Page 51 - Journey of Hope by Raymond Moldenhauer

DAY92
Last night, we prayed for a miracle from God while we slept.
Everything at that time was pointing towards surgery in the morning for Alyssa.
Instead, God gave us the miracle that we asked for! Heidi’s first report to us at
8 AM this morning was that Alyssa had a very good night of rest, and that she
looked so much better than yesterday. Her belly was noticeably reduced and
softer. The surface veins on her stomach, which were stretched as tight as a
drum-skin yesterday, were now less noticeable. The final determination on
whether she would need surgery was again postponed for now.
Kathie and I got to Dupont around 10 AM. When we walked to her bedside in
the NICU, we too noticed the vast improvement. She was less swollen, had
good color, and was resting very peacefully. Her face seemed fuller, and I
actually thought that she looked like a newborn to me for the very first time
(still a miniature version, but newborn proportions). Her vital signs were
exceptional (heart rate at a relaxed 146, breathing at 35, and oxygen saturation
levels at 99%).
We just sat at her side and watched her (thanking God at almost every breath).
A MIRACLE WHILE WE SLEPT
Today, I noticed her mouth movements while she slept – resting
open, yawning open, closing for a moment, shaping an “O”,
expressing a slight smile, breaking into a bigger smile, moving
her tongue, sucking air,……and all the while, she just seemed to
be so peaceful. Every so often she would turn red, grimace,
raise her head, bend her feet to her chest, let out a very short
cry that turned into a grunt,… in her attempt to get things going
again. The 20-second effort left her exhausted as she resumed
the peacefully sleeping look.
At 3 PM they took her to Radiology to have a PICC line put in her
so that they wouldn’t have to insert a new IV needle every day
(yesterday it took 10 tries to finally get it into her tiny veins –
she has a lot of bruises today). The 30-minute procedure took
almost 2 ½ hours (it was difficult to find a spot on her body that
worked – she had too many IV’s in her short life). They also
attempted to insert an additional IV into her head in order to
give her blood. But after 2 failed attempts at that, they found a
spot near her knee. But Heidi said that she did great, although
she was now very sleepy from the medication that they gave
her.
When they did her care at 6 PM, her belly now measured only 28
cm (it had gone from 27 to 34 yesterday). And there was
evidence in her diaper that things were starting to move
(hopefully, the balance will clear through very soon now). So,
PRAISE GOD, the plan remains the same – NO surgery needed!
Yesterday, it looked very much like Alyssa would need to have
emergency surgery. But nothing is impossible with God. He
hears prayer and He changes situations. He does miracles in His
way, and in His time, and according to His will. Yes, God indeed
worked a miracle while we slept last night.