Marcus update #4

Hi. I was going to send out an update sooner, but the flu has been keeping me busy here. The kids have all taken turns getting sick. The latest one was this morning - he managed to hit 3 beds, the wall, the blanket covering the window, and his sister's hair all in one shot. Needless to say, the washing machine got used quit a bit today. The dryer quit a few weeks ago here, but it was so nice out today that everything got dry hanging out on the clothes line.

Ok... Marcus... On Monday this week he was up to full feeds (44 ml), and 4 lbs. 15 oz. He had no more IV's, his platelet count was really good (up to 92), and his total billirueben was down from 8.9 to 4.5. Everything was looking good and he was doing so well we were talking about possibly being days away from bringing him home.

On Tuesday he got sick. Very discouraging. He had blood in his stool, and in his stomach. He quit digesting his food, so they had to stop feeding him and go back to IV nutrition. They said he could possibly have an infection and they are giving him anitbiotics for 48 hours. They also said that it could be viral. So far today the tests have not revealed any infection. Because of the bleeding his platelets were down again as well as his red blood count so they had to give him a transfusion again.

He had an ultrasound on his stomach yesterday and his spleen is a good size and his liver has reduced in size a little. He had another echocardiogram today which showed that his PDA had closed now. The other 2 holes in his heart are about the same size as they were when they looked last (I believe that was about 2 weeks ago now).

So... please pray for Marcus to get better from whatever is making him sick. Continue to pray for him liver to shrink and for God to close the holes in his heart. Pray that he will grow strong and healthy and be able to come home.

Just a quick note about a previous prayer request I had posted... we were able to get our car running on Monday and it ended up being something that was a pretty inexpensive and easy fix (the Throttle Position Sensor).

Thank you again for your continued prayers for Marcus and our family. We hope that God will bless you as you seek Him and draw near to Him this year. Happy New Year - 2009.