Micah Update: We Wait

Three months ago Micah was listed on the liver transplant list to receive his second liver transplant of his short 7 year life. We continue to wait. There's no way to know when the surgery will take place. And certainly the events that precipitate the availability of a liver are difficult to think upon.

Micah continues to do well most days. He continues to face more regular fatigue. But he completed baseball season alongside of his brothers, Isaac and Ethan. They are all three great at helping care for and play with the two little brothers, Malachi and Titus.

He continues to have surgery on his mind everyday. There's rarely a day that goes by that something doesn't trigger a conversation or some statement related to the wait or the surgery to come. With visiting grandparents this week, it simply came up when he told me they would stay longer if he had his transplant.

Please continue to pray for patience in the waiting, strength and comfort for Micah's body and heart, and trust in the perfect will and timing of God.

I would additionally ask specific prayer for Isaac and Ethan. They have lived these circumstances related to Micah's health for the majority of their life. They don't really know a time when it wasn't part of our journey, our story, and God's work in and through us. However, this time they face the future and the events to come with greater understanding. They know the risk for Micah and the cost to another child and family. Isaac shed great tears the other night as he verbalized his fear, sadness, and struggle with both all of this.

We are grateful for your continued prayers for us, our family, Micah specifically, and for God to accomplish, as we have always hoped, what will ultimately bring him the greatest glory by displaying and declaring the good news through this.

Praise the Lord

Praise be to you, Lord,

the God of our father Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;

you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;

you are the ruler of all things.

In Your hands are strength and power

to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give thanks, and praise your glorious name.

Take a Daniel moment:

1.  Praise God who is our Father from everlasting to everlasting.

2.  Praise God's power and greatness, glory and majesty and splendor.

3.  Declare and celebrate that everything in heaven and earth is His.

4.  Celebrate that His kingdom is above all others and of that kingdom He is head.

5.  Give thanks that all wealth and honor is from Him.

6.  Worship the name and power of our glorious God.

Re-Transplant

You read the title of this blog post right. Our son, Micah, is facing in the coming weeks (or months) a re-transplant.

The back story, in case you're not familiar, is that Micah was born with a rare liver disease that required him at 7 months of age to undergo a liver transplant. In the first two years that followed, Micah had several complications, not limited to, bile duct blockages, blood clots, and the cancer of transplant patients (PTLD).

At that time there were complications that occurred that we knew would one day have an impact that would have to be addressed. Over the last two years Micah has experienced further issues as a result. Primarily, the clotting of his portal vein years ago has now lead to issues with his lungs, spleen, and more.

In the words of the transplant surgeon, the only "medical option we have to address these issues is a re-transplant."

On Friday of last week we finished all our tests and labs. This week Micah is to be presented to the team at Duke for approval for a transplant at Duke. Insurance will then be contacted for approval. Then, probably after our fifth son arrives (any day now), Micah will be listed on the UNOS Donor Recipient list. From there, we will wait for what could be days, weeks, or months (but hopefully not years).

This blog actually began as a result of Micah's first transplant. Therefore, I am sure that I will be posting here along the way. You can sign up to follow by email, receiving notification when there is any new post, by using the Follow By Email function to the right.

We have been blessed from the very beginning of Micah's life with such love, support, encouragement, and assistance. Most of all, we have seen God's power displayed and largely a result of your prayers.

Again, we simply ask for you to pray for Micah, his brothers, his parents, and his family as we prepare for the days to come. Even in this, we know and we pray that God will be glorified.