No news yet, talk of other babies.

Dear friends,

Madeline Grace is still in the fence. The next x-ray looked worse. The x-ray after that looked unchanged from the previous one. We are all watching and waiting. The surgeons continue to visit her about every 90 minutes to discuss any change in her condition, unfortunately & fortunately there is none. One highlight is that Madeline did pee, which is a good sign her kidneys are working fine.

While I wait, let me tell you about other babies around us in the NICU here at Children’s. Next door to us there is Grace. She has been here a little over a month and is stable but slow to gain weight. Across the hall is Angel, a young boy who is new to the NICU. He seems to be doing well.

On the other side of us is Able. Able came here a month ago on a bypass machine and with more syringe pumps than you could count. He wasn’t expected to make it. I began praying for him the day he got here, because you can’t ignore the bypass machine, it sounds like a commercial washing machine stuck on the spin cycle.

Today Able is a month old and has a new name, “Miracle Baby”. He is good and stable and being weaned off his vent. I think some people call him “Miracle Baby” maybe chalking it up to the wonders of modern medicine and the resiliency of babies today. I do believe that God intervened in Able’s life and performed that miracle which allows him to be alive today.

Across from us, next to Angel, is another Grace. She just got here this morning and has something wrong with her metabolism. I spent some time today talking with her older brother and grandmother, I told them I had noticed Grace and had been praying for her since she got here. Her mom is still at University Hospital where she delivered awaiting discharge. Grandma and brother left a little bit ago, grandmother came up to me, tears in her eyes, and told me that Grace isn’t going to make it. I told her that I would keep praying for Grace, and we’ll just see about that.

Add it up, there is Madeline Grace, two other Grace’s, and Able and an Angel all at the end of our hallway. What great company! I talked with Tessa today. She thinks Lauren might be discharged near the end of next week which means their whole family gets to go home to Montana. God is so good to us. Please continue to pray vigilantly for Madeline Grace, and the other babies here.

Grace,
Shanker & Lisa.