I Will Give Thee Rest

Little Pate Pate hasn't had anything to eat since midnight, and we were so concerned it'd be a miserable night and morning for him, as he was not taken into surgery until just 45 minutes ago, about 1 PM. But God answered the prayers of so many of you, and enabled him to rest some. We took turns being with him from about 3 AM on, and he slept off and on, but he really wasn't ever too fussy. Finally this morning, he drifted off into a nice snooze before they finally came to take him. This was so much more peaceful that we thought, and we can't help believing this was of the Lord. The Lord also gave us peace and has kept us feeling fairly rested.

Nice Visit Yesterday

We had a nice little Family Time yesterday afternoon. The kids all enjoyed their little brother. Surgery is scheduled today for around noon. Poor little fella hasn't gotten to eat since midnight! :(

A Nice Pic

I thought this was a nice picture of the little fella.  He goes for surgery tomorrow to put in the shunt.  Please pray.  Thank you, and good night!

On Hold

Up and down.  Back and forth.  On and Off again.  This is life in the hospital.  Doctoring is science, to be sure, but it is far from an exact science.  When you really spend time around the medical profession, you realize just how many judgment calls are a part of it.  Sometimes we're tempted to think of doctors as almost omniscient because of all their study and experience, but their work is far from infallible.  This is why our dependence on the Great Omnipotent and Omniscient Physician is so stabilizing.

The neurosurgeons were marking Paton's head this morning in preparation for the shunt placement, when the word came back that there is still sign of possible infection.  They are going to do a culture and hopefully get the results back by this evening.  They're going to watch him carefully for the next couple of days, and try the surgery again probably Monday or Tuesday morning.  So, once again, we wait on the Lord.

Surgery Tomorrow

Please pray for our little fella, if you would.  Things have been moving pretty fast.  The doctors said that he's over his infection, and they are going to do a surgery to put in a shunt tomorrow morning about 8.  Wow.  We thought we'd be another couple of weeks before they thought about that.  If all goes well, he should be in for another week or two for recovery.  Our main request is that God would grant the doctors wisdom.  He is the Great Physician.  We lean on Him.

Fighting Infection

The little fella's new home is in Texas Children's Hospital Level 2 Nursery for at least the next month.  The infection he developed is coming under control, but they still have a ways to go to get it all.  Then, once the infection is completely gone, the doctor has said to "prepare for the fact that he's almost certainly going to need a shunt."  The doctors now believe the cerebrospinal fluid from his head is making its way down to the surgery site on his back where it collects.  The shunt is a small valve and tubing inserted under his skin, running from his head down into his abdominal cavity, where the fluid will be absorbed by the body.

Jen's staying with the other kids in the morning, and then spending the afternoons/evenings with Paton.  Some of the church folks are helping me with keeping the kids some afternoons.  Others have made us wonderful meals.  We're so thankful for our church family.  We're looking forward to the time when Paton can be home for good!

Here for a While

Paton's here for a while -- they said probably 10-14 days to fight the infection, and to reevaluate whether he will need a shunt.  A little fluid has returned at his lesion site.  If it continues, they will drain the fluid externally until they can put in the shunt.  So, it'll be a while.  But hopefully we can be sure at the end of this whether or not a shunt is necessary.