Monday Afternoon - A Josiah Update

A 'sorry' to loyal Drew's View visitors: I didn't talk to Marie until late Sunday evening so I didn't bother posting anything. Thanks for your understanding ;)

Please pray for Josiah and Marie. Josiah extubated himself again in the wee hours of this morning. Thankfully, this time it took the doctors only 2 attempts to re-intubate him (last time it took three) but these are very very scary episodes and he could have died if he wasn't treated in time. He probably extubated himself by coughing, which is frustrating because Marie noted that the tape on Josiah's breathing tube was loosening and the RT (respiration therapist) did nothing about it two days ago.

Josiah is again on morphine as a result of the intubation, which will leave him in a hazy state for the next couple of days. This is also frustrating for Marie and I because it'll be harder to interact with him for a while.

Marie, as you could expect, is a wreck. This is so difficult to deal with, not only the shock and fear of hearing that Josiah extubated again, but also realizing that he's not ready to breathe on his own (obviously his trachea is still too narrow), and also having to deal with this alone because I'm still in Abbotsford. I'll be here for Sr Youth tonight and then I'll be heading into Van to spend a couple days with Marie and Josiah.

We are scared, we are grieved, we are feeling so numb. It's hard to imagine that we can be feeling all these emotions, yet at the same time find joy in our son and being able to trust God in spite of all this pain, confusion, and uncertainty.

When Marie called this morning, she hadn't talked to the doctors yet so we still don't know when we are meeting with the team of specialists. Please pray that the timing and day of this meeting will be just right as we need all the information to make a decision as soon as possible. Please also pray - and this one is on our hearts so much - that God will provide for Josiah a primary nurse. It seems that every once in a while we run into a nurse who thinks that 'going by the books' is better than listening to a parent's instinct and intimate knowledge of their own child, and this is very hard to take, especially when we are proved right in a scary way (like Marie's instinct proving right on Josiah's breathing tube). There are so many great nurses in the NICU and from time to time they are able to care for Josiah, but we need someone who can be there every shift they are on. Please please PLEASE pray for this, especially since another 2 months in the NICU is very feasible.

Continue to pray for Josiah's healing, that God will enable him to grow and that his trachea will expand to its appropriate width and that it would also develop to its appropriate firmness. If a 'trache' is Josiah's only option for a future, please pray that God will enable him to grow out of his dependence on the 'trache'. Because Josiah's neurological future is still a little unclear, it could be that he will become dependent on the 'trache' for life, something we pray and wish won't happen.

Thanks for all your continued encouragement, your visits (whether in person or to this blog), and your prayers. Every week I hear stories of how Josiah's life is reaching into home's and lives of people we've never met and we are blessed to know that he is on your hearts. May our lives reflect our appreciation for all that you do, and may our joy and sorrows reflect Jesus.

"Let your love be strong enough to weather through the thunder cloud."

In God's Love, Security & Promises.
- Andrew, Marie & Josiah