Evening Update

Jacob has had a pretty good day, today, with one exception. His stoma is slowly coming around (waking up). His fever has pretty well subsided. The rash on his back, however, appears to be getting worse. They are going to see if he needs some sort of anti-fungal med or powder to help treat it. Jacob hasn't complained about it a lot, but we can tell that it bothers him and appears to make him itchy. Thanks for your prayers regarding these concerns - please continue to pray that the healing and mending process will go smoothly and quickly for Jacob and that this rash will clear up soon.

Jacob still has the NG tube in his stomach (this went in before surgery as part of the bowel prep and currently allows them to "deposit" certain oral meds directly into his stomach) and cannot (yet) eat any solid foods or drink anything beyond what the IV fluids provide. The doctors were prepared to take the NG tube out, but decided to wait a little longer because his stomach was just a little bit distended (swollen) and he has not passed any "poo", yet.

We do not know how long Jacob will have to stay in the hospital, but he will likely have to remain in the Baltimore area for at least four weeks (this was based on the estimate from the Urologist). Their plan is to remove the stint in his urethra at that time and then monitor him closely for another couple of weeks. If he still drains urine well from down below, they will then close off (and later remove) the SP tube (catheter) that he has had since the surgery in 2008.

Daddy BA will be leaving for Chattanooga tomorrow morning - please pray for safety in travel. Also, please pray for Mommy as she will be with Jacob throughout the next week. Anyone who has ever stayed with a friend or family member who is hospitalized for an extended period of time will know how it can wear on you in more ways than one (especially when it comes to getting good sleep). Please pray that God will pour out his mercy on Mommy this week and give her that strength that only He can provide. Please pray that both will be able to get some good rest each night.

We hope everyone is enjoying the pictures and we hope to get more posted over the next week or so.

May the glory of the Lord shine down on us.

Mommy and Daddy