The past few days have been tough. It has been hard to watch Ella not progressing as much as we’d like to see. Even before we walked into the hospital, I had a good cry.
 
The Lord knew that we needed a bit of relief.
 
So when we went tonight, Ella woke up. We had not seen her awake for the past several days. To have a few moments connecting with her was such a gift. Her little eyes were open. She was alert. She was responding to our voices. She was holding onto our hands and gripping hard.
 
Ella was only awake for a few minutes and then she fell back asleep, resting peacefully. But, this was exactly what we needed. And when it happened, we both knew that it was a gift from Him – a detail so small, yet it transformed our sadness into renewed hope.
 
As we posted earlier today, please continue to pray throughout this week for Ella’s specific needs.
 
VIDEO CLIP
Below is a little taste of what we saw tonight. The video is about 2 minutes long and you’ll need a high speed internet connection to view it. Enjoy =)
 

Ella’s stats were stable this morning and within a decent range but she continues to be very sick. We have compiled a list of specific prayer requests for Ella:

• p02 level as high as possible (her recent one was 114)
• pre and post ductal blood saturation levels at 100%
• cO2 level should be around 40 (her recent one was low 30’s; this is indicative of her gas exchange levels)
• her fluid retention has been high the past few days throughout her chest, abdomen and back
• improved liver function and reduced jaundice
• the content of blood in her urine is higher than normal, pray that this would reduce
• balanced pH levels in her stomach

 
Please pray for her stats to improve and stabilize over the next few days before surgery. If she can improve enough, they can remove her from ECMO. As mentioned previously, the risk of severe side effects while having surgery on ECMO is incredibly high.

Taking in the reality of the situation made for a pretty rough evening last night, but God comforted us through a book by Max Lucado: A Gentle Thunder. After our post yesterday evening Tina and I read chapter 4 together and it totally spoke to us. I felt so touched that I thought I would share the chapter with you all as well. Check out the video on yesterdays post if you get a chance.

Thank you for lifting us up in prayer. We continue to praise our Lord for the work He is doing, and thank Him for blessing us so much with Ella Renae.