Update on Asher

The Latest on Our Little Warrior

Asher has been on a slow but steady trend of recovery. He is by no means out of the woods as the current short term goal is to get his organs to a place where they can withstand the hit resulting from open heart surgery... that will be scheduled soon. What we need is for all of Asher's organs (gut, liver, kidneys, lungs, brain etc.) to recover form the time that they had little or no oxygen. When Asher goes into surgery, they are going to put him on a heart/lung bypass machine that is really hard on the organs already weakened in our little man.

There is a definite time clock ticking for the surgery that is inevitable save The Lord providing a miracle (Please in Jesus' Name!!!). The ductus that is being kept open by the drugs is only a time saver to get his organs to the point where they can survive the surgery. This drug can only be used for a limited amount of time before it starts causing problems itself. Therefore we need to pray that He recover quickly so that the surgeons can go in and repair the artery in his heart as well as the holes.

Some good news is that his urine has been clearing up. It has had blood in it since we brought him here last Thursday. It used to be red but is now looking almost normal with a slight pink tint to it. This is improvement. The amount of blood in his stool has also lowered and is a sign that his gut is getting a little better. They are now giving him lipids, proteins, and potassium intravenously, so he is now getting a bit more nutrition rather than just sugar water. They had to put an IV in his head because that is where a lot of his good veins are... which is not the most encouraging thing to see on your son but it is helping him so it's a good thing.

So what I need from all of our prayer warriors out there is as follows:

Short term; Pray for recovery for all of his organs, including his liver, kidneys, and gut that they would be rapidly healed so that he can come out of surgery as healthy as possible and come home to us as soon as possible. He has swelling around his organs and some internal bleeding. Pray that God would heal both. That the inflamation would go down and that the bleeding would stop. Pray for all the staff that will be working with Asher. That they have a Spirit of wisdom and revelation and that they would be filled with the knowledge of Gods will and they would be fruitful in every work they do for Asher. Pray for the nurses, the specialists, the surgeons, the doctors that they would be filled with the mind of God while working with Asher as well as all the children on the ward.

Long Term; Pray for Asher, that he would rapidly make it through surgery with rediculously, awesome, amazing, greatness filled, success. That God would give the surgeons the mind of God and a spirit of wisdom and revelation concerning the treatment of Asher. Pray that all of his little organs would recover 100% and that there would be no extra treatment needed for his other organs. Pray for 100% full recovery from surgery and that his heart would remain fully functionable for the rest of his amazing life. Pray that there would be no brain damage at all. Pray that he does not have the chromosomal stuff that causes degeorges syndrome... a condition that leads to congenital heart defects such as Asher's. Pray that it doesn't ever take hold in him and that he would grow up healthy and awesome, without further complication.

A Testimony Concerning Erika and I
We are so aware of all of the prayer being sent up on our behalf. Although we are going through a really difficult time right now...we have such a level of peace that goes beyond understanding...and is totally due to your prayers! We still have emotional moments...who wouldn't!?...but we walk around with an air of faithful expectancy in Asher recovering. We can really feel the difference when we see the other parents walking around Ronald McDonal House and the hospital CICU. Most of them look so heavy and worn down....maybe we can find ways to encourage them through their trials and spread some of our peace.

Erika here...just wanted to share a minute about some unexpected bright spots coming from this ordeal. Matt and I have been trying to get more time together, both as a couple and as a family, but it never seemed to come together. There was always something needing one of us and cutting into family time. Matt was also frustrated about not being able to spend quality time with Joel during the day. Well... with the turn of events due to Asher's condition requiring us to be at the hospital...it is actually really nice to be able to spend the time together. Matt and I are feeling like a team again and enjoying each other's company more now than ever. My parents are keeping Joel during the days, which is hard for us but truly in his best interests since they are his home away from home. So we don't have the blessed distraction of children to come between us right now. We try and make daily trips back to Ocoee to visit Joel....and although the trips are short, they are teaching us how to spend quality time with our son. Overall, I guess I'm trying to say that this traumatic situation has brought our family much closer together than it has been in quite a while and that blesses me!

You all are amazing. Thank you all so much for praying for us and our little warrior, Asher. I can't wait until he's about 2 and we can play and wrestle and stuff. It's gonna be awesome and you all are playing a huge part in seeing that come to pass.