Breathing Easy

If you're still regularly checking the blog, you can tell by the last post from Janel that things must be going better. If there's time to post pictures, that's time that is not being spent at hospitals or consumed with anxiety. Indeed, things are going well, and I thought I'd post a quick follow up, specifically on the medical end of things for Isaac.

A week ago today (last Wednesday) Isaac had a 'follow-up' appointment with his primary pediatrician. The only problem with calling that a 'follow-up' is that his primary never saw him while he was in the hospital. When the primary did look at Isaac a week ago, her apprehension was a little too evident to Janel. The doctor heard a little bit of a crackle in Isaac's left lung and observed that he was still breathing with more effort than would be desirable. Now, our guess is that if one of the doctors from the PICU had done the follow-up, they would have been elated with the continued progress, but since the primary was not in on that part of the journey, she was understandably cautious. The challenge for us, as parents, then, was to differentiate ourselves from the doctor's apprehensions and trust that Isaac was still on a good road to recovery.

Well, today was another follow-up appointment, and we are overjoyed to report that Isaac gained 15 ounces in the last week; the doctor heard no more crackling in his lungs; and Isaac seems to be breathing easier than ever. As you can imagine, that means his parents are breathing easier than ever, as well!

Janel and I comment almost every day about the overwhelming support we have received from friends, family, and people we have never even met. So many cards, calls, visits, gifts, e-mails, blog comments, facebook posts...we receive every single one with gratitude and humility. Thanks for being our strength through these excruciating days. Our hopes are on the rise, and we trust that God's presence will become more and more perceptible as we journey on.

The picture here is from the family walk we took the evening Isaac came home from the hospital. What a gift to be together as a family!!!!