September 30 9:20 PM

Hello friends,
Here I am once again at bedtime trying to fill you in.  We had a pretty peaceful day today, except for the fact that Micah did not get time in his favorite chair today as it had been taken to another floor.  He was a bit upset about that.  He did though get to go to the therapy room which was full of all sorts of interesting things.  I found the room much more interesting than Micah though all he wanted to do was sleep because he had just had his medication and had just eaten - not the best time to do PT.  He is still on an antibiotic, but the preliminary blood results have come back negative for any infection.  He will stay on this until the final results are in.  This is a carry over from the Sunday night fiasco we had when they were checking everything they could to make sure there were no infections anywhere.  
Here is a small miracle for you - we were told that the docs wanted to take Micah for some x-rays on his neck at 3 PM today and they actually showed up at 3 PM!!!!  They were doing some flex & extension x-rays to check the part where he had the swelling and I believe that we still had four weeks left with the C-collar (neck brace) on, but by 5:30 ish it he had been cleared and the collar removed!  Thank God, that collar has been a great source of irritation for me from the time it was put on.  


I wanted to share with you a response that I got to the green olive tree last evening, I went to bed on this one so I'm hoping that it will be a good one for you to go to bed on tonight...


Just this thought: When God works slowly, he is also working grandly. Olive trees grow slowly, live hundreds of years, still bearing fruit. 



Goodnight to each of you and God bless you all richly!  
I'll try to not keep you all waiting so long tomorrow.
Much love,
Tina

September 29 6:30 PM

Hi friends,
Sorry I've kept everyone waiting all day.  I was in an ill humor this morning and then had guests today so I'm just now getting to this.  I must admit to you, that this morning I told God, "God, I'm tired of blessing everyone with this blog, I just want my boy back!"  That was horrible I know, just trying to be honest.  I got over my pity party though and was able to bring my focus back where it was supposed to be to begin with.  One thing I have noticed when I'm trying to deal with Micah is that I always want to fix what is hurting, and when I can't I get frustrated and then just want to find something to distract me from his pain.  Did that make any sense?  If I can't fix it then I want to pretend that it is not there, sad, but true.  Funny thing is, when I pretend it's not there, it doesn't go away!  So today I was trying to pretend it wasn't there and God said, "why don't you focus on me instead.  It may appear that your son is in pain, but in reality he's with me, so why don't you spend that time with me also?"  Ouch!  So guess what I did?  I got still and listened and what I heard was 
Ps. 52:8-9
"But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;  I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.  I will praise You because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on our name, for it is good."
I don't know if this is a blog repeat, a repeat for me or if it is something that someone else gave me, but it is not the first time this week that I had this verse.  So I'm wondering what it means to be like a green olive tree in the house of God?  I'll tell you what I have learned thus far and if you have any insights into this then please share.  Olive trees will grow where other trees cannot, hard rocky soil for example.  There is not a part of them that is not put to use, wood for furniture, leaves are medicinal, fruit for food and oil.  The olive straight from the tree is inedible unless something is done to change or transform it.  For example, if it is crushed we can get the oil from it and we all know how good olive oil is for many different things.  Or it could be soaked in a brine to make it edible.  Either way it has to go through some sort of transformation to be usable.  What I'm getting from this is that we must be cut down, pruned, crushed plucked, etc...in order for God to be able to use us.  None of that sounds like anything I want to have done to me, it all sounds painful. But if the ax or pruning shears (whatever) are in the hands of the Master then we know that whatever pain may come is going to be used to bring more life than was there before. So therefore we must trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.  If He is doing it then it has to be good no matter what it looks or feels like to us.  So though it is hard and we cry (a lot) we wait on You Lord, for You are good.


As for Micah he has had a good day pretty peaceful today.  Almost got a smile, but not quite.  He did try to do some gymnastics in his bed while I was out of the room and I think that the nurse was a little worried that I was going to bite her head off when I found out.  She looked a little sheepish and conveniently disappeared while someone else told me about his tricks.  I was nice and he is tough so all is good.  
By the way thanks so much to whoever it was that mowed the grass for us, may the goo Lord bless you!
Love you all,
Tina

September 28 3:30 PM

The good news:  We are back from the OR, there was no leakage from the stomach but they did go ahead and put in a few more stitches to make sure everything would be secure and they replaced the long dangling tube with a more secure button.  They thought they were going to have to redo everything, but did not have to and he had actually done quite a lot of healing, so much so that the doctor said that he could go ahead and resume his feeds instead of doing the normal work up to it regimen of IV fluids one day, pedialite the second day and so on.  


The bad news:  he lost another permanent tooth : (  and a few others are loose so we are trying to get some help in saving them.


Thanks for the prayers we truly appreciate them. 

September 27 1:00 PM

headed to the OR

September 28 8:10 AM

Good morning friends,

Not much has changed since Thomas' post, I didn't realize that he posted til just now as, strangely enough, after registering all my complaints with my Father last night (and they were many) I had one of the most restful nights sleep I've had since I've been here.  Isn't that just like God?  Thomas will be going to the holding room with Micah this morning despite his lack of sleep,  he said that he would sleep later.  He does much better with lack of sleep than I do so today he is going to be here for the surgery he missed a week ago.  As of 4 in the morning we were first on the schedule, but we still have to wait for the night shift to finish up there stuff and if there were any emergencies that came through in the evening then that will push us back also.  So as usual, we will have to sit & wait.

Last night I was getting angry because we could see our son was in great distress and we couldn't get anyone to take care of the problem.  Even when we could get someone in the room, they honestly did not seem to know what to do and most of them said nothing.  I kept thinking how different it was in the PICU (almost wishing we were back there for a few minutes, that's scary) because I knew that if we were there they would know immediately what was wrong and what to do.  When our doc finally came and saw what we were seeing she immediately said, "I'm going down to the PICU to make sure that we are doing everything we need to be doing" then I breathed easy for the first time.  The brought this big velcro wrap to put around Micah's midsection so that he could not move the tube any further, which miffed both of us.  Why was this not done after his first surgery when I told them that his arms were a source of trouble as he kept them on his abdomen since getting his operation???  All of this could have been avoided.  Anyway, the PICU doc came up took one look and told them what was wrong and fixed the problem.  For those of you wondering, an NG tube is the feeding tube that goes through the nose.
So you can see now why I was wanting to be in the PICU last evening, instead the PICU came to us.  What our nurses & doc struggled to control over hours they fixed in 5-10 minutes.  That difference was in my thoughts the whole time we were waiting on someone to do something.  I knew that PICU could fix it because that was their specialty.  So this morning I am wondering what, as christians is our "specialty"?  I believe that it would have to be breathing life into dead things.  We all have our own ways to do that, just as each doctor had his specialty.  A surgeon  cannot help with neuro problems and a regular floor doctor cannot help with critical care no matter how upset I get about it.  So I believe that the appropriate verses to go along with this would be found in I Cor. 12 where it talks about the diversity of gifts.  I'm going to quit now because I don't feel like preaching, I'll let each of you take what you want from this.

Blessings,

Tina

Monday, September 28th, 3:30am

Today has been a rough day.  We started out this morning trying to get some physical therapy going but Micah wasn't responding too well so we decided to let him rest. He was restless and kicking in a rhythmic fashion pretty much all morning. We had some company who prayed some heartfelt prayers for us around noon. In the afternoon his temp began to rise slowly but steadily. Around 5pm Micah gets his dose of medicine that keeps his posturing under control and he was somewhat calm. They drew some blood for cultures, spinal fluid to check for meningitis and urine to check for infection.  He accidently pushed on his G-tube and it is not where it is supposed to be. They cannot get anything in or out through his G-tube. This causes another set of problems since all of his food and medication and going in that tube. So after his dose at 5 (which we are assuming went to the right spot) we are in a state of limbo while trying to figure out what to do without the G-tube. Meanwhile his temp has been climbing and he is hyperventilating (heart rate over 180) which goes on for about a couple of hours. Finally the floor docs go for help and get a doc from critical care (who happened to be the one who was on call most of the time when Micah was in the same unit). The G-tube is unusable till surgery re-operates so they get permission to put an NG tube in just for meds. He is finally back on his cycle of meds and stabilizing. His spinal fluid, urine all come back negative for infection. He is first on schedule for surgery in the morning if all holds steady. I have been on my feet from 5pm to past 2am, most of the time holding Micah's hand to prevent him from further stressing his G-Tube. It has been a long day! I sent Tina to bed  a while ago. The Lord is blessing her with sleep.
   During all this time I have been having a conversation with the Lord about how He thinks this particular episode is supposed to bring glory? I don't have an answer. But I do know one thing - I can trust Him. See, I hear this undercurrent in conversations here about how we need be realistic in our expectations and plan to see normal results with Micah's situation. You see, I am not content with that. If all I can expect of God is what normal can offer, I should hang up my Christianity and move on to something else! If all we can expect of God is what man can see and do then we are of all men to be pitied. Jesus call us to believe that all things are possible and our first expectation should be to see the impossible happen. Even if we don't see it, we should not expect or believe any less of Him. Our calling is always to excellence and to the supernatural. So I have faith and believe that my Lord with work everything out for good - for He is good. It may not always be the results or methods that I prefer but as long as it is His doing, IT IS GOOD. God is faithful and He can be trusted to do the best thing for us and with us.
I am going to try and get some sleep!
Shalom
Thomas

September 27 12:20 AM

It would seem that for the last 40 min. that we have started having some more of the thalamic storms.  Not as bad as when they first started, but not any easier to watch.  Heart rate is going wild, posturing, laying on a cooling mat and sweating.  We're afraid he is going to hyperventilate before they can get some meds to him.  
The surgeons said that the tube is in the stomach, but they cannot tell if it is in the right place so they have put him on the schedule for tomorrow (sometime).  They are going to make an incision in the middle so they can look to see if the tube is where it is supposed to go.  Scratch that last sentence, they are going to redo the g-tube.  


I want to sit in a corner and cry, but God won't let me.  We are begging for mercy just to calm this child.  I don't think I've ever done anything harder in my life than to watch my child suffer, it is gut wrenching. Our doc has just gone down to consult with the PICU docs, please keep praying for us.
Trying to trust and not be anxious,
Tina

September 27 11:00 PM

The spinal tap is over, no results yet.  It was done as a precautionary step in finding out where the fever is coming from.  The tube is still in the stomach, we are waiting on a surgeon to come up and check on it.  One has already been up and when he checked it it leaked on the outside so I still don't know what the steps are to fix the problem.  Hopefully it will be non-surgical.  He has been given some pain meds just now and we are very anxiously waiting on them to take affect.  He is in a great deal of pain right now, heart pounding.  We are having to hold his hands until he relaxes so that he doesn't do any further damage to the tube.

September 27 8:50 PM

Morphine & a spinal tap on the way.  Next will be a contrast study, sending dye through tube to see where fluid is going, then depending on the results, down to the OR.  Please pray, he is in a lot of pain.

September 27 8:30 PM

The tube has definitely been pulled back so now they are checking to see if the inside parts are still in place, if not, then he will go back to surgery tonight.

September 27 6:30 PM

Dear friends,
Our little guy has had a rough day today.  His temp. has been slowly climbing and he has not been very alert.  He became agitated in the night and it has slowly increased also.  There is some concern that there is a problem with his G-tube.  Not sure what is going on, his feeds went well and his meds went in well, but now the tube is not working and there is a slight bulge around it.  We have to wait on someone from surgery to come look at it.  It is either clogged or leaking.  Clogged can be fixed, leaking will require more surgery most likely.  I will try to let you know when we find out  what is going on.
Thanks for your prayers,
Tina


I just heard the nurses say that they have ordered an x-ray. I forgot to mention they have been checking for infections due to the fever.  Urine was clear, white blood count was high, but could be due to the surgery.  Doing a check for flu and Thomas just said that they are thinking of doing a spinal tap (I hope not).

September 26 10:15 PM

Hi friends,
I have a prayer request, more for the parents than the child.  Though the days have gotten a little better for us, the nights have been harder.  I don't know if Micah has his times confused much like a baby would, but we are not getting much sleep.  It seems about the time we want to lay down he sill wake up and usually not in a good mood.  It's always one of his times when we can do absolutely nothing to please him and he will make his noises and kick his feet, he hurt one of them he kicks so hard!  Tonight we are trying to wedge pillows everywhere we can to prevent him from further harming his feet and legs.  If we just lay them around him he kicks them all off in the floor so we are trying to get creative with where we put them.  This goes on for a half hour to an hour at a time, several times a night.  Thomas got up with him most of last night, but I was so tired this morning that I literally could not see straight.  So, please pray that this would end, all three of us need more rest.  Thanks again for all your support.
Love you all,
Tina

September 26 3:00 PM

Hello friends,
We are having a good day thus far, despite the lack of sleep last night.  We got more smiles today, yeah!!  He even smiled at our visitors this afternoon and she thought that he tried to say "hi".  The doctor has changed Micah's feeding schedule so that there are times during the day when he is hooked up to nothing and we can take him out of the room and roll him around in the therapy chair that he seems to really like being in.  He is getting his PT in his chair right now and they are going to try to stand him up right now (assisted of course) so I will try to give you the play by play.  


He likes the relaxing the arms exercise, smiling and watching Dad play peek-a-boo behind the PT.  
All belts off and we're getting his back off the chair to see if he will help sit up.  She is holding under the arms and wanting him to hold up his head, which he is not wanting to do right now.  She is trying to teach him that he can hold his head up without kicking out his feet.  
Up  we go........smile, grimace, he can't decide.  Sit back a little, smile, that was fun!  He liked it!


Now we're going to try again with one person on either side (r&l) instead of front & back.  I had to go straighten his foot and hold it down as the right one wanted to roll to the outside and he wanted to put most of his weight on the left leg.  With stimulation to the backside in the form of a pat or goose to the bum he would straighten himself up and pull up his head.  He definitely liked that a lot!  Lots of smiles!  I hope it was the standing he liked and not the patting and goosing LOL!


Well that was a lot of fun I wish you could have seen it with me, but hopefully that play-by-play will do for now until you can see him yourself.  By the way he is still smiling, every touch is funny today, what a blessing.


This is a little long, but my hymn for the day was a version of the 23rd Ps. called "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" so I'm going to include it.


The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His, 
And He is mine forever.


Where streams of living water flow,
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.


Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed,
But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.


In death's dark vale I fear no ill 
With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.


Thou spread'st a table in my sight;
Thy unciton grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From Thy pure chalice floweth!


And so through all the length of days 
Thy goodness faileh never:
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
Within Thy house forever.


-Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877)


Blessings to you all,
Tina

September 25 10:30 PM

Dear friends,
Sorry I did not get to this sooner, it was a busy day today.  Filled with therapy, talks with docs, nurses, case managers & good friends.  Even now it is still not quiet as Micah has decided to wake up from what I was hoping was going to be an all night sleep : (  He had a very good day that I was hoping would tire him out as he did not sleep well last night.  Everyone that came in today was commenting on how good Micah looked today, how alert, etc...  That was good to hear from others, mom's can be a bit prejudiced about their kids.  My biggest source of frustration right now (for him also) is that he cannot tell me what is hurting.  All he can do is make noises, we can usually tell if he is angry or hurting or simply making noise, but that's about it.  Sometimes it seems like his frustration comes from being trapped inside a body that he cannot control.  There is nothing I can do to make it better so we pray, we cry and we pray some more.  Only God understands what is going on inside that boy and I have to believe that it is for the glory of God though it may seem like he is tormented at times.


One of the main things that I'm bothered by, besides wanting complete healing for Micah, is that this weekend is sort of a deadline for us.  The hospital has done all they can do for Micah and if God does not intervene then we have to make a decision.  They want us to do an in-patient therapy for Micah and from what we hear it is a great thing.  The problem is that there is not one in the state of TN.  The closest ones are St. Louis & Atlanta and with somewhere between a 4 - 12 week stay that would require me and the kids to move to that locale while Thomas stays here for work and visits us on the weekends.  So we would be looking at another 1-3 months of are family being split up.  At this point we have to do what is best for Micah, but the thought of it makes me very sad as all I want is to be together with my family in my house.  Please keep praying for us as it has already been so hard for us being split up for these 2 weeks.  


"For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.  Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."            Romans 8:24-28


May the Lord bless you all,
Tina

September 24 10:32 AM

I just went back to the bed and Micah was still looking pleased and I talked to him and he smiled with dimples more than once!  


God is doing something, pray, Micah is crying.

September 24 10:30 AM

Micah just smiled at us, not quite big enough to show the dimples, but definitely a smile!! 
Thank you Jesus!

September 23 9:00 pm

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know how Micah's day went.  The morning started with him kicking so hard that he was rocking the bed, there is nothing wrong with his legs!!  He was a little irritable most of the early morning, understandable after a surgery.  When the PT came in to work the muscles in his legs I was a bit worried that he would give her a kicking, but he relaxed and did quite well for her.  We then got him up in his chair and thank God I was watching because his whole face changed when he sat up!!  It was so wonderful to see, his eyes were happy which made mom very happy.   He got a good scrubbing today too which made everyone happy!  He is still experiencing some discomfort from the G-tube surgery but all in all he had a good day.   I was in the room almost the whole day today & had a friend with me and what I noticed was that he seemed to be more aware of his surroundings.  He was looking all around the room and at one point got a bit upset, I think that he maybe realized his room was pink!  


We have received cards form all over and from people we have never met.  I try to read them all to Micah when he is awake.  We appreciate so much your love for us and the prayers that are being lifted to our Father in heaven on behalf of the son that He has entrusted us with.  There are literally thousands of people around the world praying for Micah!  That alone blows my wee little mind!!  Imagine what would happen if we could unite people to pray like this for the lost or for a city?  What kind of change could we make in our own little towns if we were to unite with our brothers despite the names in front of our churches and pray in agreement for our cities.  I think much more could be accomplished this way than boycotting a product or store would ever do.  We pray and change the hearts of the people one by one.  


When the neurologists were checking Micah they were always looking for what they called purposeful movement.  It's not a reaction, but a purposeful response to a given situation.  They did not want to see him pull away when hurt, they wanted to see him go after what was hurting him.  I think that there is a good lesson in that for all of us.  We need to quit reacting to all the things happening around us and start making some purposeful responses.  In our case that would be purposeful prayer.   I'm going to attempt to explain this in "sporting terms":  A good defensive player will block the offensive players, but will most likely be giving up a little ground each time as he is waiting for the play to come to him.  A great defensive player will be ever watching and able to anticipate the offensive teams moves as they unfold and thereby keep them from advancing.  They will make purposeful movement to keep the opposing team from advancing.   When fighting a battle we cannot take a stance and wait to be hit, we must come out swinging.  


Sorry, I didn't mean to get so long and preachy, but I've had this purposeful movement thing stuck in my head for the last couple of days and thought I should share it.  May the Lord bless each of you with the warrior spirit that you will need to fight the good fight each day.
Blessings,
Tina  

September 23 9:30 AM

Good morning to you all,
I'm a little tired this morning, but will be alright.  Micah later into the evening was a bit restless and kept getting his legs stuck down the side of the bed.  He also slept with both arms across his belly last night, his protective stance.  The surgery doctors came in around 7 and said that everything looked good so the nurses would start feeding him again today, yeah!  I think his problem right now is that he is hungry, which is making him quite irritable.  


Someone had asked about our other children.  They are at their grandparents in IL right now having a great time.  They love to visit there and have been fishing and I think were going to go to a lake and go out on a boat.  Abigail caught a 2 ft. long catfish the other day!  I asked her if she ate it and she said, "No, gross!  I put it back in the pond!"  Her Ammachi will be heartbroken when she hears this.  Sometime this weekend they are going to go to my sisters house and visit with their cousins that they hardly ever get to see.  They are very excited about that!  I tried to talk to all of them yesterday, but then the surgery team showed up and whisked us away so I will try to finish that today, after Micah has had something to eat.  Maybe he won't be so grouchy on the phone then and can make some of his nicer noises.  I'm going to get out of the room for a minute before another doctor or therapist catches me.


How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fears.


It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the troubled breast;
Tis manna to the hungry soul
And to the weary, rest.


- John Newton


Blessings to you all!
Tina

September 22 8:30 PM

Good evening friends,
I had thought today was going to be spent sitting in the room with Micah waiting on the docs. but it turned out quite different.  Thomas left this morning at 7:30 to head back to Jackson as we thought that it would be late afternoon or even tomorrow before Micah's surgery came around.  Instead, about 9:30 (just as Thomas got back to Jackson) a bunch of ladies showed up at the door, no warning at all, and said we're here to take Micah to the O.R.  I was a little upset with them, but what to do.  By 10 or a little after we had gotten to the holding room and did not get back to surgery til 12:30.  He was done by 1:50 and after another 1 1/2 hours I got to go back and see him.  By 5 we were back in out own room.  Everything went well, the tooth had already dislodged itself which I had suspected and to quote some scripture for you, "this to shall pass..." : )  Micah has been resting fairly comfortably since the surgery and will probably do so until tomorrow morning sometime.  


Probably the hardest part of the day for me, besides the waiting, was when I saw a little boy being wheeled out of the hospital in a wheel chair with a big smile on his face.  That's what I want to see, my boy leaving the hospital with a big smile on his face.  Micah is a very smiley boy and 12 days has seemed like an eternity.  " How long O Lord...?"


I have to believe that He sees my darkness  
I have to believe that He knows my pain
I have to lift up my hands to worship
Worship His name
I have to declare that He is my refuge
I have to deny that I am alone
I have to lift up my eyes to the mountains
It's where my help comes from
He said He's forever faithful
He said He's forever true
He said that He can move mountains
And if He can move mountains
He can move my mountains
He can move your mountains too
I have to stand tall when the wind blows me over
I have to stand strong when I'm weak and afraid
I have to grab hold, hold of the garments
Garments of praise 
I have to sing praise when the hour is midnight
He unlocks the chains that bind up my soul
My sin and my shame He has forgiven 
And made me whole
I have to believe


- Rita Springer


Blessings to each of you,
Tina

September 21 10:20 PM

Hello friends,

We have had a busy day today talking to many doctors, case workers & friends.  Today was to be the day of the tooth removal, etc... but and emergency case came in so we were bumped to "maybe tomorrow".  It turns out this was a good thing as the doctors had forgotten to run a trial on Micah to see if he was going to be able to tolerate food going directly to the stomach before putting the feeding tube in!  Our nurses caught that, we really like the nurses a lot.  They did the trial today and it has gone very good, he showed some signs of discomfort at first but that quickly resided and he has been at rest then rest of the evening.  We had a good visit with a couple of families and then later in the evening our doctor friend came in to visit bearing coffee, thanks Clay!  

We are trying to take our days one at a time.  Today I helped change Micah several times and did not cry once.  Last night I learned to give his meds to him and tomorrow I plan on learning as much from the nurses as I can.  We see small improvements (in our eyes) each day, different ways he responds and tries to communicate to us.  He gets frustrated and a lot of times we do to because we can't always find out what is bothering him.  It's how a lot of you have expressed your feelings for us, "we want to help, but we don't know what to do".  Believe me, knowing that you want to means a lot to us and we hope that Micah understands that we want to help but don't always know how also.  Just now he was frustrated and I couldn't figure out what was wrong, a minute later his food kicked on and he go quiet.  He was hungry I suppose, but he couldn't tell me that.


This is the first time in ten days that food is going into his stomach and it is going well, but at midnight he gets cut off and goes to fluids (in case he gets to have his surgery late afternoon tomorrow)  Pray for his comfort as I don't think he is going to be as happy with the fluids tonight & tomorrow as he is with the food today.


 We are still praying and trusting God for complete healing and still trying to do the day to day things that have to be done.  Reminding God of His promises to us while changing a diaper and His promises for Micah while calming him.  God is good, this is the verse that was shared with us today:


"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, 
Gracious in all His works."    Ps. 145:17


The Good Lord bless each of you, I wish I could hug all of you for your encouragement to us.
Tina

September 20 11:00 PM

I know I just got off of here, but God just put a song in my heart and I wanted to share it with you just so you can see how He keeps encouraging me to praise Him.  Praise is the only way that I can have any peace at all, He created us to worship Him.  If  we're not doing everyday what we were made to do then how can we please Him.  Granted, music is only one of the ways that we can worship, but it one of the ways that I most enjoy.


How great are You Lord
How great is Your mercy
How great are the things
That You have done for me
How great are You Lord
Your loving kindness
Is filling my heart as I sing
How great are You Lord


How great is Your love
It reaches to the heavens
How great is the heart
That sought and rescued me

How great are You Lord

How great is Your mercy

How great are the things

That You have done for me

How great are You Lord

Your loving kindness

Is filling my heart as I sing

How great are You Lord

- from the album Revival In Belfast with Robin Mark

I pray the Lord will wake you with a song in your heart and give you more throughout the day.

Blessings,

Tina

September 20 6:45 PM - 10:00 PM

Hello friends,

We had a good day today.  Our small group came up from church and blessed us with so much stuff it looks like we may have to have help moving everything back home.  Someone had asked about the other kids names - in order of appearance here on earth:  Abigail, Josiah, Samuel, Micah, Elizabeth, Matthew & Daniel.  As for the ages, by Nov. read the list backwards and insert all the odd numbers from 5 - 17.  They are doing amazingly well through this whole ordeal.  They are spending some time with their grandparents and may get to go see their cousins also.

Our friends took us out for lunch today and when we got back the nurses had cleaned Micah all up, but unfortunately the tooth that he had first made loose in the PICU fell out when they were cleaning his mouth  : (  That makes 3 now.   

Micah did bend his arm today when asked to and the PT's are happy with his muscle tone. 

We are still praying for a miracle, but still trying to do each day the things that need to be done.  Barring a miracle, Micah will go to surgery tomorrow to have the tooth removed from the throat, have the G-tube put in & have an impression made of his top teeth so that thy can make a proper guard.  Please pray that this will all go well.  

So this evening for the first time I changed a diaper on my 100+ lb. son.  Then I went to the bathroom and cried.  What to do....  I will get through this but it sure isn't easy.  My mind starts wandering to all the, " how am I going to: get him in a car, change him, bathe him, etc... he is so strong".  I have to constantly keep pulling myself back to this day and the tasks set before me.  One step at a time, one day at a time. "Sufficient for the day are the troubles thereof..."    God is always there speaking to me, in an almost audible voice, during the times when I think I cannot go on.  He has been extra gracious when I have  been extra weak.

"Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.  For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.  Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You."                       PS 33:20-22

Blessings to you all,

Tina

Sunday, September 20th, 1:50 am

Today begins the 10th day since Micah was admitted to the hospital. It has been quite a whirlwind. Sometimes we don't know what day or hour it is. It has been just over a day since he was moved from the critical care unit to a regular floor. He is on a couple of medications. One is to control his thalamic storms which greatly reduces the intense posturing that had been occurring. The downside of this is that it makes him sleep a lot. We are trying the find the happy medium where he does not have so much of the drug that it inhibits his brain activity but too little of it will result in the recurrence of the posturing. The other drug is to help him maintain a steady blood pressure. The tooth that is lodged in his esophagus is going to be removed using a probe. We have decided to let the doctors put a G-tube in him. It will make it easier to feed him and get the tube out of his nose which seems to bother him. While under sedation for these procedures they will also make a cast for his teeth so they can form a custom bite block. He has loosened one of his lower front teeth and has already busted out two of his molars from grinding his teeth. Fortunately they were baby molars.
       Our care conference with all the doctors concerned brings us no surprises as Tina mentioned in an earlier blog. Unless the Lord restores Micah in a miraculous way, we are looking at a severe long term disability with some progress through therapy and all that stuff. No one can predict what that entails. Has this affected how we pray or believe? NOT ONE BIT! But we are faced with some decisions to make as long as his current state exists. He is unable to do anything for himself. He still has to be fed, cleaned, given physical therapy etc. etc. So how do we reconcile what we believe with present reality? This is always a pivotal point in our understanding (or the lack of it) on the part of God's will that He has not made clear. I have come to the conclusion that while we wait for the miracle, we must respond to what is clear in the present. This does not mean in any way that we are compromising what we believe. I am beating with a sledge-hammer on God's door. He will never have to say that I didn't ask, seek or knock! My tears flow steadily in His throne room. We are spent at the end of each day. I am being transparent about our frailty because I want you to see that the Grace of God and His presence overshadows it. We are able to still believe, still pray for others, still keep pressing on because of His presence.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (2Cor 12:9)
Thank you for all your prayers, comments and encouragement. Continue to believe and pray with us for Micah's complete recovery.
May the Grace and Peace of our Lord be with you.
Thomas

September 19 8:00 PM

When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with You above the storm

Father You are King over the flood

I will be still and know You are God.

One bit of praise is that Micah has not had any fever to speak of since we've moved to a regular room.  Maybe because he actually gets to sleep up here :D  I can't say that I've have been in perfect peace today, but it has certainly been much closer to it than yesterday.  One thing God was reminding me of today is the story of Mary at the tomb.  My mother-in-love says that the reason Mary did not recognize Jesus was because her eyes were so filled with tears that she couldn't see properly.  Lord help us each to see clearly what You have for us to do each day, no matter what other trials we are facing, let us know & do Your will.  I love you all, may the good Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face to shine upon You and give you peace.

Tina 

September 19 2:00 PM

Dear friends,
     Thank you once again for all the encouragement.  The emotions were running high and low yesterday and I couldn't bring myself to sit down and write to you.  We were moved out of the PICU yesterday and into a regular room.  The reason for the move was not because Micah is doing so much better, but rather because the docs can do nothing else for him.  Monday they will get the tooth from the esophagus and there are a couple of other things we will have to decide, but that is all they can do.  The doctors have told us "we don't know how to fix this, we don't have the knowledge".  We already knew this, no surprise, but it is good to be put into the place where you can do absolutely nothing else but trust God.  That is where we are.  This was not the reason for my emotions, I knew from the beginning that the docs could only do so much I'm just an impatient mom that wants to see her little guy smile again.  Having faith in God is not so difficult, keeping it during the hard times is.  Yesterday was a struggle because I want God to act faster.  So this morning while I was praying for Micah I reminded God of His promises to us and the things that have been spoken over Micah's life.  I then had to admit that I didn't see how, in his present state any of that any of those things could happen.  God's thoughts are not the same as mine, so if His will is best accomplished in Micah this way then I have to accept that.  I'm still praying the selfish prayers of a mother, and will continue to do so.  So for now, each day we try to put on the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness that can so easily consume our hearts & minds causing us to miss the blessings that God has for us each day.
     
"We are a moment, You are forever
Lord of he ages God before time
We are a vapor You are eternal
Love everlasting reigning on high.


We are the broken  You are the healer
Jesus Redeemer mighty to save
You are the love song we'll sing forever
Bowing beforeYou Blessings Your name.


Holy, holy Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
Highest praises honor and glory
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name"                       -Robin Mark


Some friends brought us some non-cafeteria food today (thanks) we met them in the lobby and had a good visit.  The mother from Milan (mentioned in an earlier post) came down and we got to spend some time with her.  She was having her emotional day today so we all prayed for  her & encouraged her, it was good to be able to give some of what God has been giving to us.  Keep them (Lee, Deb & their son Zachary) in your prayers.  
After our friends left we went to the hospital chapel and Thomas played the piano a while and we sang, I was just thinking, "God, it sure would be nice to have some friends here to worship with tomorrow."  We left the chapel, went down one flight of stairs and Thomas phone rang.  Someone from our small group at church called to see if we would want to have our small group meeting at the hospital!  What a blessing!  God is faithful and He cares about us even when it seems He's forgotten us.  God is growing us each day closer to Him and that is a good place to be.  I love you all dearly and pray God's blessings on you.
Tina

September 19 1:45 PM

Friday, September 18th, 12:06am

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul

It has always been easier to sing these words than to experience them.
The last couple of days have been a little rough on me. I went home to be with the rest of our children a couple of days. I thought I should put a picture of Micah on the blog and let everyone see who they are praying for. While looking for pictures I happened to come across a bunch of our camping pictures and other family events and it took me a while to overcome my sorrow. It has been one week now since Micah has been in the hospital. A week ago he was practically dead - unconscious and unable to breathe on his own. Today he has healthy lungs and and is making noises. He is awake some of the time. It is a gut-wrenching sight to see our son lying there. In a matter of 15-20 mins our lives have been turned upside down. I am not saying all these things because I am having a pity party. I am saying these to let you know that in spite of all we have been through - we are at peace! As Christians we have the privilege of partaking of Christ's divine nature and also of His suffering. 'He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it'. All over Jackson and even around the world people have been praying for Micah. Here are some specific ways you can pray for him.
- that the thalamic storms in his brains cease
- that the damaged grey areas would be restored
- that any residual swelling or fever in his brain would go away
- that he would heal quickly from the effects of the breathing tube that was in him
- and of course, complete recovery.
The miraculous power of God can only be manifested in the absence of human possibilities. 
Yes we hear clinical diagnosis, yet louder still is the still small voice of God.
Grace and Peace to you in Jesus
Thomas

September 17 8:40PM

Dear friends,
I'm so thankful for each and every one of you, you just have no idea.  You are such a blessing to me.  When I feel like I have nothing left in me to pray I know that you are praying for me and that the Holy Spirit is groaning in the presence of the Father for us.  Thank you so much David Stover for sharing your story with us it means sooo much to us & we look forward to meeting you.  We have been praying for Micah that He would see Jesus in the storms going on within him.  I know that God is speaking to him, God was not surprised by any of this and He is going to use it to glorify His name.  Micah is resting peacefully right now the most peaceful that he has been since we been here.  He and I had a good time this evening praising the Lord together.  Our eyes connected several times and he has been responding to me.  It takes everything within him to respond as he still has a feeding tube in his throat but he has really exercised his vocal chords tonight!  
As far as the tooth goes, we will have to wait and see tomorrow.  He either knocked out two or he coughed up the one in his throat.  We have one, he did have an x-ray done, but the professionals haven't seen it yet.  It seems like there may still be one in the throat, but we won't know for sure til tomorrow some time.  I'm praying that the other one, if still there will pass also (one way or the other) so that he doesn't have to have anything else put down his throat or have to be sedated again.  We sooo want to see our boy again!  To see his great dimply smile, we miss that so much.  God is good and when the time is right, we once again will see that smile.  


A big thank you to the FCS kids who sent Micah all those great cards!  I read them all to him today I did tell him though that I was not quite sure how I felt about him getting so many cards from girls!!  


We are doing well despite missing our boy.  God has been good to us all along the way.  When we need someone he always provides for our needs and when we need encouragement he sends that too.  You truly have no idea what  a source of encouragement you have been to us.  We love you all dearly even those of you we do not know.  Keep praising the Father for He is good all the time and everything He does is good.  
Blessings,
Tina  

September 17 8:00PM

Dear friends,

I don't know what I would do without all of you, you lift me up when I am down and I know that when I feel like I have nothing left to pray that you all are praying with me and the Holy Spirit is groaning for me.

September 17th 2:45 PM

Hi friends, I was asked if we could start signing our names to the posts because there are many of you that have never met us.  Instead of figuring out how to edit the old ones...I think that Thomas always signs his name and I have never once signed mine : )  I want to thank all of you for the posts today.  I have not been down, but there are sooo many hurting people around me, one little boy died this morning, and I have to stop and ask God who are we that we should be spared this agony.   Why should some of the parents have to go home without their child while others go home with joy.  God why can you not save all of these children.  Please don't think I'm a total nut job right now, I'm just trying to share some of the emotions that I've have been going through.  Anyway, the scriptures & songs sent have spoken directly to those emotions today.  God is using each of you to strengthen us and hold up our arms when they are so tired & weary.  Thank you so much for blessing us and taking the time from your days to pray for us and our little guy.

My song for today was "My Faith Has Found A Resting Place".

I love you all & hope to meet each of you some day and be able to introduce Micah to you.
Blessings from the Father,
Tina

Sept. 17 8:45 AM

Good Mornng dear friends.  I am headed over to see Micah and see what the doctors have to say on their rounds.  My mom is with him right now.  One thing that is probably going to be done today is removal of a tooth from his esophagus.  During the storms everything gets so tense and heart rate and BP would soar and the teeth would clench so badly that he was starting to damage them.  We first noticed it when he had made one of his front bottom teeth so loose that it was bleeding.  Since that time we have had to keep a bite block in his mouth to protect his teeth and it has also allowed his lips to heal more quickly.  His skin did not handle the air tube well and he had sores all over the inside and outside.  What was found yesterday is that prior to the bite block he obviously dislodged a tooth further back in his mouth and swallowed it.  It showed on the x-rays so the plan is to sedate him and put a probe down that has a suction tip and get it out that way.  I can't imagine what it must feel like to have a tooth caught in your throat!  I will try to get back on this afternoon and let you know how it went.  Again, thank you so much for all your prayers and support.  I'll share more this afternoon.
Love & blessings to each!

September 16 12:00 PM

Dear friends, once again I am overcome by your love for us as I sit in front of the computer reading all the comments.  Tony & Tina God gave those very verses to me last night in Mark.  The other verses were in John 11 where Jesus said that Lazarus sickness was not unto death, but that the Lord would be glorified through it.  Then later in the chapter He says, "Father thank you that you have heard me for I know that you always hear me, but so those standing around me may see and believe..."  Then He called Lazarus forth from the grave. 
Today has been hard, yet joyful at the same time.  We have had to be joyful through tears because as I said before I believe that God has shown me the outcome of this from the beginning of this, but it does not make the process any easier.  There are things that we have been expecting to hear since we got here from the doctors and today we heard them.  And they have placed us right where we need to be.  In one of the top 5 children's hospitals in the nation full of all kinds of specialists and yet they have admitted that they can do nothing, they don't know how to make a brain repair itself, but we serve the one who designed and created the brain.  It was difficult to hear even though we knew they would eventually say it.  So now we stand back and watch what our God will do.  He has been with us every step of the way and he will not forsake us.  He has been holding us and speaking to us.  Please do not sit and cry for us rise up and praise the One who made every cell in every body on earth.  We are singing with the angels in Micah's room please sing with us.  I know that God has work for him to yet do.  There is no sickness that He can't save us from, He is enough.
The Lord bless each of you.

September 15th 1 PM

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,
He makes me to lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside the still waters,
He restores my soul.

Our souls are tired and weary today, but we put our trust in God, the Author & the Finisher of everything.  I just wanted to let you know what I am telling Micah today so that you can pray with us.  There is a storm going on in his brain and I know that Jesus is in that storm trying to lead him out.  What I'm telling him is to keep looking for Jesus that he is there wanting to hold you and bring you out of this. 

Blessings to you all.

Tuesday, September 15th, 7:41am

Dear family in Jesus -
This is the day the Lord has made. We WILL rejoice and be glad in it!
It has been a long night for me. Those who know me will tell you that you could carry me around when I am asleep and I wouldn't know it! I have been up and down last night. This is the first 24hr+ stretch that Micah has been free of any sedatives and his body is going through a new phase. Tina has brought you up to date on the different stages we have been through. Right now Micah's brain is going through cycles of activity. Every 35-40 minutes he has bouts of extreme posturing. It lasts for about 5mins during which he has 1-3 bouts. This means that he scrunches up, thrashes his feet, clenches his teeth, contorts his body into all sorts of impossible angles and then he is calm and goes back to sleep. This has been pretty consistent every hour since around 6pm yesterday. It is very difficult to watch. We stuck some pictures up on the door of Micah and one of all of us. It is hard to make the connection between the picture on the door and the person on the hospital bed.
Yet it serves as a constant reminder to me of who he is. It reminds me of God's love to us, that He does not see us as sick, bedridden or incapable but complete in Jesus! It reminds me of the perseverance of Jesus, who '..for the joy that was set before Him..' endured the pain and suffering of the cross. I have come to re-affirm through these last few days that our lives are not about us. It is always about Jesus. If we say that believe in a loving and sovereign Lord, it follows quite naturally that all things in our life are working for eternal purposes, all things have their proper place in our destiny. I for one am thankful that my God is much smarter than anyone and not only that, He is capable of changing the natural order of things. So Tina and I listen patiently to the clinical diagnosis and pray mightily for miraculous impossible. I trust my Lord and believe that all things that transpire in my life are ultimately for good for HE IS GOOD!
I am headed back to Jackson this morning to spend some much need time with our other children. I am extremely grateful for our friends and for my co-workers who are enabling me to keep first things first.
God is good all the time!
Shalom
Thomas

Mon. 14th 12 AM

Dear friends I am so touched by all the kind words and prayers.  Today has been very difficult.  While waiting for the neck brace and breathing tube to be removed God gave me some verses:

"...I will trust in the mercy of God forever & ever.  I will praise You forever because You have done it:  And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good."
Ps. 52:8a-9

To go along with this was a song I could not get out of my head.  I literally sang it for hours to Micah and myself.

"Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word.
Just to rest upon His promise, just to know thus saith the Lord.
Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him, how I've proved Him or and or.
Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus, Oh for grace to trust Him more."

Micah did get His breathing tube out today and is breathing very good on his own which is wonderful the collar is still on as there is still a little edema.  He is doing all the things he is supposed to be doing right now.  But now is a very difficult time for us as he is "posturing" quite a lot.  As explained to me:  His brain has a thousand things whirling around inside trying to tell him what to do and his body is trying to do all of them at the same time. 
It comes out as stiffening, twisting and contorting of the body, fixed pupils that make him look like a wild animal backed into a corner.  His heart rate will soar and he clenches his teeth so tight that he made one loose.  They put a bite block in to save his teeth from more damage.  It is very difficult to see your child going through this.  Sometimes all I want to do is run to a corner and cry ( I do take time for that), but always God keeps pulling me back to remind me that we are not here only for Micah.  There are many hurting people in this ward that do not have the hope that we do and God is allowing us to start to meet some of them to encourage them and pray for them.  My child is in God's hands and He is more capable than I am to take care of him.  I ask that you will pray for our peace of mind that we do not miss what God has for us to do here because we are too busy having our own little pity party.  I don't often want to leave my child's side, but God is pushing me out at times so that I can listen to Him.  God is giving us times of joy and peace in the storm so that we can share our hope with those around us. 
We are currently waiting on results from another CT scan.  The doctors wanted to make sure that there was nothing else going on behind the scenes of the posturing. 
One other note, we have been so blessed with not only good nurses, but christian nurses that it just amazes me.  God is good. 
Blessings to each of you.
Tina

Monday 14th 12:37 PM

Good morning friends, we had another good night.  Towards evening Micah started moving around a bit and was really irritated by the breathing tube, so much so that they had to give him a mild sedative.   All doctors have cleared the removal of his neck brace and we had hoped that it would be done by now, but we have to have specific docs to do that and so are waiting on them.  Once that is done, he did so well with the breathing trial from yesterday that they have no doubt that he can breathe on his own and are going to do a trial extubation (take out the breathing tube).  As long as the tongue and other muscles in that area do what they are supposed to do then it will remain out.  after that then he will come off of the sedative and we will see what happens from there.  A speech therapist told us that she will be by to see him after that.  So many specialists in one place makes for a lot of waiting.  I had hoped to be posting this after all these things had been done. 
Pastor Sherry had told Thomas that we needed to start a Faith Book since everyone was so much into the electronic technology so I'm going to try to include more than the doctor blah, blahs when I post as time permits.  Last night while I was sitting in the room with Micah I was going over the past few days in my mind wondering how I made it through.  I was trying to remember what I had read Thursday morning in my Bible etc...  The scriptures that got me through that first 12 hrs. (sorry I don't have a Bible in the computer room with me) were 1) Ps. 73  3 verses at end of chapter.  Whom have I in heaven but You... 2) I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Me.  This last one was a big one for me the first few hours as there was literally a whirlwind of activity and emotions around me and a thousand things trying to crowd into my mind.  When I got out my Bible and devotional book that I had been reading I found that those two verses were in that days reading!  I was overwhelmed at how God had put those into my heart that day and a song called "Peace, Perfect Peace"  He was preparing me.  The second evening, Stephanie & I were praying for Micah and God kep reminding me what a beautiful baby Micah was when he was born over and over.  I sat down for a while and tried to listen to what God was saying to me and this is what I heard, "When Micah was born to you he was beautiful, when he was born into My family he was beautiful to Me.  This is another birthing process for Micah and he will come out beautiful on the other side.  I have felt that almost from the beginning I've known what the end will be, but the process is still difficult and it is still hard to listen to doctors.  We know that they are only doing their jobs so we don't get upset with them but do take time to pray over Micah every time they leave the room and declare God's promises over Micah's life and give honor to the one that knit together every cell in his body.  The doctors have to tell us what they see, that is their duty, but they have also said the brain is so incomprehensible that we can't say anything definitely.  Our prayer for Micah has been that God would knit together those weak spots and call forth every cell in his body to do what they were created to do which is to worship their maker.  We were created to worship You Lord.
Blessings to you all!

Sunday 13th Sept. 8 PM

     Hi everyone!  Thomas said that I needed to get out of the room and take care of this.  At the present Micah is getting a bath by the night shift nurse and I am quite sure that he would be sooo totally embarrassed if he had any clue what was going on!  We have all had  a good day and are closing in on the final of the first 72 hours which is the most critical time.  He has slept most of the day as he has had to work harder today.  As Thomas stated earlier they were doing some testing with his breathing, it is called a C cap.  The Respetory Specialist has been turning his oxygen on and off in 2 hr. cycles since 10:30 this morning and he has done great!  This is in prep. to see how he will respond to getting tubes taken out.  Yesterday when the Ox. was on he would not breathe on his own while sleeping much unless disturbed, because his body knew it didn't have to and so would get lazy.  Today though he has been doing it all whether awake or asleep, praise God!  His temp. due to swelling has started to come down a little and the Neurologists were very encouraged by all that they saw today.   We have been blessed with great nurses and docs of all kinds while here.  We all have a great deal of peace today.
     God has been so good to us and has given us people all along the route from the very onset.  He has held us in His loving arms and protected us and we are very grateful.   Thursday evening I was in such distress and crying telling God this is too much to bear and He has been faithful to hold me up and help me to stand.  During the time when I needed help to stand physically there were so many loved ones present that literally every direction I turned there was a hand to hold, an arm to hug me and so many to pray for me and my child and for that I am thankful.  The ride up here was hard, but God spoke to me and gave me peace that only He can give.  I am now able to listen to the doctors without feeling faint because I know that they are only people and not God.  God is the Great Physician and the one who knit Micah together in the womb and He can put back together anything that satan tries to take apart.  My mind is still boggled by all of the who, what , when, where and why's of the situation, but I am not in turmoil.  I will never be able to answer all the questions (that's why none of you call me God) but this I do know...God was not surprised by this & He is going to use this in Micah life to draw people to Him.  I can't wait to see what God will do with this.    He knew beforehand all that would happen and all that is yet to come.  He knows how to stretch His children just enough to cause them to grow and not break them.  Thursday morning I read in Ps. 73  "Whom have I in heaven but You...."  He is the only one we can trust and with God in our lives we are more than conquerors.  What satan meant for evil.....
I love you all and appreciate you more than words can say.  Until tomorrow, blessings of the Father be upon you all.

Sunday , Sept 13th 1:20pm

Some good news. Micah is on a trial run to see if he can breathe on his own. He is still hooked up to the ventilator but he is breathing all by himself! Praise God. His vital signs are all positive. The MRI results are showing some damage to both sides of his brain. It is hard to tell to what extent. His is still in the first 48-72 hr critical period. He wakes up and sleeps in different cycles through the day. He seems to respond to our voices. Sometimes he will look right at me when I ask him to and other times he does not. But overall he seems to respond to our voices. He is not moving any parts of his body voluntarily other than his eyes. Still we have great reason to be encouraged. Two days ago he was totally unconscious and could not breathe at all. Today he is awake and breathing on his own.! We pray that God will restore his brain and body to function fully.
All three of us got some rest last night. Tina and I are much refreshed. We feel all your prayers. We are at peace and not agitated. The Lord impressed me yesterday to walk the ward and pray for the rest of the patients and I am doing that. We are so blessed to see our family, 'The Church', taking care of us.
"He is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we can ask or think" Glory be to God!

Shalom
Thomas & Tina

Update Saturday Sept12 5pm

Tina & I were in the room talking to Micah. I put on some praise music and turned up the volume of the listening device near his head. He opened his eyes and tried to move it in that direction. Out of  curiousity I decided to move to the opposite side and his eyes moved in that direction. So we started talking to him. His eyes stayed open and it looked like he was trying to track Tina and I. We got a call from home and Grandma Ogilvie wanted to talk to him and we turned on the speaker so he could listen. When Elizabeth our daughter started speaking his head jerked over a little and his legs twitched significantly. For the past 30-40 mins his eyes have been open on an off and it seems Micah is reacting to our conversation. He has not done any of this till today. So exciting! He is not sedated any more so we expect him to react more and more. We are still waiting on MRI results. Thanks again for your prayers. Keep it going.
Shalom
Thomas

Saturday Sept 12

Dear Friends,
Tina & I have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and encouragement that has been shown to us. We are doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances. Micah is doing better than he was when first admitted to Jackson General. However he is not showing as much progress as the doctors are looking for. He is still unconscious. He is breathing a lot on his own but the ventilator has to stay hooked up to help him. We put our trust in the Lord and look to Him for healing. Our God is able to do exceeding abundantly more than we ask or think. We ask that you continue to pray for us. However we kindly request you not make any trips to Vanderbilt unless we need you to. He is still in intensive care and there are limitations to visiting. We are trying to keep Micah in an environment we feel is most beneficial for him. We really appreciate you and are grateful for all you are doing for us. When we have some news that can be shared we will put that out. We are sending emails out to a few people who will pass it on to everyone else. As of now we watch and pray.

Shalom
Thomas & Tina