All About Pocket Knives

This isn't really a prayer request; however, if you've a mind to, they will be MOST appreciated. This is more about how God answers prayer and takes care of us when we ask Him.

This is an abbreviated Readers Digest version from me:

My daughter (Lisa) is 43 years old and will be 44 next month. Four years ago, she thought she had her last child...a healthy baby girl. Well, she became pregnant again 23 weeks ago. On September 11, 2022, 10 days ago, she experienced a PROM (premature rupture of membrane) of the amniotic sack. This is something different from her water breaking prior to labor. Her sack tore and she lost 90% of her water. Her fetus is only at 22 weeks...which made the baby's situation VERY serious. She went to emergency at Ascension Sacred Heart hospital, Pensacola, Fl to be evaluated. The biggest concern was; with the amniotic fluid being at 10%, the baby's lungs would not develop the way they should, along with other aspects of development. (Lisa has been given steroid shots, not for her, but for the baby to assist in the development of the lungs). She was admitted that evening. Sacred Heart has the largest NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) in the state of Florida and has ALL the major equipment and resources to deal with preemies. If the baby makes it to 23 weeks (which it did on Monday, 19 Sept), the baby has a 40% chance of survival. If the baby makes it to 24 weeks, 60%, and 25 weeks, 80%. Lisa's goal is 34 weeks. She must remain in the hospital until that time, or until the situation 'may' call for taking measures for survival. Her nurses and doctors are just awesome and provide her with straightforward answers to her questions and situation. She is able to be mobile, albeit, via wheelchair. Her other children are able to visit and even do a one-on-one sleepover with her. Her husband, Ryan, is doing the best he can in coordinating each day with them, and his mother and Lisa's mother take turns watching them if Ryan spends the night with Lisa.

God has had His hand in this entire situation from day one. It's amazing to see how things are evolving and coming to fruition with each and every prayer, support and medical technology. Lisa has been quite the testimony of God's Love and answered prayer in the past ten days. The below UPDATE is the most recent I've received.

God is GOOD and Merciful...providing His Grace.

Thank you for listening. (reading)


BABY CURRAN UPDATE #4 From Lisa:

I couldn't wait to share some news before the sun went down. But first...
I have to say it again and again, God is working out all these fine details and weaving one beautiful story. I'm so glad I started a journal last week so I can keep up with not only the facts and STATS but all the emotions and celebrations that come along with a season like this.
Backing up for a moment, a friend shared with me today how the Lord tugged on her heart to ask a small group of ladies to pray for Baby Curran...back on September 9th. Only this friend knew of the baby and the rest of the group didn't. It was a struggle for her to release the information, but the Holy Spirit was prompting her to ask these women to pray for this baby. Friends!! Nothing happened until September 11th, but these women were already covering Baby Curran in prayer and protection!! None of them had any idea and none of us would have known to expect anything to happen that would lead to an emergency.

The Lord still speaks to His children and I hope you all have a beautiful circle of people that will listen to His voice and obey when you know He's nudging you to act.

We've begun daily monitoring. I don't require 24-hour monitoring because I don't have BP issues and baby is continuing to look great on the strips. I have zero signs of labor or anything that would indicate further concern. For now, my body is fully cooperating and we love uneventful days on this floor.

I'm certain I'm finally coming off the steroid shots I had. Sunday was the 2nd (and last) one, but whew, that sucker lingered for a long time. The cloudiness in my head, the lightheadedness, and the fact that when I picked up a pen to write some notes I didn't see my own handwriting. I didn't know who I was turning into. LOL I think I'm finally past that and it feels so much better.

The visitors I've had recently (sometimes 3 in one day and sometimes overlapping) have been wonderful. I never feel like I have to entertain anyone and I'm sure everyone is getting a cool education when they're here. The added bonus is that I'm exhausted from the laughing and conversations that I'm ready for bed by 8pm and I sleep great!! See? Friendships and laughter are great sleepy medicine.

Okay, ready for this!??

Friends, if you've ever felt like your prayers aren't reaching our Father, if you've ever wondered about the importance of fervent prayer, and if you've felt the slightest twinge of doubt as you're petitioning God for a miracle...STOP!! Keep going! Keep praying! Keep asking! Keep believing! And when your faith is being shaken, reach out to others so they can lift you up!

September 11th, amnio fluid was at 2.
September 13th, amnio fluid was at 4.
September 20th, amnio fluid is now at 12.3!!!!

THIS IS HUGE!! Our family has been prayed for in this hospital, in Santa Rosa County, in TX, VA, SD, AZ, CA, ID, (and perhaps every state), AND all the way from the Netherlands!! Baby Curran is a fighter and a survivor and I cannot wait to introduce you all to this beautiful baby you've all committed so much of your prayer time to. THANK YOU! Thank you for loving us so well. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for believing with us and thank you for rejoicing with us as the weeks go by.

Lisa (single photo)
Lisa and my oldest daughter, Lori

Lisa and her baby are in my prayers.

God is good, lifting up our prayers for both Lisa, baby Curran and the entire family

Randy

Ken,
What a wonderful testimony! It is great to read the first hand account from your daughter.
Praying the Lord will continue to strengthen Lisa and baby Curran and allow her to go full term.
(Miss Joy and I can both attest to the wonderful care we have received from Bay Ascension Sacred Heart in Panama City which is affiliated with the one in Pensacola.)
God bless y’all as you go through this special time.
Treefarmer

Praying. Thank you for sharing this!

Praying for the continued intervention of our father in heaven.

And strang but I felt prompted to check "New Posts" this morning. 95% of the time I only check "Your Posts".

Thank you all for taking time to read about this event and for adding your personal prayers to Lisa's needs. I truly appreciate it and am humbled. Thank you.

I'll keep this updated.

treefarmer wrote: ↑Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:13 am Ken,
What a wonderful testimony! It is great to read the first hand account from your daughter.
Praying the Lord will continue to strengthen Lisa and baby Curran and allow her to go full term.
(Miss Joy and I can both attest to the wonderful care we have received from Bay Ascension Sacred Heart in Panama City which is affiliated with the one in Pensacola.)
God bless y’all as you go through this special time.
Treefarmer

AMEN!!

I agree.... what a beautiful testimony!

Our Lord is so wonderful. He knows our inner most thoughts. He knew us while we were still in the womb..... and He knows baby Curran!

Holy Father, we thank you for your great wisdom.

What an amazing testimony!
God is so good!
I will be praying for Lisa and baby Curran.

Amen to all, I'll add, she's beautiful inside and out.

Thank you, Mike, Dale and Lyle. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Day 12 for Lisa finds her doing very well, as is Baby Curran. There are still dangers of infection, prolapse cord, bleeding, leaking, but so far, all are under control or show no signs of negativity. Lisa is not bored, for she has many friends, family who take up her time in-between nurses and doctors. We're just taking each day at a time.

Thanks to all for your thoughts & prayers.

Thanks for that update!

Our Lord God is in control. He see the sparrow as it flies and he knows us EACH ONE intimately. WE are in HIS hand!

Praise God from whom ALL blessing flow!

Great testimony, this brought me to tears. God is good. Will be Praying

Harold

Thank you, Harold. Your thoughts and prayers are muchly appreciated.

Today is day 16 for Lisa. No update for today, but on day 14 she had this to say.

Lisa posted that day 14 started out at 5 AM with the nurses coming in to monitor the baby's heartbeat. Suddenly, after 30 minutes of monitoring, the heartbeat disappeared...nothing showing on the monitors. The attending nurse tried for 10 minutes to locate a heartbeat again. When she couldn't find a heartbeat, the nurse went to get another nurse, who showed up with a third nurse. They all tried seeking for a heartbeat. After 20 minutes and some chaotic concerns, a nurse went to a quadrant of Lisa's abdomen where it had never been checked before...and there it was, finally, a heartbeat, strong and consistent. A baby tends to 'move around' a lot, so it's normal to actually lose a heartbeat. Even so, this episode made for some pretty stressful moments.

Lisa also had to have her mid-line removed from her arm (inner bicep area) because the meds were not getting through. When they removed the mid-line, the long needle insert was bent and curved, and it should have come out straight as an arrow. Fortunately, this issue was caught, a new line put in and all is well. The bent mid-line is a very rare incident, so the lead nurse is using this episode as a great training tool for other nurses.

Other than these two incidents, all continues to be well for baby and Lisa.

Thank you all for any and all continued prayers for them both.

Ken

Continued prayer, thanks for the update.
Treefarmer

The Lord is always with us....
He sees all things and will NEVER leave us alone!
His angels are around us and constantly minister to our needs.
Thank you heavenly Father for your comfort and peace. Please show Ken and Lisa that all things will be according to your will.

Lisa and her baby is in our prayers Ken. Thanks for the update!
Praise God from whom ALL blessing FLOW!!!

Thank You, Kindly, Philip and Mike. I appreciate it...and so does Lisa.

Update:

Lisa has reached her 30 day milestone at the hospital and her 25th week...and very close to reaching her 26th week. Nine weeks to go for 34 weeks. The baby is doing really well, albeit, they continue to monitor baby's heart rate every six hours, for one hour. The HR tends to fluctuate up and down, sometimes to as low as 60 for about a minute, then shoots back up to around 100 / 110. Doctors are concerned that if it keeps happening too much, they'll have to monitor the HR 24/7. But for now, the baby is doing fine. There are several reasons why the HR may drop so low. One: The baby is grasping the umbilical cord and hanging on, or two: the cord gets wrapped around the neck for a slight bit, then gets loose. Lots of factors involved, which a lot of them are normal and not anything exclusive to Lisa's situation.

Lisa is still able to have 'sleep overs' with her other children and they've made their own schedules for their turn. Ryan usually spends the night on Monday nights due to some vital tests being done on Tuesdays and he wants to be there. Lisa has a very good rapport with all the nurses and doctors, which puts them all at ease and makes life, such as it is, much more enjoyable. Lisa is still able to move about on her own, shower and conduct basic hygiene measurements, which is a blessing so far, instead of being bedridden. She does have to be in a wheelchair if she goes off exploring the hallways or to the outside garden area. But during those times, one of her older girls is pushing the wheelchair and acting like they're at the Indy 500. Yeah...they have fun with it in a humorous girly way, but safely and reasonably.

The doctors and nurses are staying excited along with Lisa in reaching each week. Right now, the baby is 1.7 lbs, which...according to the doctors, is right on schedule and the way it should be. I thought it seemed a bit 'light' weight wise, but then, I too have to have trust and faith in the doctors. If Lisa isn't worried, then I'm not either.

That's pretty much it for now. The first week Lisa was there, and there were so many 'unknown's' at the time, after talking to her on the phone and getting all the details of the past several days, I sat down and wrote this poem for her and baby, based on what I knew at the time. She has it displayed in her room.



BABY CURRAN

A husband and wife, intimate side
Conceived a soul anew
A miracle within itself
Maybe hoping for baby blue

So the days and weeks passed on by
Baby growing more each day
Was this intended and was it planned?
Only those two can truly say

The woman loves her maternal side
A baby is such a joy
She cherishes every moment of growth
Whether be it a girl or boy

Her other girls and Daddy too
Are excited about this one
Could it be another sister girl
Or a brother and a son

The days turned into twenty-two weeks
Something happens, something’s wrong
The water flows and rushes out
That moment didn’t take long

A Saturday evening at Sacred Heart
Tests and checks were made
The doctors and nurses very concerned
Diagnosis and plans were laid

The baby is in danger, all could tell
The woman admitted that night
Through all the constant emotional stress
Her faith knew it would be alright

Many prayers were being cast above
To the One who answers all
But the people praying didn’t know
That He’d already answered the call

The doctors and nurses all agreed
There’s hope for this little one
So protocols started, decisions made
And foundations of faith begun

So the woman shared what was going on
And the miracles began to arrive
Prayers abound, our faith in God
Evidence this child will survive

Nine days later at twenty-three weeks
A major milestone achieved
Baby growing and doing well
Because so many people believed

With many more days before intended goal
And to count the final score
Prayers and faith are needed still
For baby and week thirty-four

So raise up your voices, whisper to God
Lord, may your Will be done
Provide your mercy and your grace
For this precious little one

And may you keep and comfort the woman
Who is after your very own heart
Sustain her faith, add to her hope
Just as you did from the start

And bring her through to thirty-four
When this little one is ready to be
And let this be the miracle
For all the faithful to see

And the woman and man will give unto you
All Honor and Glory through love
And many more will do likewise
As they Praise your Name above

For God desires the path of life
For each and every one
His love is covering this dear child
From the moment it first begun

So rest assured, God hears our cry
And the Spirit works His love
And rejoices in the faithfulness
Of our prayers cast above

Amen…and Amen. Thank You, Jesus

21 Sept 2022

Amen!

I pray that all will continue to go well with your daughter and baby Curran.

Praise God from whom ALL blessing flow!

Lisa will be going to the OR at 9:00 AM, Monday, 05 December for a C-section. After several days of consultation with her doctors (a multitude of them), it was decided that this is the most positive direction for Lisa's safety and the safety of baby Curran. Right now, the baby is expected to birth at 4 lbs. That doesn't sound like much, but actually, that is a really good weight for a preemie. The baby will be in neonatal ICU for a while to ensure he/she continues to develop and ready to go home.

Lisa is doing well, as is the baby. She's had a few ups and downs, but nothing major. She's been leaking and bleeding for the past week, so all that was part of the determination leading to the C-section tomorrow. She is in GREAT spirits and is looking forward to holding her new baby. I'm hoping for a grandson.

Thank you to all for your prayers and thoughts for Lisa and baby Curran. Tomorrow is the day. I'll post a followup as soon as I know.

Continuing to pray that God will bless you all.
Looking forward to a pic of you holding that healthy grandchild in the future!

Ken, I just reread the very meaningful words you posted in October, what a blessing to read of this miracle in a poem.
Praying that all goes well tomorrow.
Treefarmer

I pray that God will continue to bless your daughter and her baby.
God's will is perfect!
God bless you my brother.

Reverand, Philip and Mike...Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers and to ALL of you who have prayed for the wellbeing of Lisa and baby Curran. It truly means a multitude of joy and gratitude within me.

This morning, at 9:44 Florida time, Lisa and Ryan were blessed with a baby BOY! Their first boy. Nicholas James was born 4.7 lbs and will remain in neonatal ICU for several weeks as he progresses fully and to a 'go home' status. Right now, they're monitoring his breathing and making sure he doesn't have any lung issues, but he is doing very well. Lisa is doing very well and still coming off the spinal tap, but she is not in any discomfort above a '3' level. I'm so very happy for them and I give praise to the Lord for seeing her through this and blessing them with this boy. It's been a long arduous, and sometimes, very concerning moments in the past 34 weeks, but Lisa met her goal and the rest is history.

Once again, THANK YOU all for your prayers and thoughts the past three months for my daughter. It means a lot to me. Thank You My Friends.

Blessings to all...