Sunday: Church, Lunch and Platelets

We made it to church this morning. That was a blessing. I don't think Kim and I have ever felt as ministered to as we did today. It was good to be with our church family. I actually enjoyed answering the same question over and over again. Simply put, I felt loved. Our Affirmation of Faith today came from the Westminster Confession of Faith 2.2.

God hath all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them. He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things and hath most sovereign dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or upon them whatsoever Himself pleaseth. In His sight all things are open and manifest, His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the creature, so as nothing is to Him contingent, or uncertain. He is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands. To Him is due from angels and men, and every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience He is pleased to require of them.

I nearly cried as we affirmed this great truth about our great God and Father. I did cry when my friend Justin led the church in prayer for our little Will. It was good to be there.
We had a great time with our friend Ted and Staci after church. They treated us to a great lunch. Ted and Staci have a 7 year old who spent several weeks in the NICU when he was born. It is good to talk with friends who really understand what’s going on. We have been blessed with such great friends.

Today, we got the news that Will’s platelet count was low. It was a little low last night and went lower this morning. This is most like the result of some sort of infection. He’s on an antibiotic and we’ll get test results in the morning. If it is something viral, he’ll go on anti-viral meds then. We’re also praying for Kim. She’s been going up and down with a fever and general “feeling yuck-i-ness” (that’s the technical medical terminology…I asked a nurse and she said so). She was great a church and during lunch and then she’s been mostly asleep since then. Whenever she has a fever she has to go 12 hours without one before she can go back in the NICU. That’s really hard for her (and me). It is entirely possible that Will’s infection is the same thing Kim’s struggling with.

I went down tonight and spent some time just talking with him. He grabbed my finger and pulled it close into his chest. I pretty much melted into a puddle of goo (sorry for more technical medical terminology). It was so fun to just look into each other’s eyes (even though he can’t really see much more than fuzzy spots and light…then again, it’s not like seeing me up close is all that much of a treat, maybe fuzzy spots and light is an improvement). We had a great chat and he passes on his deep appreciation and love for each one of you as do Kim and I. It is an encouragement every day to see all the people who are following along with Will’s story and praying for our little guy. We are blessed.

Kim's Sister and Dad came to visit this weekend too. It was great having them here. We're looking forward to when Jennifer comes back in February for Will's birth (what do they say about the best laid plans?).

Kim's Mom has been here all week doing yeoman's work with Hunter and Millie. I'm not sure how we would have worked this stuff out without her.

And finally, a little more fun picture. Have you ever worked on a car and gotten your hands really dirty? I mean so dirty that you have to use Lava soap? Lava soap has pumice in it and an industrial strength degreaser to work all the gunk off your hands. It also takes off the top layer of skin. Now, have you ever thought, "You know, I'm not sure that just taking off the top layer of skin will get my hands so clean that I'd consider them sterile. Is there a soap product out there that might chemically remove the top 3-4 layers of skin?" Yes. Yes there is. It's called Triseptin and we use it to scrub in every time we enter the NICU. My hands are starting to look like a lizard when he's molting. Fun times. Fun time, indeed. Thank you for praying!