Heartache & Hope

Heartache & Hope

Saturday morning, Kaleb finally got discharged after a week and a half stay at the hospital for his cold virus. We had a wonderful, full day finally being all together as a family. I (Brittany) participated in a women's event with our church in the afternoon, then two girls from our church came over to help out around the house while I got Kaleb settled into his home. And I sent Todd out to celebrate his birthday with a group of guy friends from church.

After an exhausting night with Kaleb being restless with congestion, a couple throw-ups, and a high heart rate, we hurtled into Sunday morning, getting prepared for church. Then around 6am Kaleb spiked another fever and his heart rate sat in the 180-190s for a couple hours. And then he pulled his NJ tube (feeding tube) out. Todd took Zion to church with him and I stayed at home with River to figure out the best plan of action. The inevitable conclusion was I had to take him in to the ER at 11am so they could replace it.

God blessed us with a seasoned nurse and thoughtful doctor who were very compassionate and helpful with our situation, but they couldn't get the tube down into his small intestine at the bedside and at the end of an exhausting day kaleb was admitted back into the ACCU to wait for an appointment with the radiology team (they need to use an xray to make sure they’re pushing it into the right place).

At the moment, we are disheartened, discouraged, disoriented, and weary. But we are also blessed and grateful beyond measure, particularly for the church.

• Rachel offered to take Zion home after church so Todd could help lead the men's meeting after church on Sunday. She fed him, and took him to the park.

• Bailey took a girl out to lunch that I was planning on having over after church.

• Charles walked over to the hospital in the evening when Todd discovered he didn't have a way of getting there, got River and me dinner, and was an extra set of hands while Kaleb was being admitted.

On the way home from the hospital I listened to "When Trials Come" by the Gettys and the last verse starts "I turn to wisdom not my own". It resonated with my heart because yesterday was a day I would not have planned as it happened. We don't know why God chose to give Kaleb such a broken body or why He sees fit for him to be in the hospital so much at such a formative time of his life. But his wisdom is not our own. God is perfectly wise and good, faithful and true. And we must rest in that today, as Kaleb's crib is once again sitting empty by our bed.

Please pray:

• Pray they are able to get his tube in sooner rather than later. He needs it for meds and food.

• Pray they are able figure out why his heart rate and fever are spiking once again and that he’s able to come home soon.

• Pray for faith and comfort for us. Having to leave Kaleb at the hospital once again weighs heavy upon our hearts.

• Kaleb’s new room is on a floor that’s shared with the CICU. Please pray we run into some of our nurse friends from the CICU so we can continue to invest in those relationships!