I’m sitting in the NICU conference room writing this entry. I just saw our little girl and she continues to do well on ECMO. All her blood gas levels are where they should be which is allowing her lungs to mature even in their compromised state. The hope at this point is for her to keep going on this track, build strength and stability, come off ECMO, stabilize again, and then have surgery to move her organs that are in her chest back into her belly. That order may change, but at this point that’s the current path.
 
To give you some perspective as to the magnitude of the challenges with her disorder: picture the Dr. going into a room with 1000 knobs. As far as knowing which knobs to turn, he has only his experience, gut instinct, the knowledge he has about the human body, and what that baby’s body is currently telling him. For this reason, he has to make an educated guess on which ones to turn ever so slightly. If he turns the knobs just right, he’ll be able to proceed to the next room with 1000 knobs. A wrong turn could take him back to a previous room, or…worse. On top of this, every baby responds differently when the knobs are turned, increasing the challenge.
 
This process requires a lot of patience and a willingness to let things get worse sometimes so that they may be better in the long run. Fortunately, right now, things have been going very well, but Tina and I both know that things could turn at any moment and we trust that we have the right guy turning the knobs, and the God who spoke the entire universe into existence on our side.
 
Thank you Jesus for blessing us with Ella Renae.