Morning Update – A Call for Prayers

Yesterday morning, Zach was taken off of sedation. It has now been over 24 hours without any sedation, and Zach has not woken up. The doctors are concerned that his brain may be impacted by his illness, and so they are sending him down for a CT scan of his brain right now.

Please pray that Zach will regain consciousness soon. Pray also that Zach’s brain function may be preserved.

“Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!” (Psalm 4:1)

Evening Update

Patience. Patience. Patience.

Today’s theme is patience. It’s a virtue. It’s part of the fruit of the Spirit. It’s a gift. It’s something we all admit we need more of.

The Bible shows us what real patience is. It’s so much more than just a gift and something we wish we had more of. True patience is more, much more, than being patient in a grocery store line up or showing patience in traffic.

In Romans 12, the Greek word for patience is hypomeno. It means to remain, not recede or flee. It means to persevere under misfortunes and trials. It means to hold fast to one’s faith in Christ. It means to endure, bear bravely and calmly, ill treatments.

Today we really needed hypomeno. We needed patience. And lots of it. We prayed for it. Lots of it. And God gave it. Lots of it. We will remain. We will persevere. We will hold fast. We will endure. But only in the power of the Holy Spirit who is injecting us with a heavy dosage of hypomeno! Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise God for patience!

Today’s Updates:

The Lord has heard our prayers! The CT imaging of Zach’s brain looks normal. He’s still sleeping and they’re going to give him more time to regain consciousness. Please pray with us for patience while we wait for him to wake up.

Zach’s right lung collapsed today and they inserted a chest tube to allow the lung to re-inflate. The doctors were surprised because Zach’s breathing has been steady with no increased difficulty. We’re attributing his ability to function with reduced lung capacity to Zach’s amazing lungs from his years of long distance running. We’re glad they found the collapsed lung on the scan and treated it right away! Zach is still on the same levels of the ventilator as he was last night.

His right hand and feet look the same as yesterday, the doctors are still expecting him to lose part or all of his hand and feet. They did an ultrasound of his heart (ECHO) to make sure the heart wasn’t the cause, and the heart looks healthy and normal! Another reason to praise God while also praying for patience.

At the time of writing this message, Zach is looking stressed with a higher heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate. The nurses are giving him some more pain medication, and they say the stress is expected because he’s had an active day with the chest tube insertion and multiple imaging studies. We’re hoping Zach will be able to calm down soon and not be in pain. Your continued thoughts and prayers are felt and appreciated.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (Romans 12:12)