Thatcher

i have a blog post that i want to write later about something awesome that happened to me the other day, but it is really late (just got back from a high school event) and i wanted to share the latest news from Thatcher's parents. PLEASE continue to pray for them!!! this family has become very dear to my heart. there are still so many unanswered questions! i am so thankful that they are strong believers and have faith that God is working in this little life already! they have hear from people literally all over the globe...people are praying for a miracle, and i am doing nothing less myself! so, please join me!!

Update for Thursday 2/16 (sorry it's a long one)

Thursday began much more quickly than the first few days had. A different pediatric neurologist stopped by our room even before he began his rounds to let us know he was going to look at the images of Thatcher’s head and that he would be back by in a few hours to discuss what he determines from them, and he stuck to his word. He came back in and we dove right in to another diagnosis and possible prognosis for Thatcher. This time we were given some “cautious optimism” as the doctor put it. He provided for us an entirely objective look at Thatcher’s scans, he purposefully had no history, and focused on the brain scans only, so as to be as objective as possible about his diagnosis. He let us know that both he and the neuro-radiologist who looked at the scans with him, believed that it could possibly be Aqueductal-Stenosis, which is a treatable condition. The prognosis to go with it is essentially what the world would consider a normal life and normal life expectancy. The thing that you have to know about this consult is that we weren’t even supposed to meet with this doctor. God had put it in motion that we would several days earlier. Our friend, Brittney, was in the room when the news was initially broken, recommended him as a great neurologist, and then she was able to let him know of our story, so he went out of his way to meet with us. God certainly is in control here. The meeting was quickly followed by another consult with a maternal fetal medicine surgeon (the one who broke the news to us on Tuesday night). He immediately shot down the idea of Aqueductal-Stenosis and took it off the table of possible diagnosis. He let us know that we would be meeting with a neo-natologist (fancy word for a high-risk pediatrician) later that day, broke the news to us that Thatcher would almost certainly be delivered via C-section, and that we could expect to be discharged that afternoon. The neo-natologist came in a few hours later with a lady from the CAPS (chronic and palliative care team) to go over what to expect during the actual birthing process as well as possible measures of intervention and care for Thatcher. It was both a good and very tough meeting. We were able to discuss and talk about how we will fight for Thatcher no matter what that looks like, we want him to have the best chance possible, and we will do anything and everything possible for him when he is born, but at the same time we had to look at the other side of the coin and discuss decisions that no parent should ever have to make for their newborn child. Such as resuscitation, ventilation, ect. They helped us develop a birth plan and were on their way. Needless to say the day was pretty up and down, and with a day like that, after spending a week in the hospital and having more possibilities then answers you would expect to get frustrated (trust us, when we begin to focus on it, we get pretty frustrated). But it just made us chuckle, that yes these doctors are very knowledgeable and we are thankful for their wisdom and professional opinions; they really have no clue what to expect. It was just yet another reminder that God is in control, and only He knows Thatcher’s story, and He will write it however He sees fit. In between meetings with doctors God orchestrated different encounters to keep us focused on Him, and to let us know that He was with us and in control. From our nurse walking in declaring that she is a Christian and that she sees miracles in the hospital everyday to the many encouraging emails, phone calls, texts, facebook posts, and messages. We even realized that God was using this situation to answer a prayer that Eric has had this entire pregnancy. Eric has prayed that God would be alive in our home, that he would have stories to share with Thatcher to illustrate that our God is not just a character spoken about in the bible but that He is alive and well and working in and around our lives and the lives of others. Well, we have heard so many stories of God’s grace, healing power, His dominion and might, and we are currently witnessing the body of Christ move in a way that we’ve never seen before. God is certainly alive, and He is doing big things. Whitney’s dad was sent a message from a friend in Qatar who was approached by a friend of hers who wanted to share the story of a young couple living in the Woodlands and their sweet baby boy. This woman does not know us, and our friend has no idea how she found out about Thatcher’s story, but this is just another example of how God is using Thatcher to reach people across the globe.

We continue to be humbled by the support of the body of Christ, by your prayers and your faith that God is truly sovereign. We will continue to pray knowing that He can and believing that He will heal Thatcher, in accordance to His will. We simply ask that you join us in this prayer.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” – Ephesians 3:20-21

blessings, ALo