One day at a time...

September 16, 2008

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." --Phil 4:6-7

Aloha Kakou,

Mahalo nui loa to Liza and Lisa for setting this up and allowing me to contribute.

Chance is now resting in a regular hospital room as of Saturday (see last update). He is making progress. The Dr.'s said that he has some brain damage as shown in the MRI's to most portions of his brain except a portion of his right lobe. He is still in a coma they cannot wake him from, but he is responsive to verbal cues and he is moving his arms and legs. Now it is just a waiting game to allow his body to heal. The nurses in the PICU and in the Wilcox ward have been great.

Chance has had a steady stream of visitors from both here on Oahu and special friends that have flown over from Maui to see him and to pray over him. Randy and Tanya are both by his side daily with words of encouragement, scripture reading and prayers. God has his hand on Chance and is holding him and keeping him. Pray that we will figure out what he is trying to communicate to us. Being in a coma it takes time for the body to wake up again and reconnect everything. At times he gets agitated I think because he is trying to tell us something...tonight when he got stressed we moved his limbs and it seemed to quiet him. He was resting for most of the day and was resting again when I left the hospital at midnight. Tanya has been staying in the room with him to make sure he is kept comfortable all night long.

Mikela, Lainey, and Gabie have also been spending time with him, talking to him, praying for him, and loving on him. We have great Christian music and teaching playing in his room 24/7. We are praising Jesus for all the progress we have seen thus far and are blessed in knowing that our God is faithful.

Pray for:

• Those caring for him to pick up on the clues he is giving us to keep him rested and comfortable.
• He grinds his teeth when gets stressed-we have tried mouth guards but those irritate him too. So pray he will stop grinding his teeth.
• He is still on many different medications-pray for them to all work the way they are supposed to and for no strange reactions.
• He is breathing on his own and all his vitals look good. When he is stressed his heart rate is elevated. Pray that his heart rate will be not be too elevated.
• A touch from the Father to heal the things we cannot see.

Others to pray for:

• Michael, a classmate from Baldwin High is also in the Wilcox ward near Chance and being treated for Leukemia. Michael's parents own a laundromat in Kahului. They are wonderful people.
  
• Maddie was released from the hospital and will back for surgery number 24 on Sept. 26. She is back home on Maui with her family.
• Brittany will prayerfully be release from PICU o n Wednesday and moved to another facility for care. She is originally from Truk and born with a small brain and no esophagus. She was being treated for pneumonia and has been in PICU for 3 weeks.
• Shannon's family-continue to pray for them as they step through this time of grieving. The link below was sent to me. It was made by Shannon's school friends. Shannon is the beautiful Indian looking girl in all the photos. That is what struck me about her in PICU....she's absolutely beautiful. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=117pTKlIYz0
  

Most of all thank you for standing with this family in prayer...they are felt and greatly appreciated.