waiting

The biopsy is over - only a tiny band-aid marks the site. There were no complications, praise God.

It was a hard day for the little man. His sleep was destroyed the night before - nurses woke us at midnight and at 2am to try to insert an IV to correct a vitamin K deficiency discovered late that night (apparently this deficiency would negatively affect his clotting during and after the procedure). At 4am I had to wake him for his last feed - he was required to fast prior to the biopsy. At 5:30 am he woke himself, hoping for a snack and was miserable when denied. For the next four and half hours he wallowed in misery, doing his best to communicate his hunger. The 10 am procedure took about an hour and he spent the rest of the day nauseated, vomiting and generally unhappy.

The next morning Joseph was back to his usual smiley self. I was packing up our suitcases when the doctors suddenly started talking about him staying in the hospital for a week. Finally they decided it made more sense to discharge us for a few days and bring us back up to Auckland after the biopsy results are back. And so, we wait. We should get a phone call on Tuesday with some kind of diagnosis. On Wednesday or Thursday they want us to return to meet with the whole team of doctors who have been involved in his care. At that point they'll explain the diagnosis more thoroughly and give us a sense of what the coming weeks, months and years may hold for Joseph. Other specialists will meet with us too - for example, a nutritionist will evaluate the effect Joseph's liver functions are having on his meager weight gain and will prescribe appropriate supplements.

Up until now it has seemed easier to believe that there'd be a simple and "easy" answer to all of this. Today the crushing weight of more serious possibilities looms larger than I had thought possible even just a week ago. We appreciate continued prayers for renewed peace and trust in the Lord.