Providence, Patience, and Mountains

Very early on Tuesday morning of last week we discovered Kaleb's NJ tube had come out. I (Brittany) promptly took Kaleb to the ER to get it replaced while Todd stayed back with the kids. We were hoping it would be a quick fix and then I would be back home, but through the course of the day, the cardiology team expressed a desire to admit him to the ACCU in order to further monitor his condition. 

We were at that point on day seven of a cold Kaleb had caught from the kids, which produced a lot of mucus, spitting up, and rough breathing. Since he didn't seem to be getting better, Todd and I had already been talking about potentially bringing him in to be looked at. In God's providence, the decision was made for us and he was admitted around 6 PM that night. 

Today, one week later, Kaleb is still in the hospital. They have been able to draw labs, suction out his mucus, and perform chest PT and nebulizer treatments regularly. He has continued to have a fever off and on which they don't understand, so they've been checking him for pneumonia regularly. But his chest x-rays have come back inconclusive. since he continues to spike a moderate fever, they've decided to put him on antibiotics to see if he improves.

Please pray for God to heal his body and that he wouldn't develop pneumonia. His condition and his inability to recover from this sickness may indicate that he simply has a very small physiological reserve to battle sickness with or that he is developing pneumonia.

In God's kindness, earlier this month, some friends at Trinity Cambridge had invited us to join them for a weekend getaway at their family’s cabin in the mountains. After much prayer and talking with hospital staff it became clear it would be wise to take the opportunity to step away from the intensity of caring for Kaleb while he is in such good hands in order spend some focused time with Zion and River in nature. The trip was a massive blessing to us. It allowed us to decompress momentarily, build memories with dear friends and each other, as well as really savor our oldest two and how quickly they are growing!

Please pray: 

1. For quick resolution to Kaleb’s current sickness so he can come HOME. That it wouldn’t develop into pneumonia and that his breathing would continue to improve.

2. For comfort for our hearts as we’re missing Kaleb something fierce (Zion started crying in bed last night because he missed “my baby brother Kaleb” and River has not slept well since he was admitted).

3. For God to continue working in Zion’s heart. He’s been showing a lot of interest in the Bible and in praying and it’s bringing us a lot of joy! 

4. For peace to reign in our hearts, minds, and home as we once again live with the tension of part of our family being in another place. 

5. For perseverance for Todd as he continues to work in ever-changing circumstances at home. 

6. For continued opportunities to share the truth of Christ with those we meet in the hospital. 

7. We hope to share more on this soon, but be praying for a girl we met at church last week named Oyku. She’s Turkish and seems very interested in Christianity!

p.s. I shared some thoughts about this season when I was waiting in the ER with Kaleb on Instagram (and facebook) here.