Prayers and Another Procedure Update

Once again, thank you for your prayers!! God is soooo great! I prayed for God to guide our decisions today regarding this unexpected surgery for Gigi. I was so worried that if we allowed the surgery to replace her "obstructed" drain, that we might stand in the way of God's miracle healing. Boy-o-boy... did He show me a few things about faith today!!!!!! Basically, I was putting God in a box by thinking such things. He is WAY too big for that!!!

I prayed for Him to show me very clearly if the surgery today was neccessary.... if it was His will. I stressed the word "CLEARLY", and asked Him to open doors specifically pointing to the operating room if He was for it, and to close doors/place obstacles if He wanted us to decline the OR today. (Kim, thank you for Rev 3:7-8). The neurosurgeon was very understanding of my concerns during our morning phone conversation, and said he would postpone the surgery if I wished. He expected to be able to add her in to the hectic OR schedule in the late afternoon or evening, and we would have plenty of time to decide.

Well, I walked into the hospital at 11:00am and the receptionist at the front desk told me the doctor was on the phone... yikes! His news was that an operating room would be available at noon and he needed to know our decision now. Could God have opened the door any more clearly (and quickly)than that???? For extra confirmation, I went to see Gigi and found that her soft spot was getting more firm... a sign that pressure was building in her head due to lack of fluid flow. It was all the comfirmation I needed. Off to the OR she went!

The neurosurgeon removed her temporary shunt (called an EVD-external ventricular drain) and replaced it, and noted clots in her old tube... an obstruction, just as he had predicted. I am truly amazed at the depth of his skill in such tiny babies! Praise God for opening my eyes and granting me peace in this decision.

Gigi did very well...she is sedated and on the vent but should wean off vey quickly. The infection is responding nicely to the antibiotics! She'll need continued antibiotics for about 2-3 weeks, and is expected to have her shunt placed sometime near Thanksgiving. Today, November 7th, is her "due date" and she weighs 6 pounds....yippee!!

Please continue to pray for healing, strengthening, and protection against infection! Thank you, thank you my dear friends for your prayers and encouragement!!!
Blessings!
Jen