Monday, November 30, 2009

Final Update on Michael Julian

Many of you have asked how Michael is doing now that he has been home for a little while. I am pleased to report that he is doing fabulously. On the 25th he weighed in at over 9 lb which is a wonderful improvement from the 7 lb 4 oz he went down to after surgery. His pediatrician was very pleased to see where he was and confirmed for us that the malrotation is actually a rather rare thing for one to have, because he has only seen two in his career. He has now been seen by both the pediatrician and the surgeon, both of whom have given him thumbs up for good health.

He continues to be a rather content child who is adored by his family who are thankful daily for his health. Thank you all for your prayers and support. What a blessing it has been to taste the wealth of relationships the Lord has given to us in the church.

Here are some more pictures of the little fellow:
















Friday, November 6, 2009

Mighty to Save!

The birth Michael Julian on the 27th of October ushered in a period of blessing and testing for the Becker household. A time for which we are thankful because we know that it will grow our faith and our dependence upon Jesus Christ. We truly believe in what the Bible says in James 1:2-8.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (endurance). But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Earlier this week, Michael began to vomit explosively, progressively becoming worse until he could no longer keep anything down. We knew there was obviously a serious problem with him. We came into Valley Children’s Hospital (referred to in our house as “Wyatt’s hospital”—from his diabetes stay) just outside of Fresno around midnight on Wednesday morning, November 4th.

We spent 12 hours in the Emergency Department attempting to identify the extent of Michael’s issue. After many tests, potential problems were being eliminated one by one. Jaundice was an obvious issue that was being exacerbated by his inability to keep anything down. This caused him to be placed into an incubator tube, while being under lights designed to help his jaundice subside.

Michael under the Bili lights and in the tube…(Michael working on his tan)

The cause for vomiting was still a mystery until “Dr. Miracle” came into the picture. He is a doctor of radiology whose name is spelled Myrical, but is actually pronounced miracle. He thought he could identify a twisting and partial obstruction in the small intestine. This was verified in a “barium study” which made the blockage, banding and twisting somewhat obvious.

This caused Michael to be admitted into the surgical ward and scheduled for immediate surgery. Nothing easy to be at peace with, but God was gracious and merciful. Alicia and I were both very sober, but peaceful in trusting in His sovereignty. While waiting in the surgery pre-op room, we were both singing and humming “Mighty To Save” through tears. We made sure our hearts were content with handing Michael back over to Jesus, because He is his rightful Father.

Michael’s expression when we told him what was about to happen to him…

When the surgeon came in to see us just before they went into the procedure, I was led to ask if I could pray over him. The doctor graciously accepted and bowed his head. We were blessed to be able to pray with him that God would glorify Himself in the hands of this man.

At 3:30 am Wednesday morning, we were coveting the prayers of the saints, so I quickly made a list of people on my phone and sent out a request for prayers. We then continued to update these people as things progressed along. This was such a blessing because by now we were receiving emails and texts on the phone with scriptures God was placing on the hearts of people all over the world. We were brought to tears as we waited for the surgeons to take him back by just such a message.

Just before Michael went back with the surgical team he blessed us with an expression that seemed to be Divine. It’s as though He was telling us through our week-old son that He had it all under control and that we could trust in Him. All of this spoke through a wink and smile given to us by Michael.

“No worries, God’s got me in His hands!”

Once the surgery began, we were surrounded by saints who were waiting with us in the waiting room. We spent time laughing and praying together, not only for Michael, but also for the others in the room whose children were in surgery at the time. This was a sweet time of fellowship and love, capped off by a trip to the window to see about 20 others gathered in the parking lot to pray and praise along with us, but could not come up to the waiting room because of space constraints. In the middle of this I received this verse from a dear sister, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You. Because he trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3) This really spoke to us, because that was it, perfect peace seasoned with a beautiful manifestation of the love of Jesus displayed through His saints joining us in prayer and praise.

Once we had the announcement that all had been a success, we were relieved and blessed again at the faithfulness of God.

He is continuing to recover as we wait. This morning I was blessed by a scripture sent by another person which just seemed to encapsulate the whole event and situation.

“The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

When I heard this it caused the tears to roll all over again. I remembered the last few days as we would console Michael by singing to him while he was in the tube. This brought him to a place of gladness and quietness all in song, even from me. Yet at the same time, God has been ministering to us all along singing “Mighty to Save” into our hearts. He has also been quieting us through the manifestation of His love through all of the saints who have been emailing, calling, praying and serving.

To God be the Glory!

Mighty to Save…

Everyone needs compassion

Love that’s never failing

Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness

The kindness of a Savior

The hope of nations

He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever

Author of salvation

He rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me

All my fears and failures

Fill my life again

I give my life to follow

Everything I believe in

Now I surrender

Shine your light and let the

whole world see

We’re singing for the glory

of the risen King…Jesus

Michael and Papa today, as he recovers…