Two Steps Back...

When we are walking on water, it is amazing how fast we can sink when we take our eyes of the One sustaining us. See, I am learning the enemy is very good at distraction. I think it probably one of his best tools or tactics. He wants to distract us just enough for us to lose our focus and that is when we get caught in the undertow. I am not suggesting God needs my faith to work in a situation or bind the enemy, but He does want us to be acutely aware of His love, grace, control and our total dependence on Him.

What the heck am I talking about?

Well, let me rewind a day. Yesterday, we spent the majority of the day hanging out with the babies in the NICU. I got to hold Kaylan for 3-hours and Jen got to hold Dylan. They both did really well. Both were starting to show signs of great stability. Dylan is almost 5-pounds and Kaylan, just blowing past the 2-pound mark, had not had a single Brady in over a day. Kaylan was doing so well that the doctor even ordered her to start alternating formula with extra calories and extra protein into her feedings to give her a bigger boost. We left the NICU yesterday afternoon, did some grocery shopping, made tacos, got some things ready for the shower this weekend and got some really good rest last night. Things were going so good it was almost like the babies were pretty much on auto pilot only needing the occasional diaper change or feeding. In fact, I went to bed thinking that the nurse that takes care of our babies might as well get a good book to read on her shift because of how uneventful things must be.

How fast that everything can change! This morning, I came home from one of the best Monday morning workouts in that I have had in some time. Jen was on the phone. Not like her to be up at 6:30am, much less be talking to someone. She was on the phone with the doctor. Dr. R had called to let us know that Kaylan had vomited on her feeds, choked, had to be revived with the CPR mask and was now intubated ( she has a tube stuck down her throat and into her lungs that is doing the breathing for her). How scary! We went from thinking about how awesome she is doing to having her life hanging in the balance in just a few short minutes.

We rushed to the hospital and found out she had vomited 3 more times since her first episode. We met with the doctor who said that there is now a possibility of Kaylan developing Aspiration Pneumonia, which is caused by the bacteria in the milk infecting her lungs (this is a common occurrence in stroke patients). They have run several more blood gasses and labs since this morning. It appears that things are trending back to normal, but we will just have to wait until tomorrow’s labs to see if there are any other complications or issues.

It is so frightening to think about how things can turn for the worst in the blink of an eye. It also is frightening to think about how the enemy is going after children. I think about kids who are dealing with some pretty scary things right now. These things are definitely from the enemy. Our pastor’s son, Skyler, was just released from the hospital earlier this week for the 4th time this summer dealing with major complications from TB MSRA. Kaylan has had several setbacks including today’s episode. Also, Jen’s friend Megan’s daughter (Miranda) fell out of a car this morning and hit her head and is now in the hospital. It is very upsetting to think about how Satan is attacking these innocent kids. It is one thing to come after adults with sickness, pain, and disease, but he has his target on young people. Thank God He is still in control.

We are asking for special prayers for Kaylan. We pray that everything will turn up normal in her labs and they can extubate her in the morning and resume normal progress. Please also be in prayer for other kids that are going through a difficult season with injury or disease. Our hearts are very sensitive to parents with sick kids as well. Please continue to lift us up in your prayers.