From a race to a marathon

Dear friends,

Thanks for the inquiries about Madeline, it has been a while since I updated everyone. Madeline is doing good, she still has her ups and downs from day to day, most of these things seeming insignificant at this point. She goes up on her feeds, does well for a while, and then her numbers start going all over the place, they stop feeding her, start running tests, figure out the problem, solve it, and then start feeding her again. It’s mostly been some variation of this for the past week. The genetics fish test came back on Friday, but no Geneticists have come by to discuss the results yet.

Six weeks, that’s how old Madeline will be tomorrow. Sometimes it feels like she was born yesterday, sometimes it feels much longer than the 6 weeks that it has been. What once felt like a mad race how now turned into a marathon. There’s a lot less ups and downs going on from day to day and Lisa and I and the girls are settling down into a routine. My parents are in town now and plan to stay for a while and help out.

God has been so good to us through this. He has been faithful to hear our prayers and comfort our hearts. I see some of what He is doing through this, I have so much more to see. Some time ago I posted a song from Josh Wilson called “Before the morning”. Sometimes the lyrics in music see so poignant to our lives, this one song really seemed to speak to us, like he understood what we were going through…and he did! Lisa’s sister Linda called and told me that Josh Wilson had friends who had a baby with HLHS (Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome – Madeline’s original diagnosis), and their lives and faith and what they were going through was the inspiration for the song. So please listen to it again.

On YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qG1ThtgguE

The inspiration for the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPfzV3ktAPY

Meanwhile, please keep us in your prayers. Please keep praying for Madeline’s continued growth and health. Pray that God would continue to heal and strengthen her. Pray that God would heal her broken heart. Pray for that day when we can bring her home. Pray for Lisa and I, for strength and endurance, and for faith to trust in God who is mighty and merciful and good to all.

Grace,
Shanker & Lisa.