, "I'm going to be OK Mom and Dad." Looking for confirmation of the profound moment I asked Renee what she thought. She said it looked like she was screaming out, "Mommy - get me out of here!" Oh well.
Renee waited in the family waiting room while I drove back home to play football with Joshua for an hour like I had promised him I would. He is praying too that Emily would not be sick any more. Rachel is as sweet as ever.
Emily will be quite unconcious until sometime tomorrow, but all her stats are doing well. They will continue to drop dosages of the numerous medications and work toward getting her off the ventilator and being able to take breastmilk.
Thankyou again for praying.
Now we pray that Emily Grace will be able to eat well, and bond with you both, and that in the near future you will all be together as family back in your own home. We pray that the Lord will continue to give you that added strength that will be needed, patience with the other kids, and good rest whenever you can get it. Someday you will look back on this as a dim and distant memory, and the Lord will still be GOOD!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Dad from Nanton
We are grateful for Pat and Clyde with their hospitality; Debbie for being there continuously, looking after Joshua and Rachel; James for being there for you, and posting blogs when you couldn't. How much we rely on others to make life bearable. How great is the Family of God bearing the image of Christ who came not to be served but to serve! We wish we could be part of that front-line team, but are thankful that at least we can be part of the vast prayer backup.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you all!
Love again,
Dad in Nanton
We continue to offer up our praises to the Lord for His sovereign hand throughout this entire situation. "His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts." (Isaiah) Praise the Lord that Emily's heart now has what it needs to function properly.
ReplyDeleteWith the 7-10 recovery time, we realized that you may even be home in Grand Marais before we have a chance to visit you the weekend of the 21st!
So glad to hear that Emily came through the surgery well. It seems that she has lots of angels around taking care of her. We are praying for her speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming you all home. We cannot wait to meet Emily Grace!
ReplyDeleteLots of love
Raymond, Natasha, Willow and Olive
GOD is so good- HE does have a plan and a reason for each decision - it isn't easy for us to wait and learn, but you, Joel and Renee, have great faith -GOD knows this - HE blesses us all!! We read your blog with tears of joy. Emily Grace is so beautiful!! Welove you, Family of 5
ReplyDeleteGr Jean and Gr Jack
Joel and Renee,
ReplyDeleteI remember the prayers that I prayed for healing for my daughter, but He chose not to heal her either. She went through surgery and then a rough time in recovery. We didn't understand God's ways, but knew that we could rely on His Grace either way. I'm so glad that Emily is doing well after surgery. Open heart surgery can be very scarey. Your love for the Lord and testimony to His soveriegnty is a blessing. Hang in there.
Angie Hand
Joel & Renee,
ReplyDeleteThat is great! That is God bringing healing to your daughter too. I've been praying for you guys. I know that this has been a major trial, but you are allowing the trial to do what it was meant by the Lord, draw you closer to him. That is great!
Is Emily going to be in need of further medical attention, or was that the surgery that fixed everything? How do we keep on praying for her?