Monday, July 28

Hello Friends and Family,

Well, as warned by everyone, this certainly has been one emotional roller coaster! Suzie was doing very well when they gave her the first dose to treat her PDA, but then she began to have trouble with her urine output. They were unable to give her the second dose of medication 12 hours later and instead gave her some medicine to help treat her urine output. After another 12 hours, they administered the second dose of medication for her PDA and were able to give her the third dose after another 12 hours. We found out this evening that the medicine did help as her PDA is now very tiny. Praise God! The nurse thinks that they probably will not treat it any further at this time, but rather will watch to see if the small hole closes on it's own. She said we could find out for sure what the next course of action is from the doctor tomorrow.

The past few days, they have had to increase the percent of oxygen that they administer to our little girl. She had been on 21% for several days, which is the same percent that you and I breathe in normal room air. We had been so encouraged by her ability to remain on 21% for several days. But three days ago they increased her to 27%, and yesterday to 36%, and today to 45%. The doctor told us that this is very common to see in preemies because their lungs are so underdeveloped. But it is still so disheartening for us as parents to see. The good thing is that her jaundice has gotten much better and she is now able to have the mask and lights off of her. So we get to see her face a lot more.

It has been a difficult few days for us as Kyle has had a cold and has been unable to go into see Suzie at all. I really miss having him go in to see her with me, but I'm so thankful for his caution and wisdom in protecting our baby girl. I think that with each day that goes by, it gets harder and harder for me to be separated from my precious daughter. I want so much to hold her and have her close to me at all times, and yet I know that she is getting the best care right now from the wonderful doctors and nurses at Huntington Hospital. This is a huge time for me to learn to lean on the Lord and trust Him in the midst of raging emotions that tempt me to be discouraged. God's character is both infinitely wise and loving, and so He can be trusted.

We attached a little video of our girl for you to see! She had a very sleepy day today so we didn’t get one with her eyes open or with her moving around too much. We will try to get a better one later. My sister and brother-in-law gave us this really neat Flip Video that we can use to record her! We are still trying to figure it out, so if you can’t view this video, we are going to try to post one up on You Tube when we figure it out.

Please continue to pray for us. Pray for Suzie, that the Lord would continue to work in her little body and heal her and that she wouldn’t have any effects of brain damage if it be His will. Pray for me, that I would trust in God during this most difficult time, that I would cling to Him and see His kindness and that I would know how to please the Lord as a wife and mom in this unexpected stage. Pray for Kyle, that He would have opportunities to share the gospel and that the Lord would give him wisdom in leading his family.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying and caring for us! We are so blessed!!

In Christ,
Kyle and Steph

Psalm 31:24, "Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the LORD."