Prayers, Please

Prayers, Please

November 6, 2018

The Waiting Room

I entered the waiting room to find a family I know and love.  I knew their doctor too, or at least know of him.  His father is a friend of mine.  The doctor was kneeling down, looking to the fifteen or so people in a half circle around him.  He is wrapping up the final report of the delivery, mom will be okay, but....  Well, her current state - emotional, mental, spiritual and of course physical well-being are affected by what is happening on the other side of the glass, blinds drawn and the life-or-death struggle on the other side.  It is quiet, save for the other family in the room, children scampering about and joyful sounds made for a stark contrast between the two families.  My family, many members of our congregation are red-eyed.  Well, that describes the women.  The men are typically stoic, mostly they appear to be in a state of shock, staring at the floor even as the doctor speaks.  He gets up to leave and I go to the family.  The emergency call came to me as I was gathering with the members and ministers of nine others churches in town, so I explained my departure, and asked they add our situation to the prayer concerns that night.  This crisis needed as many prayer partners as possible.

A Child is Born

A first grandchild had been anticipated by a couple in our congregation.  They weren't in church that morning, so it would not be surprising the big day had arrived.  It had, but late that afternoon.  The delivery was by Cesarean, mom was okay, but their son was having difficulty breathing.  Everything else appeared normal, heart  rate, temperature and the countless other tests administered at birth.  Yet he could not breathe on his own.  After the doctor left, the women returned to their vantage point at the glass and peered through the cracks of the closed blinds to gaze at what was happening around their young family member.  I began to marvel at the human capacity for unconditional love.  This little man had not been hugged by them, he is years away from speaking, months from walking, longer yet until he will run and yet they love him already.  He is but a few hours old, has achieved nothing other than a first name they gave him and a last name shared by their clan, yet he is loved and their separate lives are paused as the drama of his struggle unfolds.  At some point someone comments about the tall technician who has been at the baby's side pumping a device to breathe air into the baby's body - doing for him what his own body cannot do - for hours.  They marvle and another comments that they must discover this angel's name.

NICU

The ambulance came from the children's hospital in the next large city.  It takes forever, it seems, to get him hooked up and into the transport cart to make the journey.  The family is called to view him, through Plexiglas, before he is taken to a room in another hospital which even many members of the family cannot enter.

The day after his birth, the news of his breathing is much improved.  He is likely able to breathe on his own, but tests have shown that there is very little brain activity.  Particularly in this age of litigation and insurance companies' impact on doctor and patient communication the news is understandably grim.  The options are...not promising.  They can cool down his body in hopes it will stimulate brain activity.  The procedure has worked in other cases, but this case is not ideal.  

Hopes and Prayers

So, for 72 hours a family hopes for a newborn's future and put their faith in God.  They pray, and they ask their congregations to pray.  With this article, I'm increasing the prayer circle.  It is a marvel that the body of Christ is as large, and as powerful through prayer as it is.  I ask you to pray for our little guy, and his family.  Ask of God that this healing brings Him glory, for not all share our common hope.  This is one reason why I have withheld details.  As a reminder, God knows.  He knows this little boy.  He knows his name, and He knows the family.  Pray that those who are in need of a powerful faith in Christ are brought to that faith through the healing of our little guy.