“Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!  The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”  Psalm 46: 10, 11

Wednesday to Monday

Seraya had a good bunch of days last week.  Tuesday through Friday she seemed to be gaining some ground in her sustainability and overall condition which brought some much needed relief for Brian & Alaina.  She seemed to be responding to the antibiotics that they had her on to fight off infection and was gaining some strength.

The team at the NICU is very good at what they do, (another blessing from the Lord!), and they have been encouraging Brian and Alaina to get involved in small ways both for their benefit and Seraya’s.

Brian has even been able to change a few diapers!  She has been taking small amounts of food and the dirty diapers are an important thing to see, so Brian was not complaining.  He said it was a dirty job but he just got in there and did it like a pro;)  Alaina has also been able to hold Seraya a few more times, even for a 2 hour stretch and Seraya has been responding well to the skin to skin contact!

Then on Friday they were able to experience an exciting moment, Seraya opened both her eyes for the first time!  They eventually had to put her under the lights and cover them again but being able to have that connection for that short time was such a blessing!! 

Every day the nurses draw blood to check for infection and test whether she needs platelets.  She had a picc line put in for antibiotics and an intervenes for platelets when needed.   Saturday turned out to be a more difficult day again. Seraya had been taken off antibiotics since she seemed to have been able to fight off the infection she had.  However, when they did their routine bloodwork they noticed that there were signs of infection again and they needed to grow the blood culture to find out what it was.  They suspected pneumonia but the culture came back negative for that.  The doctors are still trying to figure out the bacteria that is causing the infection so that they can treat it more specifically. 

They also noticed that her lungs began to struggle again and her oxygen was dropping.  They had to switch her back to the more powerful ventilator and supplement oxygen when needed.  Yesterday a new breathing tube needed to be inserted through her nose as opposed to her mouth because it sends the oxygen more efficiently to her lungs.

Her blood work also showed that she had low sodium and high blood sugar so they have adjusted her IV to help with that. The staff are still encouraging them to help with changing her diaper and other care and she was still tolerating small amounts of milk every 4 hours. Brian and Alaina are very grateful for these small things that help them be able to leave everything at the feet of our Heavenly Father who is guiding the hands of the doctors and taking care of His covenant child!

Today they plan to do an echo because she does have a heart murmur, which is not uncommon in premature babies but something they have to watch very closely. 

Brian and Alaina still covet your prayers.  They have said they feel surrounded with love, care and concern from every direction.  They are overwhelmed at times with the constant ups and downs, and updates from doctors can be stressful never knowing whether they will receive a good report or a more difficult one.  They know that our Almighty Father is in control of Seraya’s care and this helps them to be able to leave her side and get some rest themselves. 

We as family also thank everyone for your prayers and concern!  We have been tested and shown that there is absolutely nothing we can do to help, except pray!  How humbling this is for us!  We feel so helpless at times and then we read God’s Word and pray to Him for patience and we realize all over again, we ARE helpless!  But what a comfort this is!  The Almighty God who knows our past and our future is, in His perfect providence, guiding Seraya’s life and forcing us to our knees in prayer!   

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5: 6, 7