Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sunday Morning

Brittany woke up this morning and had leaked fluid throughout the night. The doctors said this is a good thing because it means Gaines' kidneys are working. However, the color of the fluid brought some concern so they immediately monitored Gaines' heartbeat and it was perfect. They also took Brittany's blood pressure, temperature and pulse oxygen and everything came back good.

As I am typing they are taking blood from Brittany. I must keep typing and not pay attention to what they are doing. I am trying to be strong for Brittany in every way that I can, but I am not good around needles. I tend to faint when I give blood.

Whew, it's over. OK, they are testing Brittany's blood for the white blood count. They just want to confirm what her temperature reading told us...that there is no infection. We should know the results in an hour or two. They do not expect the blood test to be positive for infection but it scares us a little. They have always relied on the temperature reading so this is something different.

Last night we also got two surprises. First, our sweet nurse brought an "egg crate" for me to place on the "chair/bed" I am sleeping on. Second, the Nurse also brought Brittany these things that wrap around her calves. Brittany calls them her leg warmers. They actually massage her calves so she doesn't get blood clots. She likes them.

We are beginning day # 4 in the hospital. We will continue to keep you updated. Thank you for your prayers.

11 comments:

Benjy said...

Hey Guys

Just keep hanging in there. We are constantly thinking and praying for you.

Benjy and Linda

Rebekah Lollar said...

I pray that you have another boring day :)!! Did Aunt Babs and Reed make it to you yesterday?? We love y'all and will continue praying.
Rebekah and Zac

Penni said...

Praises for working kidneys!!! Here's to another LONG, boring day for Gaines to stay in warm and toasty. We will keep praying that infection away, his lungs & brain stronger, and peace for both of you guys. Just know that you are being lifted higher and higher every single day. Hugs and many, many prayers! Jackson, Penni, & the Wallace boys

Kate said...

We certainly hope and pray that both of you get excruciatingly tired of being in that room, like for weeks and weeks! :)

Unknown said...

Beau...I also get quesy quite easy, I struggled during Andrea's last ultra sound! You guys are really on our hearts and minds right now as I think Andrea is just a week ahead of Brittany. We are amazed at your strength in Christ and you are inspirations to us! We are praying four specific requests for you:
1)For Gods miracle!
2)For God to provide wisdom to your medical team, but for them to also witness your testament to Christ and to witness the Love of your friends, family and strangers.
3)TO delay or prevent the onset of infection
4)For you, Brittany, Reed and Gaines, to give you all the strength you need.

I have no doubt that Gaines is a fighter, it is completely evident that both you and Brittany are!

We are constantly praying for you!

Martin and Andrea HArris

Unknown said...

Thinking and praying for you guys often. Rest easy knowing He makes no mistakes. Little Gaines is just getting an early start being a SERIOUS testament to others. :)

emilymburgess said...

I came across your blog while I too am on bedrest. Although I am home now after a few days in the hospital. But I wanted you to know that I will be praying for Gaines and Brittany. I pray that the Lord will give you only His peace during this time and that He will AMAZE your doctors as you have a LONG boring weeks ahead.
Emily
www.gracegracegodsgrace.blogspot.com

Arnita said...

Be strong, trust God and know that you are loved. I will continue praying for your family.

Unknown said...

I am in Sunday School and Church with Janie and Billy in Birmingham and I just heard about what is going on today. I know that you don't know me but I wanted to let you know that you are being lifted up in prayer by many people who care for you and love you because Christ made us family. God is forever able to hold you up and to set his time table in perfect order. Believe that whatever comes along, it isn't a surprise to God and he has a wonderful plan. We will keep praying for all of you here in Birmingham and we believe that "all things work together for good for those who are called according to God's purpose."
Love through God's family,
Tami Holby

B Saunders said...

Beau, I wanted you and Brittany to know that all of you are in the thoughts and prayers of many of your "old" Montgomery Academy teachers. It is so nice to be able to follow your updates on blogspot.

The Tidwells said...

Beau and Brittany,

When I look at the situation you're facing, I am reminded of the following excerpt from the book "It's Not All About Me" by Max Lucado. I read it during deer season sitting on a deer stand. It was quiet and still and these words just keep ringing through my mind as I consider your situation and the way you're handling it...I'd strongly recommend the book. But consider the following:


I'll begin on page 121...
Don't blame suffering in the world on the anger of God. He's not mad; he didn't mess up. Follow our troubles to their headwaters, and you won't find an angry or befuddled God. But you will find a sovereign God.
Your pain has a purpose. Your problems, struggles, heartaches, and hassles cooperate toward one end--the glory of God. "Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory" (Psalm 50:15 NLT).
Not an easy assignment to swallow. Not for you. Not for me. Not for the blind man on the side of the road. When Jesus and his followers passed him, the disciples had a question. As He, Jesus, passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:1-3)
Born blind. A lifetime of darkness. Never saw a mother smile or a sunset fade. Who did this? the disciples wondered, anxious to blame someone. Such a bad plight can be traced back to a bad deed. Right? Wrong, Jesus replied. Don't search the family tree. Don't request a copy of the man's rap sheet. Blame this blindness on a call from God. Why was the man sightless? So "the works of God might be displayed in him."
Odds are, he would have preferred another role in the human drama. Compared to others, his assignment held little glamour.
"Mary, be a mother to my son."
"Peter, you'll be my first preacher."
"Matthew, the first gospel? It's all yours."
Then God turns to this man, "And you?"
"Yes Lord?"
You'll be blind for my glory."
"I'll be blind?"
"Yes."
"For your glory?"
"Yes."
"But I don't understand."
"You'll see."
The blind man wasn't the only candidate for a complaint. Consider the case of Martha and Mary. Personal friends of Jesus. Confidantes. He stayed at their house and ate at their table. And when their brother, Lazarus, became ill, the sisters blitzed a message to Jesus. If the Nazarene would heal anyone, it would be Lazarus.
Wrong again. "But when jesus heard this, He said, 'This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it'" (John 11:4).
Feverish, clammy, knocking on the door of death--why? Because he ate the wrong food? Didn't guard his health? Drank too much? None of these. He was sick for the sake of God. Call it the assignment of scikness. How else do you explain the puzzle of the next two verses?
"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was" (John 11:5-6)
Talk about a left turn. You'd expect the verse to read: "Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. . .so he made a fast dash to their house to heal Lazarus." Just the opposite occurred. Because Jesus loved the trio, he lingered until Lazarus died.
Blindness displays the works of Christ? Death glorifies the power of Christ? How can this be?
I'm looking around my office for an answer. A frame displays my favorite picture of Denalyn. A metal stand displays an antique pot. My brother gave me a stained-glass window from a country church. It is displayed by virtue of two wires and two hooks. Picture frames and metal stands, wires and hooks--different tools, same job. They display treasures.
What these do for artifacts, the blind man did for Christ. He was the frame in which Jesus' power was seen, the stand upon which Jesus' miracle was placed. Born sightless to display heaven's strength. Do you suppose the sight of his sight showcased the work of Christ?
And the fading pulse and final breath of Lazarus? You think the news of a three-days-dead man walking out of a tomb amplified God's power?
And you? Now it gets a bit sticky. What about your struggles? Is there any chance, any possibility, that you have been selected to struggle for God's glory? Have you "been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" (Philipians 1:29)?
Here is a clue. Do your prayers seem to be unanswered? What you request and what you receive aren't matching up? Don't think God is not listening. Indeed he is. He may have higher plans.
Here is another. Are people strengthened by your struggles? A friend of mine can answer yes. His cancer was consuming more than his body; it was eating away at his faith. Unanswered petitions perplexed him. Well-meaning Christians confused him. "If you have faith," they said, "you will be healed."
No healing came. Just more chemo, nausea, and questions. He assumed the fault was a small faith. I suggested another answer. "It's not you," I told him. "Your hospital room is a showcase for your Maker. Your faith in the face of suffering cranks up the volume of God's song."
Oh, that you could have seen the relief on his face. To know that he hadn't failed God and God hadn't failed him--this made all the difference. Seeing his sickness in the scope of God's sovereign plan gave his condition a sense of dignity. He accepted his cancer as an assignment from heaven: a missionary to the cancer ward. A week later I saw him again. "I reflected God," he said, smiling through a thin face, "to the nurses, the doctors, my friends. Who knows who needed to see God, but I did my best to make him seen."
Bingo. His cancer paraded the power of Jesus down the Main Street of this world. He, the blind man, Lazarus, and millions of others form a unique society: selected to suffer for God's glory. His light prisms through their aching lives and spills forth in a cascade of colors. God-glimpses.
God will use whatever he wants to display his glory. Heavens and stars. History and nations. People and problems. A kidnapped couple in the Philippines. My dying dad in West Texas.
The last three years of his life were scarred by ALS. The disease took him from a healthy mechanic to a bedbound paralytic. He lost his voice and his muscles, but he never lost his faith. Visitors noticed. Not so much in what he said but what he didn't say. Never outwardly angry or bitter. Jack Lucado suffered stately.
His faith led one man to seek a like faith. After the funeral this man sought me out and told me. Because of my dad's example, he became a Jesus follower.
Did God orchestrate my father's illness for that very reason? Knowing the value he places on one soul, I wouldn't be surprised. And imagining the splendor of heaven, I know my father's not complaining.
A season of suffering is a small assignment when compared to the reward.
Rather than begrudge your problem, explore it. Ponder it. And most of all, use it. Use it to the glory of God.
Martin and Gracia did.
During their captivity, they not only spoke of Jesus, they lived Jesus. They didn't complain. Did their work and volunteered for more. Chained every night to a guard, Martin always wished his captors a good night and told them about Jesus. The Burnhams allowed God to use their suffering for his glory.
Because of Martin's death, nations around the world heard the name of Christ. I heard the report on a London, England, news channel. Millions saw the forbearing figure of his wife and heard a moving interview with his father, who said God would get them through this. Every major network gave priceless minutes to the story of a man who loved Christ more than life.
Through the Burnhams' struggle, God was seen.
Through Martin's death, God was seen.
Through your problems and mine, may he be seen as well.


Fits...doesn't it?