Heart of Beckett

UPDATE (3/24/13)

Praise the Lord for good days. Today was a much better day than yesterday. So, today they specifically said that after surgery for his g-tube, Beckett had fluid volume overload and his heart just didn’t have the strength to get rid of it on its own. The adjustments they made yesterday, including changes on the ventilator and medications, have really helped him. Beckett is definitely critically ill; in fact, his nurse said today that he is probably one of the sickest babies in the NICU because he is a heart baby, but currently he is a sick heart baby. The cardiologist came in today and said Beckett looks much better. She is still concerned, but was much more worried yesterday. The healthy perspective is to know Beckett is doing better and believe he will be healed of this, but to also know that things could turn bad very quickly. The cardiologist said we need to look for Beckett to turn the corner, and she believes he will. That is some seriously encouraging news.

Today Beckett has slept comfortably and been awake comfortably. He wasn’t poked and prodded too much, but rather was allowed to basically chill and recover. He received another blood transfusion to really give him a good boost. This just gives him some extra edge since he is currently sick. They were able to wean some of his vent settings because his blood gases were good. He is having really big diapers, which means he is peeing out the excess fluid. This is huge! One of the biggest successes of the day is the decrease in his oxygen support. Beckett’s oxygen saturation has been 78-81 for most of the day (we want 70-85), and his support was all the way down to 24% as we were walking out the door; we want 21% and he was as high as 74% yesterday.

With Beckett’s heart condition he doesn’t have a lot of reserve. Pretty much any little thing being out of line can really affect him. So, when he gets sick, it just tends to make him sicker than it would a normal kid, and when he is sick, it takes him longer to recover than a normal kid. So, Beckett is not out of the woods yet, but he is recovering, and we continue to believe he will be completely healed. So today was better than yesterday. I cannot even begin to describe what yesterday was like, and how emotional I was being at work with nothing but text message updates on how Beckett was struggling. First day back at work and I couldn’t even make it through an eight-hour shift. After six hours I headed back down to Indianapolis, and felt so much better once back in his room. So a big thank you to a job and coworkers who completely understand how difficult this is.

Last night I was lying in bed with my Bible asking God to show me something of encouragement. I simply opened my Bible and read the passage I had flipped to. This is what it said:

James 5:7-11, 13-15
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers,[a] until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 AND THE PRAYER OF FAITH WILL SAVE THE ONE WHO IS SICK, AND THE LORD WILL RAISE HIM UP.

— with Jonathan Rupp at St. Vincent’s Women’s Hospital.