Praying for a Miracle

Hey, folks. Things stayed pretty much the same with Jude's status today. Here are a few highlights:

• Jude's x-ray from this morning showed a little more inflation in his lungs, and his lung volume was more consistent today, even though it wasn't a significant increase over yesterday.
• Jude still has a lot of edema and swelling, particularly in his abdomen, but he's started to show some small signs of improvement. Hopefully the medical staff will continue to be successful in removing fluid from his body over the next few days.
• Jude's nurse was able to begin turning down some settings on his ECMO circuit today. These weren't significant changes, but they're a start.

In the next day or two, Rose and I will be meeting with Jude's neonatologist and his pediatric surgeon to discuss his plan of care. Generally speaking, with each passing day, the usefulness of ECMO is diminishing and the risk of complications associated with its use is rising. Although ECMO saved Jude's life and has afforded him time and support he has needed to survive, the longer he's on it, the worse his prognosis essentially becomes; therefore, the medical staff will be aggressively moving to take him off ECMO this week. The doctors are looking for the excess fluid in Jude's body to diminish and for his lungs to expand in the coming days, as these will be crucial in conditioning him to come off ECMO and be sufficiently ready for surgery.

Based on the general feedback we've received from the doctors and nurses, Rose and I feel that this week will be a make-or-break time for Jude: He can improve and undergo surgery, or he can languish.

Please continue to pray with us for a miracle. Jude's body is broken; God can heal him.

For nothing will be impossible with God.”
(Luke 1:37)