Heart of Beckett

Great Inspiration:

Sanctus Real — with Leah ‘Whiteley’ Rupp at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

You’ve got “All of Me”, Beckett…no holding back! Love you son! — with Leah ‘Whiteley’ Rupp at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

UPDATE (1/11/13) -last one for the night?-

Sooo, he’s open AND closed right now. His sternum isn’t pulled back together (as in, he’s ‘open’), but they have closed his skin to help prevent infection. He is stable and doing ‘good’…but the Doctor’s words were direct and challenging. We were told, ‘it’s up to him now’ (which was eerily similar to when we were pulling him off Ecmo this morning). We are thrilled he’s officially off Ecmo, yet all-the-more anxious to sleep tonight while he is fighting this ‘on his own’ (however ‘…the battle is not yours, but God’s’, right?! – 2 Chronicles 20:15). The ‘plan’ for this weekend is to relax and allow for the swelling to go down some more and allow Beckett to slowly gather his strength and independence. I really appreciate you all laboring over this with us, it has really helped us be reminded that we are not fighting this alone. ‘Please Beckett, you can do this. This battle is not yours, but the Lords. Hang in there bud!’ -Dad — with Leah ‘Whiteley’ Rupp at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

UPDATE (1/11/13) -again-

Sooo, they did end up closing Beckett’s chest this morning after successfully taking him off of Ecmo, which was both extremely exciting and very scary all at the same time. After spending considerable time in his room with him afterwards hearing many good reports, one of the Docs suddenly came in the room already on the phone with the surgeon. Upon hanging up, she explained that they feel it’s necessary to reopen Beckett’s chest again. This was certainly not the news we were hoping to hear (in fact, this is quite discouraging). Though we are trying to hang on to the good news of pulling Ecmo off Beckett this morning, we are now ‘grieving’ the most recent news of reopening his chest. It’s hard not to perceive this as a step backwards. Clearly I was eager to share the ‘great’ news with y’all this evening, but unfortunately it is now packaged with this minor setback. Thanks again for hanging in there with us. Much Love… — with Leah ‘Whiteley’ Rupp at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

UPDATE (1/11/13)

Leah and I woke up bright-n-early this morning to take some time to pray, read some scripture, listen to some worship music and journal. We just sat in Beckett’s room just waiting….and waiting, and waiting. Leah and I had to leave briefly for individual reasons in which I then returned to see Beckett’s room full of Doctors and Nurses. They saw me in the hallway and said, ‘we just clamped him off…we’re testing him right now’. I then text Leah to get back to his room ASAP and that they just ‘clamped’ his Ecmo. After minutes of just standing in the room with all the Docs just staring at Beckett’s monitors, the lead Doc turned to us and said, ‘looks like he is going to be ok’. ….whew…. Though I still feel on edge, we are being told that he will be taken off Ecmo today!!! Additionally, they may even close his chest (but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there). Thank you all for the prayers and support (as always). Though today is far from over, we couldn’t be more thrilled with how it is starting (please keep praying for a ‘milestone’ day)! ….what a stud! — with Leah ‘Whiteley’ Rupp at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

UPDATE (1/10/13) -again-

Another good day. Docs and Nurses keep saying how good he looks. Earlier today they had to exchange a section of his Ecmo line (aka: Ecmo gets turned off for the duration of the ‘fix’), and he did very well (for those few minutes) all on his own. Though he is trending perfectly, the Doctor still explained that they can never fully anticipate if he will/can ‘do it’ on his own.

We are being told that the day may begin around 7:00am tomorrow morning, and there is a chance that he will not only be taken off Ecmo tomorrow, but that he may even get his chest closed up (hopeful, but not expecting). We are going to do our darnedest to sleep well tonight, but I’m sure it may be slightly restless (restless prayer, that is – 1 Thessalonians 5:17). I’ll try to send an update at some point tomorrow (morning), but I can’t promise I’ll be super punctual. 😉 Goodnight friends! — with Leah ‘Whiteley’ Rupp at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

UPDATE (1/10/13)

Beckett had another good night last night, which is awesome! Today they will begin to ‘aggressively’ wean him off of Ecmo. As they are optimistic to wean successfully throughout the day and night, they are projecting to take Beckett off of Ecmo tomorrow morning. (here is where the news becomes more challenging to process) They are fairly confident that they will know by tomorrow morning if Beckett can do this on his own….or not. If he cannot, there is really nothing more they can do for him. We are asking for a miracle and are pressing deep into our faith praying Matthew 6:10. Please join us (as many of you have) during these critical hours leading into tomorrow morning. Thank you friends (and Family) for everything, this has been a crazy journey…but we aren’t done yet (and won’t be for another 70-80 years!). I love you, Beckett! — with Leah ‘Whiteley’ Rupp at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.

UPDATE (1/9/13) -again-

Well, it’s been a pretty uneventful day. Beckett has been resting to gain back his strength to hopefully be taken off Ecmo tomorrow (though that has not been officially announced yet…plans change quickly around here). We have enjoyed the semi-‘stressless’ day, but are eager to obtain a substantial ‘win’ by successfully coming off Ecmo. Day-by-day we continue to learn patience, though some days are better than others. Pray for a restful night for lil Beckett and a successful ‘win’ coming off Ecmo sometime soon. Love y’all, goodnight! — with Leah ‘Whiteley’ Rupp.