A Busy Day for Everyone

Josh and I got away from the hospital long enough to go to church this morning -- we are so blessed to have grandparents here who were willing to watch both grouchy boys at the hospital. Five of our friends were baptized this morning, and it was so awesome to get to be there with them. I think it was especially cool to see some of them getting baptized by our former apprentices, who are now leading this small group... pretty incredible to see so much growth and obedience.

When we got back to the hospital, Elijah was sleepy (and fussy) and Jack had been pretty non-compliant. He's still having a lot of issues with taking his medicine, and it seems like it's getting worse rather than better. We can usually get him to take it without spitting it out or vomiting, but it still involves lots of screaming and holding him down (definitely a two-person job). But please pray that he will stop being so resistant to this; it's definitely the major area where we need him to do things differently. Unfortunately, it isn't helped by the fact that they seem to keep adding more medicine.. they just decided to start giving him potassium orally because his level is very low (this is pretty common when you're taking diuretics). It has a reputation for tasting awful too, so that won't help.

Jack did quite a bit of walking (a whole lap around the floor) and even went to the playroom for a while with Elijah. He also got to repeat his police-car ride around the hallway this evening. He ate fairly well and took a nap for about 3-4 hours this afternoon. His chest tube output seems to be slowing down, so we're hopeful that they will be able to remove them soon. We also found out that they will not be increasing his fluid restriction levels anymore, and that he will probably be restricted to this amount for 12 weeks post-op. So even after we go home, he will be allowed ~1 liter each day. We're praying that he will get used to this amount so that it won't really be much of an issue. Please pray that he and Josh will have a good night of rest tonight, and that he will start to realize that it's easier to just take his medicine than to resist so strenuously.