Marcus update #7

Hello. Sorry it's been so long since my last update. We've been pretty busy. I think I was home for 1 day last week. I thought that I would put an early picture of Marcus on the blog this time to show how much better he is doing and how amazing our God is. He was doing and looking so much better by the time I started the blog that I figured that many of you have not seen an early picture of him. God has been at work healing Marcus. He's not done yet, but Marcus has certainly come a long way from where he started December 1st at 12:13 am.

The plan is for Marcus to come home tomorrow, Sunday Jan. 18th. He is doing very well. His platelets are up to 121, and his direct billirueben is down to an acceptable level. He will be coming home on oxygen, being fed through an NG tube (tube that goes down through his nose and into his stomach), and with an apnea monitor. So last week I had to take a few classes at the hospital and learn how to take care of Marcus at home.

I learned how to put in his feeding tube and care for it properly. I learned how to operate the apnea monitor and hook it up to Marcus. I took a refresher infant CPR course. And learned how to use the feeding pump. Marcus will be fed every 3 hours during the day and then will be on a constant feed for 8 - 10 hours during the night.

I'm sure it will be an adventure having him home. We are very excited for his homecoming. Kira and Aliyah are sick with coughs and runny noses, so please pray that they will get better quickly and that Marcus will not get sick.

Thank you all for you continued prayers for our family and for Marcus. He still has a few issues and could still use your prayers. His liver is still enlarged some and his direct billirueben still needs to come down some more. He still has 2 holes in his heart and a little fluid around his it. He still needs oxygen. And there is something about an area of his brain possibly not being fully milonated - I'm not sure exactly what that means yet, but am told that a neurologist will be looking at it further and that Marcus will probably need to have another MRI of his brain in a few weeks.

We appreciate you and your prayers and encouragement very much. God is good, and what He is doing with Marcus is all for His glory as well as for our good and our growth in Him. In this life we will have trouble and hard times, but take heart God has overcome the world and is always there for us to help us through whatever we must go through in this life. I don't know how people make it through life without Him.

Thank you.