Elizabeth Archives - Day 24

Hi family and friends,

Elizabeth continues to get food by mouth, and for the most part is keeping it down. Today she had a test to determine if her digestive system was working properly and everything came back normal. That is a relief, and we're praying that the difficulty she had with keeping her feeding tube down was simply an issue of discomfort with the tube and will be easily resolved by our new method of food delivery. She's still figuring out how to coordinate the whole suck/swallow thing, but we're taking it slowly, and we have to remember that when it comes to eating by mouth, she's only 24 hours old!

Please continue to pray
-that Elizabeth will learn how to feed, keep her food down and start gaining weight (so far, since birth she's lost and never regained over a pound. She's getting lots of nutrition and fluids through IV, but hasn't been able to gain weight...She should be gaining 30 grams a day...and this will need to happen before she can eventually leave the hospital.)

-for grace for Matt and I as we learn our limits. Right now we have very little energy for anything other than keeping vigil at the hospital and rooting for Elizabeth. We need restorative sleep and moments of respite and refreshment along this journey. We are praising God for family and friends who are making such an effort to nurture us (through phone messages, emails, cards, care packages, meals and prayers) so that we can expend our energy to nurture Elizabeth. Thank you for your understanding when your phone calls and emails go unanswered. We are definitely blessed by each one, and you are loving her as you love us...

-for continued health for both of us (and our families as they come to visit)

Finally Elizabeth's medical issues remain the same as yesterday...she still has mysteriously low sodium, her chest tube drainage continues to hit around 200 cc's/day, she's not peeing enough and her blood clot remains. Pray for Elizabeth's doctors and nurses to have wisdom beyond their experience as they seek to find the reasons for and treat these problems. What is a mystery to them is completely known to God who created and holds Elizabeth's life in His hands. Pray for insight for everyone involved in Elizabeth's care.

We love you and continue to be sustained by your prayers and love. There simply are not words to say "Thank You" enough...
love,
Sara & Matt