Not the moving day we are most excited about, moving Mayla
to our home, but super exciting none-the-less. Some of you may have already
seen that today Mayla was moved from ICU to neo-natal; for those that haven't,
you are now informed. It is amazing to me that we go from big-time struggles
one day, yesterday, to incredible growth (miracles) the next; seems like such a
big turn of events. As I finish that sentence I now begin to wonder why, why is
it amazing? It shouldn't be amazing at all, it should be expected. This is
exactly what we are praying for, and exactly what God says in His Word that He
wants to do. So why does it amaze? There could be a lot of reasons why it
amazes me, or Keri, or even you for that matter. Truth is, it amazes each of us
for different reasons. For me, well, I guess it's because I don't have faith as
big as a mustard seed, or that of a little child. I need to do some reflection
on exactly why that is for me and allow God to work on me in that area, if you
had a similar thought (e.g. that IS amazing; oh my goodness, I can't believe
it, etc.) maybe you should also do some reflection on why it amazes you too. We
believe this situation is bigger than me, Keri, or Mayla, but I have been
learning plenty along the way, and obviously have more to learn from this.
Given this short reflection, I now restate that I am in awe of Him. I'm in awe
of how He heals, the way He works, and how He loves. I'm humbled by His
goodness and faithfulness. And I celebrate the work he does, as I'm sure you
do.
To recap all He has done today (miracles and blessings), the
first move of the day to a separate room in the ICU that is significantly more
peaceful for us and Mayla, the most obvious is the move to neo-natal, since
having been there Keri was again able to attempt nursing and has begun having
success, in addition to nursing, Mayla has been otherwise feeding entirely from
the bottle, she is on the least amount of oxygen possible, her remaining
catheters have been removed, we can pick her up out of bed at any time, we can
even walk around with her (albeit in a 1 meter diameter circle, but we can, so
we win), she is resting peacefully without the aid of drugs, Auntie Suz could
hold her too, and I'm probably missing some others; today has been a big day
for all of us. As we prayed over Mayla and said good-night, I couldn't help but
think about how blessed we are. Less than a week ago, Mayla had open heart
surgery at the age of 8 days. This is an incredibly invasive surgery, and
mighty complicated. Just a few days later, she is off all meds, including pain
meds, moved from intensive care to neo-natal where we are able to begin
parenting and the doctor has already mentioned going home, even if in the
context "could be 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, we just don't know", but
he said going home. As we prayed I was humbled at Mayla's progress, especially
considering the length of time some of the other neo-natal patients have been
there. We are not lucky, nor are we better than anyone else, for some reason,
we were chosen to be blessed with this progress and we are so thankful for it.
This doesn't mean that it is all lemon cake and peanut M&M's from here.
There is still a lot to do before we can take our girl home. Mayla's lungs and
heart must be strengthened so she needs no oxygen assistance at all, even when
she is in her deepest of sleeps, we must be able to feed her fully without the
aid of a feeding tube (which they did put back in by the way), remnants from
surgery (i.e. the incision) must be healed. This will take time and we know
there may be set-backs, but we will face any and all set-backs in the
foot-prints and dust of the Father.
We continue to be moved by the love and support of so many
people around the world (that's crazy to even think about saying). Our church
family here in Zürich has done more for us than we could have ever imagined,
food, meals, prayers, the use of cars, and more. We get messages daily, from
people we've never met, that are praying for us and little Mayla. It is very
humbling to know so many are praying for us, for the other patients, for the
staff here, and more. The prayers and messages continue to strengthen Keri and
I and have enabled us to do more than we ever thought possible in this situation.
We have said to each other many times, I can't believe she is only
"X" days old. We, as a family, have been through so much, and I can't
help but sense there is much more to come.
As we close for this evening, and hopefully make it to bed
before midnight, I would like to thank all of you out there working in the
medical profession. Especially those of you working with infants and children.
Knowing that not all NICU units are created equal, we were moved today by the
love, compassion, and tenderness the doctors and nurses treat Mayla with and
want you to know we are forever grateful not just to ours, but also to all of
you. You all have a special place in our hearts and the work you do affects
more than just the patients, but all those that the lives of the patients
touch, especially families. The Bible is clear that children hold a special
place in the heart of our Lord, and those that care for children play an
important role in making sure those places are full. Thank you!
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Wonderfully spacious, and quiet (thank you Mayla), temporary
housing...
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Moving to Neo-Natal.
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Being fitted into her 2-4 month onesy, AT 2 WEEKS!!!
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Removing the final catheter, woohoo!
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drink girl, drink!
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Front-runner for Auntie of the year. Of course, it helps
being the only Auntie to actually see Mayla in the flesh, but there is still
plenty of time for the others to "catch-up", no pressure...
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Some people love them so much they want to eat them, others
want to jump in their bed which is big enough for them and four stuffed
animals.
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