SO HAPPY

People ask me why I still go to my kids' practices.  And my answer is: I want to be there.  These are the things that are important to them and I want to be a part of it.  I love that they talk about the funny things that were said at practice on the ride home.  They want to analyze their performance.  They replay their favorite moments and ask me if I saw "it".  So, even though I can't make them all, I will be there when I can.  I feel the years slipping away and I want to soak up every moment.  (I just hope he lets me ride along when he starts driving himself.  Ha!)

Tonight was especially sweet.  Grant was able to return to practice.  You could not wipe the smile off his face.  He was just so thankful to be on the court.  And his happiness made this mama happy.  I'm also so thankful for this amazing group of boys that have walked alongside him through this and fought for him.  The blessings of these friendships are a gift from God.  (And they did a great job staying out of the "no contact" zone.)

Grant saw the urologist for a check up today.  He has had almost no bleeding and the clot had shrunk significantly.  He was released to do activities that do not involve contact, even riding a bike!  He is hoping/planning to be back to playing with his team by the first of the year.  This is truly a miracle and his spirits were lifted today.  We are so grateful for all the prayers and ask that you continue to pray for complete healing.

 

Road to Recovery

Grant had a checkup at the urologist this morning.  He told me yesterday that he was praying that the doctor was going to tell him that he was a miracle...one in a million...and was completely healed.  We discussed how that was completely possible because God is God.  But, if not, He is still good.  Well, while the report was not of complete healing, he did get good news.  Notably, he was cleared to start driving again.  The doctor also told him he could start being more active (in isolation).  He can do light workouts and even shoot a basketball (alone).  This is all really great news.  Today marks 4 weeks since the accident.  Grant had hit a mental wall this week.  He was very frustrated because of how limited his activities, and therefore social interactions, had been.  We are thankful for a move in the right direction today.

Physically, Grant is feeling better.  He is not needing any pain meds and is mainly just sore on days he is more active.  The sonogram today still showed a very large blood clot around his kidney, which we are just waiting to dissolve.  This is going to take a while as he lost 30-40% of his blood in the original bleed.  The kidney was nearly cut in half, so the sonogram showed that there is also a clot between the 2 halves that will need to dissolve before the kidney can heal itself.  And the kidney is functioning.  He is no longer bleeding, just sloughing blood from the clot.  That is great news too!  He's also been seeing the chiropractor 3x a week.  His alignment is looking a lot better.  She's still not doing a full adjustment, but just the muscle release has been significant.  Slow and steady.....not so fun for anybody, especially a 15 year old boy.  

Again, we can not thank you all enough for how you have supported our family through this, especially the prayers.  Grant is still praying to salvage some of his basketball season, which starts next week.  

Baby Steps

 

Grant has been making small improvements each day.  His appetite is returning.  I've caught him in the pantry snacking the last 2 days.  That's a praise!  He's sleeping a little better each night.  He has not slept in his own bed because his room is upstairs and he's not quite ready to tackle those yet.  But, sleep is good for everyone!  His blood counts had also increased at his visit to the pediatrician on Tuesday. It's going in the right direction.  I also just want to say THANK YOU for every card, text, gift, meal, prayer, visit and every other way that you guys have loved on our entire family.  It's truly been overwhelming and we are so very grateful.

Some prayer requests:

Grant is still bleeding.  This was concerning to us, his pediatrician, and the urologist UNTIL the urologist looked at his medical chart including his CT scans (which he did prior to his appointment on Friday and gave us a call today).  He kept reiterating how serious of an injury this was and that Grant is just lucky to have his kidney.  So, at this point, we are still waiting because he will need to stop bleeding eventually.  Also, we know that he's not just lucky.  He is being held in God's sovereign hand.

Grant is severely out of alignment.  You can see from the picture that if he stands on his right foot, his left foot does not touch the ground.  This is obviously uncomfortable in most positions; standing, sitting and lying down.  The chiropractor told him that it can be corrected, but it is going to be a long, slow process.  Right now, he needs his muscles to release so that he can be adjusted.  And that is secondary to caring for his kidney.

Thank you for praying!

He's home!

 

He's back!  We are so happy that Grant was discharged from the hospital today.  His brother and sisters could not wait to hug him.  He's glad to be home too!  

We will be looking for a pediatric urologist for follow up.  We are still trying to manage pain and soreness.  He's still bleeding so we will still need to monitor blood levels.

But we are so relieved to have him home.  Please continue to pray for complete healing.

A little bit of freedom!  The catheter came out today.  That was a little scary and exciting all at the same time.  So far...so good.  Grant had a really great afternoon.  He was able to shower and dress in real clothes.  He got up and down out of the bed by himself several times.  We were even given a little hope that he might be able to come home tomorrow.  He is definitely not in the clear and has a LONG way to go.  But today really felt like we were moving in the right direction. His pain is a lot more under control and manageable.  He just says he is really sore and is using a lot of ice packs.  We are still praying for the bleeding to stop completely and 100% restored kidney function.  Also needing that hemoglobin count to go up.  Praising God for answered prayers!

 

Prayer list

A few prayer requests for today:

Grant's hemoglobin dropped again last night to the point where they felt like he needed a blood transfusion.  He is currently getting a unit of blood.  Pray that he has no reactions to the blood and that it gives him the energy that he needs.  This was a tough one for me.  Grant is no stranger to a blood transfusion.  They had to transfuse all night the day we took him in for his leukemia.  And he had them several times along that journey.  He doesn't remember them and has asked me a lot of questions, but I sure do.  While it's disappointing that his body couldn't keep up on it's own, I'm thankful for the tools we have to help him.  He has joked that he hopes it's not girl blood or he won't know how to "identify". :)

The doctors also decided to turn off the infusion that was flushing his bladder to prevent clotting.  This was a pretty scary thing for Grant because the clotting had been a problem and VERY painful.  It has been off since 4:30 p.m. yesterday.  He has not had any clotting issues, but there is still blood in the output.  Pray for wisdom today as his team of doctors makes decisions on next steps.  And pray for peace and comfort for Grant during the unknowns.  They would like to be able to remove the catheter because they don't like them to remain in this long.  But, they do not want to encounter a problem and have to replace it.

The blood in the output indicates that his kidney is still bleeding.  Please pray that the bleeding will stop.

Please pray for the kids...Trent, Cori, and Maci.  Their world has been rocked.  Their brother is missing.  They've had to be updated on where they are going to be for the next day every night.  We have some rockstar friends that are making this as easy and fun for them as possible and we are so grateful.  

Also, please continue to pray for Rudy and me.  We are tired...mentally, physically and emotionally. The hospital sleeping arrangements are not kind.  The trips back and forth are long.  Eating is difficult.  The responsibility of advocating for Grant is heavy.  It feels like the world is moving on around us, but we are stuck.  But God is good.  And he is providing just what we need and we are so thankful.  And I just want to say, there is no one I'd rather go through hard times with than Rudy.  He is a rock and always pointing us to Jesus. 

Thank you for your prayers!

Sovereign God

Today was a really tough day.  Grant was in a lot of pain for most of the day.  The nurses were trying everything to get him some relief.  This evening, they finally determined that he had a large blood clot in his bladder.  They had to flush it out.  They always ask him what his pain level is on a scale of 0-10.  He usually stays around a 4 and creeps up to a 6 or 7 before getting some more pain meds.  He has been at an 8 or 9 for most of the day and said he was at a 12 while they were doing this procedure.  Thankfully, he got instant relief once they were able to flush it out.  

He has eaten a little bit today but we still need that to increase.  He also walked a lot today to try to alleviate the pain so that should help too.  His blood counts had been dropping, but they checked them again and they have gone back up a little this evening.  

The word God has been reminding me of today is Sovereign.  When things have felt out of control or confusing or overwhelming, He just reminds me that He is Sovereign.  He is always in control and never surprised.  He keeps showing me ways that he knows right where we are and just what we need.

We are hoping for an uneventful night and significant improvement tomorrow.  Thank you again for all the prayers.  Keep them coming!