No man is complete unless he is conducting grace, like electricity, between God and another person. [...]

“When sorrows like sea billows roll…

Whatever my lot, You have taught me to say,[...]

This video was taken of Brock when he was in the ICU (and still intubated)...it's an amazing reminder of the power of prayer. Three weeks ago we were looking at the possibility of a very different outcome, and today, we are being prepped to go home on Monday! Please continue praying that Brock stays healthy and all scans show we are cleared to go home! [...]

Things have been slow around our room the last few days…and it’s a very welcomed change. We are down to vital checks every 12 hours, weight/head circumference checks at noon, meds at 9 am, 3 pm, and 9 pm, and visits from PT (physical therapy), OT (occupational therapy), and speech therapy. Our pediatrician has been wonderful at trying to make our last week here as “normal” as possible. We are no longer bothered by nurses once we get his 9 PM meds down, and we have a green light to let him sleep from 12-6 am without waking him for feedings. Better yet, the last two nights he has actually slept almost that entire 6 hours! He continues to gain weight (at the pace of a turtle), but slow and steady wins the race. Dr. Gore (overseeing his care) sees no need to fortify breastmilk at this point to add extra calories, so we are working with speech therapy and a lactation consultant to try and establish a better nursing relationship.[...]

We trust an UNKNOWN future to a KNOWN God.

~Brad and Taryn[...]

The consensus from the doctors is that instead of risking the Ventriculoperotoneal Shunt going through potentially infected tissue to relieve the "pressure" of fluid buildup, it is safer in his case to just leave him on antibiotics for another week and hope (pray) that pressure buildup does not become an issue.[...]

It's probably no surprise that my favorite roller coaster (to date) is the SUPERMAN at Six Flags... the one does the back flip around the giant superman statue. Perhaps it's appropriate that we call him "SuperBrock", because he's taken us on quite a ride the past couple days. Well, buckle up. The rollercoaster is getting ready to plummet again.[...]

This evening, Brock spiked a fever right after shift change. While this would be alarming regardless, it was more so because the last time his vitals had been checked was 8 hours previous. The day nurse had forgotten to take his vitals at 4 pm, so we are unsure how long he had the fever before it was addressed, doctors were notified, blood drawn, tests run, etc. Please pray with us that Brock was simply being cuddled a little too tightly and that his body has not caught anything else or this fever is not an indication of something we will see on his MRI/MRV scans tomorrow (like a pocket of infection in his brain). Our floor has now been opened to accept any cases due to shortages of beds, so we now have a number of flu/RSV cases on our floor. This increases the risk of us or another nurse/doctor exposing Brock simply by accident, so we are doing our best to stay in our room and be extra diligent about hand washing and nurse watching (making sure they gown/glove/mask up, washing stethoscopes, etc). Brock will not be allowed to eat anything after 2 am because of the anesthesia, so please be praying he sleeps soundly and gets an early spot for the scan. Mondays are always catch up day, but we have been told infants are typically booked after trauma, but before other older patients. We are hopeful that the MRI will show a decrease in the amount of swelling, but even more so that there are not any pockets of infection that would require additional weeks of antibiotics. If the scans are good, and the glucose and white blood cell counts from his lumbar puncture are in the correct ranges considering what he has been through, we will be looking at going home this week!![...]

Meningitis, as you're aware, has a long list of issues that tend to follow in its wake. One of those is hearing loss. In addition to the meningitis damage on the rest of the brain, both inner ears were also affected/damaged by the resulting inflammation. It is standard to have a hearing test done with meningitis cases, and particularly in his, with the inner-ear damage.[...]

Brad and I cannot say THANK YOU enough for everyone who went out of their way to make yesterday as special for us as possible considering the circumstances. Thank you for each thought sent our way, each prayer that had Brock's name, each gift under the tree; we are so incredibly blessed![...]