The Darling

The part of the defibrillator that delivers the shock is called the "therapy" side. The therapy side of Sam's defib has been turned off since it malfunctioned Wednesday evening, but the doctors have been monitoring the other side of the device that detects the heart beat and determines whether or not it is normal. For the past 36 hours there have been no false positives (a false positive occurs when the device detects a double heart beat that didn't actually occur), so over the next four days the doctors will adjust the detector to two different sensitivity levels to see if it gives any false positives. The last two days of the testing they will turn on the therapy side of the defib to see if the whole device will work properly at the normal (at home) settings.

It sounds straight forward, but even after the doctors conferred with the engineers and programmers at the manufacturer no one knows what caused the defib to malfunction in the first place. So even if all the test results indicate the problem seems to be solved, there is still the uncertainty of whether or not it will malfunction again. If the tests do not go well, then it is likely that they will need to go back in to change or replace the leads. But that still does not necessarily guarantee that all will be well with the defib.

There is so much uncertainty in this situation and so much to pray for. Bill asks that you continue to pray for insight for the doctors, but even more that you pray for he and Teesa to have enough trust that the device will work properly when the time comes to leave the hospital. Pray also for a strong sense of God's presence over the coming days to know and trust that God is in control and He will make things alright.

On a more positive note, Sam is improving steadily. He is eating well and his body seems to be prossessing the milk well, so they are regularly changing wet diapers. The bandage has been removed from the incision and much of the swelling has gone down. He is keeping up a chatter and is a little annoyed that he isn't allowed to play with all the wires. The nurses call him the darling of the [5th] floor.

Teesa seems to be regaining more strength everyday, and the headaches are easing a little. She and Bill could both use more rest, though.

Thank you for your efforts to stay current and pray.