God's Way is Perfect

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

God's way IS perfect!
Psalm 18:30

Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart.
Proverbs 3:5

These verses have been flooding our minds and hearts over these last two weeks.  For 7.5 years we have been trusting.  Casting our cares upon God alone to sustain, provide, comfort, strengthen....heal.  Our hope is built on Christ the solid rock and it is only by HIS strength that Princess has been able to be where she is today.

Tomorrow....Neuro ICU.  Again, Plasma Exchange is where the Lord is taking us next.  There are many concerns.  First, a praise-we have made some excellent progress with the docs and team here and while Princess' seizures are still ongoing, it was good to hear that some of the seizures she had yesterday showed different EEG readings that gave the docs more insight to Princess' complex situation.

Prayers and Tomorrow

Pray for the new staff and team that we'll encounter tomorrow.  There is a lot of uncertainty going into tomorrow as to what to expect and even what our timeline will be.  We do know that we will be transferred sometime after 7 AM.  Thereafter, we will be met with new nurses and new docs that will oversee Princess' care this coming week.  A surgeon will place the central line.  Please pray specifically for this procedure.  As many of you know, Princess' seizures can actually be triggered by an alcohol prep.  Therefore, due to the procedure we will have to sterilize the surgical site, but will be praying that no seizures will occur that could possibly disrupt the timing of this delicate procedure in placing the line and cause potential damage and or a need to start the procedure over, possibly compounding the complications.

Thereafter, we will begin Princess' first exchange.  This process will be delicate for many reasons.  First, Princess' heart is already beating much faster than yours or mine.  This is caused namely because of a condition called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).  As well, Princess's overall blood volume is low.  In an effort to pump blood more efficiently and get it to where it needs to be, the heart has to pump faster since the volume is low.  This stress on the heart has to be monitored and over a period of time can be extremely dangerous.  So going into tomorrow's procedure there is this concern.  An even greater concern is that due to the exchange Princess' blood volume will be lowered putting even more stress on the heart...A concern that the doctors are already looking ahead to. So please pray specifically for Princess' heart.  Pray that the heart will perform well and that in tomorrow's first exchange she will feel totally at peace and we won't have the issues of an elevated heart rate.

Please pray specifically for Princess' blood.  Over the last year her Iron count and ferritin levels have been decreasing.  Because of this she is battling anemia.  For some reason, her body is not absorbing/getting enough iron to have efficient blood.  Therefore, the rich oxygenated blood that you and I have is not exactly what Princess has.  Again, problems for Princess.  The exchange poses another problem because as her plasma and blood are removed the exchange will actually decrease many of the proteins and building blocks that are necessary for good blood.  While this might not be a concern for most, because Princess' blood is already lacking in iron, there is great concern that the anemia could get much worse triggering even more problems.  Please pray specifically that Princess' iron counts tomorrow morning will have actually increased prior to the procedure.  Please pray that there will not be an issue as her blood returns to her body once being scrubbed in the exchange and that her body will be able to cope with many of the missing proteins.

As Princess' blood volume will be decreased in the procedure please pray that this will not cause any secondary side effects like a headache.  Princess is susceptible to migraines and headaches and if any of you have experienced a migraine you can certainly relate to the pain.  This will be a concern certainly as we will be migrating through other potential problems.

So, simply put, thank you.  Your support and encouragement through emails and texts has been wonderful. We give tomorrow to the Lord and are asking Him to guide us tomorrow.  Specifically, to address all the needs and concerns.  Pray also for our nurse that will be assigned to us, the surgeon, the plasma technologist, the immunologist, and our team that we are currently with.

Please also pray that I will be able to be by Princess' side during her time in the ICU.  We did learn that it may not be an option for me to be by her side after a certain time/during the night.  Ultimately, I want to be by my wife for life and can't stand not being with her during this time.  Pray that doors would be opened and I will get to be by her side.

Ultimately, pray that Princess will be healed.  That the Plasma exchange won't just provide a temporary relief, but a permanent relief.  The exchange itself, if it works, should only be a temporary fix, but Lord willing what if it was more than just temporary?  Pray that our week would be short and that Princess can get back home.

...And back home to Critter!


To GOD be ALL the Glory.