Thursday, May 29, 2008

An Update on Erik

For those of you that live in the Nashville area that read this blog, you will remember the little boy at the mother's day out that fell in the well last week. He was found in the well after what they think was about 5 minutes of being submersed in water. I just received this update and I wanted to share it with you all. GOD IS GOOD!

"We just returned from our scheduled meeting with the doctors to discuss Erik's prognosis. As you know, we have been anxiously awaiting this meeting since the MRI on Monday. They have been preparing us for this since we arrived last week and they are always careful about managing our expectations.

The scheduled time was 2:30 in the conference room and we were collecting our thoughts, praying and doing our best to prepare for what we were about to hear. Erik had shown no signs of improvement since yesterday and even seemed less lively than he had been previously. We were present for his neurological exam this morning and there were no signs of improvement - something we had heard far too many times before.

At approximately 2:15, just moments before we were to sit down with the doctors, something happened. The nurse ran from the room to get the attending physician because Erik opened his eyes in a way that we have not seen since our arrival last week. He became extremely agitated at the fact that he was in this very uncomfortable situation! He was following our movements, something he has not done to date, and focusing on different people at different times. He also showed signs of gagging and coughing - something that is critical to the proper functioning of his protective reflexes!

Dr. Flemming came out of Erik's room with something on his face that we have never seen - a smile. In his words, "this defies the odds and is nothing short of miraculous."

According to the MRI findings, there were no "devastating abnormalities" found. There will be continued MRI's to follow his progress and no one can be sure at this time the extent of damage or even which areas of the brain have been affected. Only time will tell.

His lungs are severely diseased and that will take some time to heal. However, they are continuing to reduce the dependency on the ventilator and MAY try to remove him completely in a couple of days. They did remove the drain from his right lung a few moments ago. Again, more time is needed to determine the long-term effects.

His organs are working remarkably well given his circumstances and Dr. Flemming was "absolutely astounded" at his heart performance. We, however, are not. We always knew he had a HUGE heart! His tests show no signs of poor heart function and he is "much closer to normal than history dictates."

We are hopeful that Erik can tolerate feedings and we anticipate to begin that process soon. There is also a chance that if things progress as they are, we may be out of the CCU "by the end of the weekend or first of next week."

Dr. Flemming stated, "If we could only convey how miraculous this conversation is. There is just something different going on here - we don't usually get to give good news like this under similiar circumstances. It's the kind of thing that makes me go skipping home tonight."

We are not out of the woods yet - he is still a very sick little boy. However, we have come a long way by the grace of God! Please keep praying, we are living proof that your prayers have worked. God is indeed in the life changing business!!! Thank you all for being the prayer warriors that you are! God Bless You All!"

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