Evening update

Not going to extubate today, planning to try in the morning. Sam should have a quiet night on a new sedation medication while getting some more time to optimize his lungs and wean down on the vent settings. Here are a few pictures of him today.

I am rereading the Francis Chan book, Crazy Love, and although it is a little long, I want to share some of what I read today. It is something that got my attention the first time I read it, but deeply touched me today considering I am sitting in a children’s cardiac icu, and it is definitely something we all could stand to be reminded of…
“It’s easy to think of today as just another day. An average day where you go about life concerned with you ro-do list, preoccupied by appointments, focused on family, thinking about your desires and needs. On the average day, we live caught up in ourselves. On the average day, we don’t consider God very much. On an average day, we forget that our life truly is a vapor. But there is nothing average about today. Just think about everything that must function properly just for you to survive. For example, your kidneys. The only people who really think about their kidneys are people whose kidneys don’t work correctly. The majority of us take for granted our kidneys, liver, lungs, and other internal organs that we’re dependent upon to continue living. What about driving down the road at sixty-five miles an hour, only a few feet away from cars going the opposite direction at the same speed. Someone would only have to jerk his arm and you would be dead. I don’t think that’s morbid, I think it’s reality. “
James writes, “ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (4:13-14)
“I used to believe in this world there are two types of people: natural worriers and naturally joyful people. I couldn’t really help it that I was one of the worrying kind. But then there’s that perplexing command: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Rejoice! You’ll notice it doesn’t end with….unless your doing something extremely important. Maybe life’s pretty good for you right now. God has given you this good stuff so that you can show the world a person who enjoys blessings, but who is still totally obsessed with God. Or maybe life is tough right now, and everything feels like a struggle. God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard. In the presence of God, He gives us a deeper peace and joy that transcends it all. The point of your life is to point to Him! If life were stable, I’d never need God’s help. Since it’s not, I reach out for Him regularly. I am thankful for the unknowns and that I don’t have control, because it makes me run to God.