Remembering the Path

Proverbs 3: 5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

My husband and I prayed.  I mean, we REALLY prayed.  I want you to know that.  Each step of this process was about our relationship with our Lord.  We didn't think at any point that this was something we could handle on our own.  I tell you this because I think we sometimes find ourselves in hard circumstances and we start to think it is all about the circumstances and what we do or don't do to help get ourselves out of these circumstances.  Sometimes it isn't about getting out, but getting through.  In our conversations and in our prayers, we truly believed that the less we intervened the better.  Most doctors would have told us we were crazy, and maybe we were (well, I am sure that we are, but that is for totally different reasons!), but we never wavered from that decision.  My heart was at total peace with that.  It seemed the only right thing to do for us. I truly believe that if I were supposed to have handled it differently, then that peace would not have been there... not when I was so  deeply in prayer about these things.  That fact would proved to be something I had to remind myself of over and over again after Jack died.  We start to question all of our decisions once things start to go horribly wrong and we forget about the peace that was in the decision.  Or we start to doubt that peace.  Having our blog helped us remember.  It continues to help me remember when I start to doubt.  God is so good as to give us tools to remember who He is and what He has done.

These are excerpts from updates four and five.  Gestation age was 25/26 weeks.

Updates Four and Five 

The doctor reported to us that the significance of the fluid in our baby's chest is probably not affecting his lung development negatively, but there are signs that his heart is beginning to be affected by the pressure buildup. We are told that he has a slight tricuspid regurgitation. The doctor does not think this is a life-threatening condition in the immediate future. We have a follow-up exam next Friday, at which point she (the doctor) will most likely recommend the thoracentesis be done. We will have that procedure done at the UNC Medical Center so that, in the case that our baby does not respond well to the procedure, he can be delivered via emergency cesarean section and have a good chance of survival. His current gestational age is 25 weeks.

Our ultrasound from this morning revealed that there is no significant change in the baby's health, thus we can continue our nonintervention in the pregnancy (we do not have to get the thoracentesis at this point in time). We will return in two weeks for another exam. So, while we are still wandering in the realm of the unknown, at least we are giving the baby more time to grow and develop in the womb. I see this good news as God's provision for us through your many prayers; please continue to do so on our behalf.