Praise God! .......... Again..........

Here's the scoop on Ethan. The sutures in the forehead have fused, but that's OK because they can fuse any time in the first year. The other sutures are all just fine. Bottom line: No surgery needed!

What we think happened is that Ethan's head was in the 70th percentile for newborns shortly after he was born. It is now in the 5th percentile for seven month olds. Ordinarily this should send up warning flags, which is precisely what happened. What the medical folks failed to take into consideration is that he was in the 70th percentile because his head was swollen. They also failed to consider his original due date rather than his birth date. Factor out the extra month and he's in the 35th percentile for his gestational plus birth age which is OK.

Or maybe God just healed him........

Either way. Praise God!

They also took the little guy to see the pediatric opthamologist. He doesn't think the lack of focus problem is mechanical but developmental/neurological in nature. So, the plan is to use stimulation to help Ethan focus. Bright mobiles and toys along with toys that have blinking lights but no sound. They want him turning his gaze toward the lights and not toward the sound. Oh, and they'll be sure and avoid strobing (fast flash) lights so as not to trigger a seizure.

Here's how to continue praying:

• Pray that the use of stimulation will help Ethan to develop and be able to focus
• Pray that the cause of the seizures will correct itself and he can be removed from the need for medication
• Pray that Sean and Ash will continue to rest in the Lord and grow in faith
• Pray in praise and thanksgiving for this good news

Thanks for your continued prayers. I know that Ethan will certainly appreciate it when he's old enough to understand and we certainly appreciate it now.

May God grant you his richest blessings.

Need More Prayer

Last week we heard that Ethan was rolling his eyes up, then to the right followed by a grunt. I mentioned that it sounded like a small seizure (always the same sequence indicating that the same part of the brain was being affected) and urged the kids to get Ethan in to see the neurologist. The earliest they could get them in was over a month off. Fortunately Ethan got in to see him much sooner. That's good since the seizures were initially happening every morning but started happening during the day as well.

Today at lunch I got a call from my wife telling me about the results of the visit to the doctor. Following are the things the doctor related to Sean and Ashli and the object of renewed prayers on Ethan's behalf:

1. According to the neurologist, Ethan's head has stopped growing. The next step will be to see if the skull fissures have knit together already. If so, there will be surgery needed to allow the skull to expand. It's my guess that this is what they'll find (although it is my prayer that it's something "easier"). If the brain is continuing to grow and the skull is not expanding the pressure on the brain could be part of what is triggering the seizures. That's not the doctor's assessment (that I know of) but my own speculation.
2. The doctor is going to put Ethan on medication for the seizures and expects that he will be on the meds for two years. That would indicate to me that the doctor thinks the seizures are unrelated to the growth issues which kind of counters my speculation above.
3. Please pray for Sean and Ashli as they had settled in to thinking that all they needed to do was wait while Ethan caught up and now there seems to be an additional setback.

I said "seems to be" because I believe that when we serve God there are no setbacks. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. This situation has already been through the hands of God and he could have prevented it had he chosen to. There is something better to be had by dealing with this current situation. Do I know what that is? No. Not at all. But I have seen God take what seems to be bad and turn it into something you wouldn't necessarily want to go through again but you also wouldn't want to give up what was gained in the process.

Let's pray for God to heal Ethan but at the same time thank him for whatever good he is working out through this situation.