Breath of Life...

"We have seen His Glory, the Glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of Grace and Truth...from the fullness of His Grace we have all received one blessing after another. For Grace and Truth - His Unfailing Love and Faithfulness - came through Jesus Christ our Lord." [John 1:15-17]

~Blessing is bowing down to receive the expressions of divine favor that in the inner recesses of the human heart and mind make life worth the bother~

[Beth Moore, Believing God]

I absolutely love the definition of "blessing" that Beth Moore lays out above...bowing down to receive the expressions of divine favor...and oh how our Lord has expressed His divine favor upon Jackson and our family today!

Day 10: The Breath of Life...

Today was a day full of surprises - starting at 8:00am...

I headed home late last night to grab some sleep in order to be well rested to spend the day with Carter and Jordyn, while Kelly stayed at the hospital to keep vigil over Jackson! We both got some rest - amazingly...but planning to be separated for the majority of the day today, made it an especially hard good bye last night at 11:00pm! BUT with our eyes fixed on our Savior we had great peace surrounding the decision...and then God rained down His divine favor!

This morning at 8:00am, Kelly's cousin Katie received a phone call - last minute - to let her know that she did not have to work today! Which turned out to be an immeasurable blessing! She was now able to spend the day with Carter and Jordyn, and allow me to be with Kel and Jackson! But the magnitude of this blessing was not realized until 11:20am...

As I pulled into the hospital's parking garage at 10:00am - Kelly called me on my cell. "Doug, where are you at? I just received word that they are hoping to take Jackson off the ventilator before lunch!"

"Don't worry sweetie...I just pulled in!"

Now, how awesome is it that our Lord worked it out in His perfect timing for me to be present crib side for an absolute miracle in my son's life!

Typically - following the Norwood surgery, a patient does not come off the ventilator for a week...and here they are wanting to take him off within 24 hours!!! Talk about God revealing his Glory!

And so, at 10:30am they turned off the ventilator - and Jackson's levels and oxygen saturation began to IMPROVE! At 11:00am they pulled out the tube, and by 11:20 we received the phone call while sitting in the cafeteria that the tube was out and Jackson was doing great! And when we got back to the room 10 minutes later - we were greeted with huge smiles on the faces of our nurses, doctors and respiratory team! Here...through out the entire process of transitioning Jackson off the ventilator - his levels and vitals continued to climb and were better and more stable off the ventilator than on it! Talk about breathing life!

And so once again the doctors and nurses are searching for answers as to "how/why" Jackson is doing so well! Some "think" it may be due to the fetal surgery performed back in July or possibly the steriods he has been on since birth, but can't be sure of either! Now don't we - who know Christ - know the answer to their dilemma! For it is God who gives us the breath of life and controls our destiny! [Daniel 5:23] And HE alone is worthy to be Praised! And let me tell you ...it is absolutely amazing the opportunities and conversations the Lord is creating for us to share our faith and journey with our nurses and doctors! It is so exciting and so encouraging...and we can't wait to see how the Lord continues to move in through these newly formed relationships/friendships! We serve and awesome God! And just in case you are wondering...as one of the doctors left the room this afternoon he pulled Kelly and I aside and shared, "this is the best Norwood case we have ever had!" He - and I am not talking about Jackson - continues to "shock and amaze" our team of nurses and doctors, as Jackson continues to improve at a "phenomenal" rate!

Life can be overwhelming...can't it? And the storms, journeys, and roller coasters can take their toll as the waves, winds, twists and turns bombard us - but when our eyes are on our Savior and not our circumstances we are able to bow down, live weak and surrender to receive the divine favor of our Savior! We know the peaks and valleys will continue - as they are tonight - for this is a marathon we are running!

Please continue to pray - as right now - the team is diligently working to create the "right" balance of Jackson's pain meds! They are hoping to create a more stable "comfort level" that will allow him to rest and to recover without Jackson being completely knocked out! There have been several anxious and very hard moments - emotionally and physically - as we have watched our little warrior wake up from a deep sleep and scream for relief from the severe pain! It has been very hard on mommy and daddy...but we have seen His Glory today, and our Heavenly Father is full of Grace and Truth...and we will continue to rest in His Presence and Grace!

Sing praises tonight...just as Jackson did moments after being taken off the ventilator!

God is so good - so faithful - and worthy alone of our Praise! His Unfailing Love continues to strengthen our weak and weary souls, for He is the breath of Life!

All Eyes On Jesus!