Dear Prayer Warriors,
At our visit to Anna’s Pulmonologist last month I expected to
accomplish one thing: to get a prescription for a continuous pulse ox machine.
It’s one of those things that would just help us and our nurses when Anna is
sick. However as soon as we arrived this guy had us off balance. He is quite a
character. He asked if he could hold Renee and greeted each of the kids with
such interest. We told him how pleased we were at Anna’s lung health for the
last two years, that the CPAP, Airway clearance vest, Singulair, Flonase, and
Flovent have all combined to optimize her lungs. We didn’t want to change a
thing, so we finished by stating our hope for that prescription for the machine
to monitor her oxygen level.
The Pulmonologist replied, “I think we should take her down
to just one medicine and send you home without a continuous pulse ox machine.”
His response was shrewd and jarring. He was challenging us to see our daughter
as normal, or very close to that. We submitted an appeal and he replied that he
had every confidence in our ability to monitor our child and that if we had any
concerns that we should use the little hand held pulse ox to spot check her.
I was tempted to dismiss him because he could be undermining
what I felt my daughter’s needs were. But mostly I was challenged and humbled
as a father. This specialist doctor challenged me to rejoice and be glad that God
is working. Anna needs less medical intervention, praise the Lord indeed. As I
thought some more about this unexpected turn of events, what seems to be going
on is that the more confident I become in anticipating Anna’s needs, the less
confidence I place in Anna being healed. Moreover, the less I surrender over to
God.
Where else I have assumed Anna’s incompetence because of past
failure, diagnosis, or complication? Is she being unnecessarily medicated?
unnecessarily aided in mobility? Does she still aspirate when she eats from the
mouth? I feel encouraged to ask God “what can Anna do? Surprise us Lord
encourage our hearts.” The doctor was right, Anna has been doing great with
just one lung medication for the last three weeks.
On Anna’s Facebook page I have posted videos of her standing
nearly unassisted with a good posture. Another video shows her sitting
independently for about a minute or so. What a gift to wonder at the things
going on behind and beyond our own thoughts and abilities, by the Author of
Life and Supreme King in the spirit world Jesus Christ.
The Lord has placed Anna’s feeding on my heart. One of the
most medically invasive treatment in Anna’s life is her 20-hour a day tube feed
into her intestine. We did this to resolve her GERD, from ages 1-3 she
was refluxing 30-50 times a day, aspirating it, damaging esophagus, wardrobe
change etc... discouraging times as a daddy. But all this reflux has stopped
thanks to the food skipping the stomach. What a good thing, perhaps you long
journeying prayer warriors remember those prayer requests “for the strengthening
of her esophagus sphincter. That the Lord would restore its proper function to Anna.”
Recently I supplemented 4 ounces of water into her stomach (bolus feed) because
it was rather warm outside. She had no reflux, I wondered “did God answer that
prayer in His own time?” So now we are trying to bolus some ounces of food back
into her stomach, slowly. Anna’s stomach has been nearly empty for 2 years save
saliva, stomach enzymes, and medicine. She has handled the bolus well with
minimal reflux. If she can take her meals in bolus feeds to the stomach, she
would only need to be tube fed at night, she would not need to be hooked up to
a machine.
Anna may be an invalid according to science and social
measurements. However, in the Light of Christ where she is seen outside of just
her injured physical body, she has a spirit unstained by the world. I know she is validated and purposed for God’s
glory. May we place all things in the capable hands of Jesus for His
perfect glorification to come about.
“Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you
believe, you will see the glory of God?" John 11:40
Please pray for:
-continued renewal of our minds regarding God’s plan for Anna.
that we would hope for full healing as refining fire of our faith through
unbelief and long suffering. Is anything too hard for God?
-Anna to be in the pathway of God’s blessing daily, whether
that looks like the removal of suffering or her ability to be encounter the
Father’s love for her.
-wisdom and faith as parents to know that God is working even
if Anna needs to stay on 20-hour feeds, confined to a chair, speechless, and blind. It
is well with our soul.
-a new night nurse. One of our military nurses got orders and
is leaving in a month.
-For services to fall into place. We have been transferred to
El Paso county, we have found providers, there just remains the hope of getting
respite providers, house cleaning, a stander, and hippotherapy.
May the gift of prayer bless you as you pray for us. Please let
us know how we can pray for you!
The Currats
PS. The picture is of a 2-mile hike we did this past weekend above
timberline. we were able to take Anna up to 12,800 feet in a specially modified
backpack (notice the foot straps). We would have never thought this would be
possible but God wanted to amaze us!
