The good, the bad and the ugly

Thank you for all your prayers, I feel like they are finally getting through. This morning when I was up with Madeleine she seemed to have new life breathed into her, her fighting spirit renewed, like she herself was acknowledging she is just "over it," the not being able to move on her own initiative, having people rotate her to prevent skin breakdown, having the oxygen in her nose. Even though her morning labs do not support it, she truly does seem to be feeling better just through her personality. THANK YOU JESUS!

Our call for prayers this week has been nothing shy of desperation, feeling helpless in this situation. Jeff and I both strongly feel that Madeleine has come so far in this that we can't simply just sit and wait for her to get better. Or worse.
Through every true journey or endeavor, there is the good, the bad and the ugly. Cancer patients and their families know this all too well: Faith is essential, joy is sparing, disappointment a plenty, and patience crucial. For everyone outside the hospital room, we choose to predominantly share the good days and updates with everyone to keep the positive thinking and prayers coming. We share a little bit of the bad because it explains why we aren't answering the phone, why we aren't up to date on Facebook or our email, why we don't respond to requests to visit. Madeleine is not doing excellent every day, so it's best for us to share when she surprises us all. 

What has transpired since Friday night has been a mix of bad and ugly: this poor little girl has been slow to recover from all of the things that hit her all at once. We really just have to be patient and help her rest to promote her rejuvenation. These last few days, or week rather! have been so hard on us to watch her go through, and exponentially harder for her to endure. Her belly situation has not improved and the additional morphine she needed to stabilize her pain management made her skin itchy. They have condensed her fluids to give her what she needs into the smallest volume possible to help with her fluid retention. She is on oxygen now to help her absorb better quality oxygen through her compressed lungs; until her belly size reduces, her lungs are pushed up making it hard for her to take deep breaths or maintain rhythmic breathing. The ugly experienced this week has dropped us to our knees, pleading and begging both the doctors and God to intervene and prevent this child from meeting her demise from an infection and compounded issues when she has prevailed throughout every single tough decision in the effort to make her well. Last night in prayer several times I laid hands upon her belly and tried so desperately to keep my faith that God is listening. This morning I feel as though our prayers have been heard. She will be getting better, I know it.