September 1, 2006 

A Call to Prayer

Philippians 4:4-7 NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again!  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Dear Friends,

Our precious Alison has had a difficult week.  The swelling in her tiny body, which has been present for approximately two weeks, made it extremely difficult for her lungs to perform as they should.  A large amount of fluid was present in her upper chest cavity that helps protect her lungs.  Starting Monday, our Alison found it increasingly difficult to expand her lungs when breathing, which in turn affected the proper amount of oxygen being sent throughout her small body.  Tuesday, her vital statistics continued a slow decline; and on Wednesday, she struggled to breathe effectively.

Of course, Alison’s mom and dad were worried for their little girl and spent the day and night at the hospital with her.  We just wanted to be close to her.  Our hearts were heavy and the Lord was gracious.  We truly felt His presence. 

Alison’s doctors were able to stabilize her vital statistics by adding some breathing treatments and increasing the settings on the ventilator to force more air into her lungs.  Her vital statistics stayed steady in a safe range throughout Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but then started slowly dropping again.

Her doctors ordered a chest ultrasound a little after noon Thursday and the ultrasound showed a large amount of fluid build-up in her chest cavity.  Early Wednesday morning, Stephanie and I were able to see an increase in the visible swelling in her chest and little head.  After several days of watching the swelling recede, it gave us reason to seek the Great Physician.

After the ultrasound confirmed the doctors’ suspicions, they inserted a tube into both sides of her chest to remove some of the fluid.  During the procedure, over 170 cc’s of fluid were removed from her upper chest cavity.  During the night and early morning today, another 200 cc’s of fluid have oozed from the wounds.  So together, approximately 370 cc’s of fluid have been removed from her chest--approximately a half-pound.

Alison was stable during the procedure and her oxygen stats started climbing and her elevated heart rate started declining.  Praise be to the Lord!  We saw her assisted oxygen stats go to 100 percent for the first time in many days.  And they stayed in the high 90’s during the night.  Stephanie and I were able to comfortably sleep at home last night through the peace granted by our Heavenly Father.  He is truly faithful!

Our Alison’s lungs are still in a weakened condition due to the anemia at birth, her being born premature at 33 ½ weeks, and the use of the oscillator during the first two weeks of her life.  We feel led to specifically pray for the healing of our daughter’s lungs today, Saturday and Sunday.  We ask that you join us in lifting Alison’s little lungs up to our Heavenly Father and ask for His hand of protection and healing to be upon His precious child in Christ Jesus.

We give the Lord praise and thanksgiving for all He has made possible through His grace, wisdom and healing.  We stand in amazement of our Heavenly Father.  All praise solely belongs to Him!

Please stand in the gap with us this weekend on Alison’s behalf.  We love you and appreciate all you are doing to lift up our precious daughter in prayer and thanksgiving.

Blessings to you,

Langston and Stephanie