I visited Ian today, and when I got there he was wide awake. I learned, though, that he had the help today of a caffeine-like drug; they started him on it today. He did fall asleep after awhile, but it was good to see him so awake.
His mouth looks pretty irritated. His lips have scabs on them, and his tongue has something similar. I know this prevents some of his therapy, and it has to be very painful. Please pray that the Lord would heal his mouth.
I’ve been meditating on two verses. Romans 5:1 says that, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Christ’s death on the cross and His subsequent justifying of us ushered in a lifetime of peace and of God’s favor though we don’t deserve it. Through his death, he justified us, declaring us not guilty and making us his favored children. So, we can have peace, and we can expect blessings. “How will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” I can’t see what the future holds, but I trust that he will graciously do good to Ian and to his family and friends.
When Ian was getting his feeding today, he started to cough as though something was wrong. His nurse asked him if he was ok and he groaned “uh huh.” They asked him again if he was ok and he repeated his response. Wow.
Ian was also working really hard in therapy today to bring a washcloth to his face. It was the best that I’ve seen him respond to their asking him to do that, and he repeated it several times. It’s obvious that it’s not easy for him to do it, but he still works hard to do it.
Ian was very alert with me the whole afternoon and into the night. The past few days he has been very awake, and again, I can tell when he’s looking at me and that he knows what’s going on.
Ian’s most pressing need of prayer right now is for his mouth. Because he never closes his mouth, the inside of it has become very, very sore. Tonight I could tell that it was causing him a lot of pain. And because it is so sore, his speech therapist is not able to do everything that she normally would. We have seen time and time again that God answers our specific prayers for Ian, so please pray that God would heal his mouth. Pray that he would start closing his mouth and breathing more through his nose.
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matt. 7:11
-Larissa
[It was only three days ago – check the blog entry – that I asked for prayer that Ian would be awake for therapy, and look at him now. Please pray that Ian would be able to close his mouth and breathe through his nose. Pray that the Lord will heal the soreness in his mouth. Thanks…………Steve]
Ian’s EEG results showed no seizure activity. Also, his appointment with the plastic surgeon this week has been cancelled because his wound is healing so well. Also, his jaw isn’t broken; his original health charts were misread.
Please pray that Ian would be able to close his mouth more often. It will help the speech therapist to work with him.
Ian had a busy day yesterday, Monday, between his therapies and some other things that were going on. When I got there around 3:00 he was still very awake and very much focused on me when I talked to him. I still believe in my heart that he’s in there and that he can hear us when we talk to him. Please pray that he would not be frustrated that he can’t communicate with us and that God would soon give him his voice back.
David, Beth and I spent time worshiping and praying in Ian’s room and a few times he opened his eyes to look at us and just seemed very peaceful. I hope he was able to join in with our prayers.
While talking to Ian’s nurse last night, I was reminded that Ian is not the only person in that hospital who needs healing. There are many examples in the rooms surrounding him of families walking through trials and affliction- many of them possibly not saved and without the hope that we have. Thinking of it all just points me back to the cross….
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Cor. 1:3-4
Because of illness (Ian’s and mine), I haven’t had the opportunity to see Ian for about a week or more. I was surprised to see Ian checking me out with his eyes. In prior visits, he would focus on me and stare, but I don’t remember him moving his eyes around in a way that made me think he was checking me out. And, when we were in the hallway, a woman was walking by coming from behind Ian. As she passed by, he turned his eyes to her and followed her.
The title is from Psalm 127:2. It seems sleep is what God has been giving Ian lately and lots of it. Each time someone has visited lately, they’ve come back reporting that he was asleep the whole time they were there. That’s a good thing most of the time, but we want Ian to benefit from the therapy he’s getting. He falls asleep there, too, though.
God is wise and knows what’s best for Ian, but I pray that he would wake up enough to participate in the therapy.
Even while Ian’s jaw was broken, God allowed him to learn how to swallow differently to adapt to his injury. He doesn’t close his mouth to swallow like we do, but God equipped him with the strength to learn to do it a different way. God knew and still knows every detail of Ian’s body, even when we don’t.
Our God is so kind that His goodness doesn’t end when He saves us. He doesn’t grant us salvation and then leave us to fight our way through this world on our own. While salvation is our greatest need, He continues to grant us mercies, He continues to heal us, and He continues to guide us. There are still endless amounts of mercies and healing on their way to Ian, for the rest of his life. Let that encourage us to keep praying.
“I will sing of Your mercy that leads me through valleys of sorrow to rivers of joy.”
As of today, Ian has no infection in his sore on his back and the staff were very excited about that. He has gained 2.2 pounds since being at Children’s- also a great praise. Because his diet is more balanced they have been able to reduce his fluids which is just more evidence to us that God is still hearing and answering our prayers.
The staff looked back at Ian’s records and found that a bone in his jaw has been broken since the accident- it was probably just never addressed because of the severity of his other injuries. This break explains why he is unable to do certain things that the speech therapist asks of him and also may explain why he hasn’t progressed more in his ability to swallow. They are going to order some x-rays to see what their next step should be in addressing it. Please pray that God would either miraculously heal Ian’s jaw or would give the staff wisdom to know how to care for that specific need of Ian’s.
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” -Psalm 34:19-20
These are just some pictures of the Ian that we know and love. Since there isn’t anything new to post tonight, I wanted to take the opportunity to just think about who Ian is and who we’re praying for. I’m still praying that God completely restores him, because honestly, life is much funnier when he’s around.
In the article by John Piper that Larissa referenced called “Don’t Waste Your Cancer,” David Powlison adds some comments that struck me:
“Other people will often express their care and concern [which so many of you have] by inquiring about your health [or Ian’s health]. That’s good, but the converstation easily gets stuck there. So tell them openly about your sickness [or the latest news about Ian’s recovery], seeking their prayers and counsel, but then change the direction of the conversation by telling them what your God is doing to faithfully sustain you with 10,000 mercies.”
I want to update people on Ian’s condition, but I don’t want the conversation to get stuck there.
God is faithfully sustaining us (thank you for praying for us as well as Ian). There really are 10,000 mercies every day that we so easily forget. They’re things we don’t deserve. God is still good.
