“Cast your burden on the Lord,
and He will sustain you;
He will never permit
the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 55:22
Ian always encourages me to thank God every morning for sustaining me through the night. Ian has been sleeping for two months, yet God sustains him. He knows exactly what Ian needs and He cares for those needs. We need God every hour, and every hour He meets us.
-Larissa
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Please pray for Ian. He now has a serious infection in a sore in his lower back. The doctors are concerned for the infection, because it’s an infection and because it could slow his rehabilitation in other areas. This is their number one concern at this point. Please pray that it clears up; pray that they find an effective strategy for dealing with it.
Another concern is an infection in his eye. The infection could lead to other problems that could have long term consequences.
Both of these concerns could delay the surgery to his knee. If he has these two infections, the surgeon will be less inclined to do the surgery, because he would be at risk for getting those infections in his joint when the surgery was performed.
The doctors are also wondering if he’s been being fed enough. They’re going to begin to give him more. He’s lost a lot of weight, and they’re wondering if he’s getting enough nutrition to fight these infections.
Remember this quote from Spurgeon from a previous post?
“If all these things [i.e. all God’s promised blessings] are to be had by merely knocking at mercy’s door, O my soul, knock hard this morning, and ask large things of thy generous Lord. Leave not the throne of grace till all thy wants have been spread before the Lord, and until by faith thou hast a comfortable prospect that they shall be all supplied. No bashfulness need retard when Jesus invites. No unbelief should hinder when Jesus promises. No cold-heartedness should restrain when such blessings are to be obtained.”
Knock hard on mercy’s door for Ian and ask large things of your generous Lord. Thanks.
Steve
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Lydia, Ian’s little sister, has been asking to visit Ian (she’s almost 3). We haven’t wanted to take her, because she’s had a runny nose. Mary promised she would take her when she was better. “Will he squeeze our hand?” was her question.
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I visited Ian last night, and, though I wasn’t able to talk with any of the therapists, one of the nurses told me they downsized Ian’s trach. I knew that was progress when I heard it, because they had told us before what progress would look like. They had said before that they were going to try the special valve on his trach (see previous post “Gizmo Noise”) for a long time (i.e. all day). If he tolerated that (i.e. if his blood oxygen level stayed normal), they would downsize the trach to a smaller one. That’s what they’ve done. The next step is to cap it, and if he tolerates that they pull it completely. In other words, at that point, he wouldn’t need the trach at all.
All of this means that he’s breathing and coughing and swallowing more normally and without the assistance of the trach. It also means that he’ll be able to talk to us more easily when he’s ready.
Pray that he could talk to us. And, remember to pray that his eye would heal and that his knee would heal.
Thank you so much for praying…
Steve
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I got a call this morning from the VP for Student Affairs and the Dean of Ian’s college at IUP. The department, the dean’s office, the president and vice president have all been discussing Ian, and they decided that despite the fact that he officially had one more semester to go (17 credits that did not relate to his major at all) they’re going to confer on him his bachelor’s degree. They pointed to the amount of work Ian did on his internship (he worked 12-16 hours a day, six days a week over the summer) and to his outstanding work on the internship as evidence of his fitness to receive the degree. They offered our family the opportunity to receive his degree on his behalf at the graduation ceremony where David Altrogge (his best friend) will be the student speaker.
The staff at IUP have been very kind. Thank you.
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Here’s another very specific prayer request:
Ian’s right eye has never really closed completely since the accident. It was the right side of his head that was injured, and we’ve noticed that the right side of his face and his right arm don’t move as much as the left side. His right eye hasn’t worked properly either. It wanders, is red, doesn’t dilate like the other eye and doesn’t focus like his left eye. It also doesn’t close all the way, and that’s more serious than the other issues.
The ophthalmologist saw him today and said that the effect of him not blinking completely or closing it completely is that the cornea is inflamed. If that condition continues, it could lead to worse things. They’ve been treating it with a goopy stuff that lubricates his eye, but the doctor wants to take a more aggressive approach to treatment. He wants the lubrication to be more frequent, and he’s going to order the strongest antibiotic to combat any infection that might be in his eye. If his condition doesn’t improve, he said he’ll need to sew it closed or mostly closed until his condition does improve just to protect the eye from further damage.
Please pray that Ian’s ability to close his eye would improve. Pray that he would be able to blink and close his eyes on every blink. Blinking and closing our eyes are protective measures for the eyeball. His inability to blink and close his eyes has led to the inflamation.
Pray, too, that his control over his eye would improve. He is able to look at us with both eyes focused, but if we move to his left his right eye won’t follow.
Thank you for your prayers….
Steve
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Ian had a busy day of therapy and visitors today, and he was sleeping soundly when I visited him later at night. I read in his journal that he was smiling for Jen Grover and moving his arms. I’ve also noticed that he is moving more even while he is sleeping, which is pretty cool.
Our pastor, Mark Altrogge, gave a very encouraging message yesterday based on the first chapter of Luke when the angel Gabriel visited Mary and gave her the news that she would conceive a child- but not just a child, the son of God. Of the many encouraging and applicable truths conveyed, a few have really stuck with me.
These few verses tell us a lot about the trinity, and also give glimpses of who Mary was. Mary was born a sinner in need of grace but God poured out His favor on her. She wasn’t royalty, she was a young, average if not poor girl, but God chose her to give birth to Jesus. None of us were royalty before we were saved, but God still poured out His favor on us and continues to do so.
Also, God is all-powerful. Nothing is too hard for him. He allowed both Mary and Elizabeth to become pregnant. There is nothing in us that he can’t change. I think about how He changed my heart when He saved me- if He can do that, surely He can change other people’s hearts and He can definitely heal Ian’s brain. He can change us instantly.
Lastly, Mary didn’t question Gabriel when he gave her this “astonishing announcement.” She responded with faith and submission. How I long to be like that, to respond in faith and say “my life is yours, whatever you have for my life is best because you are my king.” We should all desire to respond to trials with faith and submission, trusting in God’s sovereignty.
I pray that as each of you walks through trials, you can respond in faith and submission. Thank you, Mark, for allowing God to use you to teach us such great lessons.
-Larissa
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Below is note from a good friend who encouraged all of us with her thoughts about Lazarus. Thanks, Patty!
Steve,
I was driving home from work yesterday praying for Ian and I said to God, “Please send supernatrual healing and restoration to Ian.” Immediately my mind said to me,”Well I guess that’s not going to happen.” I thought about how agonizingly slow this seems sometimes and I was overwhelmed by a feeling of frustration and disappointment. I guess I expected Ian to sit up in bed, pull out all the tubes and drive himself home or something. But then, immediately after that the Holy Spirit showed me that I was looking at this whole thing the wrong way, again. (I hate that I frequently look at things the wrong way.) God reminded me that, in all truthfulness, Ian should not have survived that wreck. Even the doctors thought so as they advised you guys to call the family in to say good-bye and you all even talked with a funeral director about arraingements. But Ian didn’t die. Anytime someone is supposed to be dead and they aren’t it is an example of supernatural healing and restoration. The fact that Ian responds everyday is an example of supernatural intervention. We are looking at a miracle of restoration every day.
This made me think of Lazarus, who Jesus also brought back from the dead, and I saw some interesting parallels:
As far as this “taking too long” I realized for the first time that the Bible story of Lazarus ends with them unwrapping him. We don’t know if he was back to his usual pre-death self right away or if it took time for him to recover. Clinically speaking, (which I can’t help but do) Lazarus’ brain and muscles were without oxygen for at least 4 days. He was problably very weak and may have even had to be taught to do some stuff over again. His personality might have been somewhat different; how could it not have been? Being dead and coming back to life would somehow change a person, I would think. We just don’t know a lot of the details about his experiences from then on. Maybe when Ian gets to heaven (someday in the far distant future) he will look up Lazarus and say, “I read where Jesus brought you back from the dead. He did the same for me.” And they will go off together and compare stories.
Patty
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Ian was awake for me for about two hours tonight, and I could tell he was there with me the whole time. He was tracking pictures with his eyes when I held them in front of him and he was moving his left arm a lot, picking it up, and grabbing his gown. It was a really nice time just reading scripture to him and worshiping with him.
Weekends and evenings after 5:00 are really great times to visit Ian; especially if you haven’t seen him lately, it would be really encouraging to go. The staff have asked us to limit it to 2 people at a time, or 3 at the most. Also, when you are with Ian just have one person talking at a time- it makes it easier for him. Please call the Murphy’s if you want to visit because you need a special code to get in.
Thank you for all of your prayers. He’s come a long way already.
-Larissa
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It’s hard to put into an email message the impressions we’ve had from the staff at the Children’s Institute. Hopeful or enthusiastic might be the best summary. People here are trained to see the signs that Ian is really there, and they work with what they see with enthusiasm. We’re amazed to see what they see and hear their expectancy for progress.
They really work him hard and work hard for him. They have him on a schedule where every morning he’s up and dressed and into something. He has three hours of therapy every day (speech, occupational and physical) with naps into between and a shower at night. The people in each respective field really seem to know what to look for, and each has very clear goals for him. What’s surprising, too, is that so many of them know something about the other disciplines including the nurses. With expectation and a surprising amount of knowledge, they can tell us what each different therapist looks for. The specialists are designing special splints for his hands and a special wheelchair just for his situation. It just seems like everyone is working so hard on him.
They have so many success stories here, too, that it’s hard not to get our hopes sky high. It’s amazing to us that he’s even in this facility and is receiving such good care. We thank God for his kindness in bringing him here. He definitely has a long way to go, though. Your prayers for Ian are very significant to us. Thank you.
Steve Murphy
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