Prayer for Difficult Birth

[Brother Ben]

I have an acquaintence from a plain background and he forwarded this report about a difficult birth situation some friends are having. I will just post the three emails I got. It sounds like they are written by a youth.

...............emails.................
1.
Sorry if this email is not the best. It's been a hard day.

Here is everything that has happened. The baby was a big baby (estimated at 12-13 pounds). The baby got stuck at it's shoulders. Mom tried to push it out but couldn't. The midwife had to cut her to help out. Mom is blaming herself for not pushing hard enough. She needs a lot of prayer. Dad called the emergency number. They took the baby out on a baby stretcher. The baby's heart was beating but the baby wasn't breathing. In the ambulance, the heart beat stopped. The heart beat was restored. The baby started to breathe on its own. One lung collapsed. The legs can move fine. The arms barely move. The babies lip can quiver and it can make noises. They have taken two X-rays. They saw a separation in the bones but we don't know much about that yet. The baby was transferred to Children's Hospital where a cat scan will be done. The baby has an infection. Again, we don't know much about it. Mom and Dad are either staying at the hospital or getting a motel. The baby was a boy.

My grandma and aunt from NC were here during the whole thing. My Mom didn't want them to be here. My grandma is a nervous wreck and can cause a lot of stress. She's lost. She asked me am I fine. I told her, "Things like these are fine because I know God is in control." She didn't answer.

2.
Mother called tonight and I was told the baby can make a fist. When the baby does this, it holds its thumb between its index and middle finger. They are concerned that this might be a sign of brain damage. Nothing is definite though. The baby had seizures coming out and there was bleeding in the head. Right now the baby's head is all bandaged up and we are awaiting some results from tests. The baby right now is in a stable position. The breathing was very shallow before he came to the hospital but now is perfectly fine. The baby went to the bathroom coming out and filled up a lung(s). All of that is now drained out.

3.
The baby weighed 12 pounds, 14 ounces! A BIG baby!

................end.................

Here is their email address if you want to send them a note of encouragement letting them know we care and are praying.

[e-mail]

Sorry I don't know their name.

[benshelpmeet]

How awful .... I am praying for this precious family.

I am also praying for the other three on the other thread.

We have alot to be thankful for and nothing to complain about.

[nightingale]

This here statement has touched my heart, what great faith in a very difficult time: Praise our Heavenly Father

Statement:

["Things like these are fine because I know God is in control."]
God is in control, Not to have faith as this young person is a shame
I will be in prayer for this family...Sis Debbie

[Brother Ben]

I found out this is a family we know that goes to a church a friend of mine pastors. Their name is the Drayer's and the young man posting is Matthew. Here is his follow-up emails.

..............emails............
#1
I'm going to attempt to give an update but many things seem like a blur right now. If I miss something, hopefully I'll be able to give an update.

The baby's name is Elijah Daniel. When the doctor read the name of the baby, he started to cry. He told my father that is a powerful name.

The baby is being treated for possible infections. The baby has pneumonia but they are draining the fluids off the lungs. The baby somehow had swallowed its own waste but that is drained out. Those things are not the major concern. The major concern is that the baby's brain was swelling. That is probably related to the bleeding in the head. I had said before that the baby had seizures coming out of the womb. This is not necessarily true. It has been having seizures this whole time. The seizures are probably related to the brain swelling which means cure of the swelling might cure the seizures. The swelling brain is being treated by cooling it for a 72 hour period. This procedure has only been done 5 times. It worked four out of the five times. Elijah will be the sixth time. The doctor said most babies worsen the second day but Elijah is getting better. The baby can move fine. Tests results came back about the X-rays of the bones. It was verified 3 times that the baby's bones are fine. Therefore, they took off a neck brace they had Elijah in. Friday they will stop the cooling procedure. This part is critical. The baby's brain activity is low because it is cold right now. When they slowly warm the baby up, the brain activity should increase. They are worried about brain damage. They don't know if there will be any or not and if there is, they don't know how much. If there is brain damage, they will have to wait till the baby is 6 to 9 months to tell how severe. The baby was holding its thumb in between its pointer and middle finger which is a possible sign of brain damage. Normal children do this too though. Plus, the baby doesn't always do this which I think is a good sign. The baby also responds to Mom and Dad.

People, including friends, can see the baby right now. I saw it today. It looked active and well. I want to take a picture Friday but I don't know if I can. If I am able, I'll try to send it out.

Mom and Dad have been staying at the hospital. They are there tonight. We've been sleeping at the house. I want to go and see it tomorrow but can't. No way to get there.

Mother has been getting stronger. Yesterday she was very weak. She's been in a wheel chair if she has to go somewhere. She's getting strong enough that she might not have to use it soon. Emotionally she has greatly improved. My father many times looks like he has teary eyes. The whole situation was hard on him. He is able to see the baby a lot and talk to it.

I shouldn't leave out Mrs. Gish. The Gish's go to the same churchShe is having contractions (six weeks too early I believe). She had this problem before but they were able to get it under control. She has lost two babies already. She needs prayer

[beinfaith]

Praying for this poor sweet infant and for the family. Also praying for the lady mentioned at the end of the last post who was having contractions too early.

Have you heard anything else?

Blessings
Becky

[Brother Ben]

Update from Bro. Matthew
Elijah Daniel

Sorry for not giving an update sooner. I have been tired for the past two nights. Elijah Daniel is now breathing on his own. Before there was a tube down his throat forcing him to breathe. That tube is gone now. He is breathing in oxygen still but he must take the breath. Mother was able to hold the baby Sunday night! That was a blessing! The baby is now off seizure medicine which presumably means he is not having problems with seizures. The baby drank for the first time by mouth! No longer does it have a feeding tube. The baby no longer has a "restroom" tube. The baby is now in a crib, has a T-shirt, and had/has a blanket. Elijah had a scan of it's brain done today. We do not have the results yet. This is a critical test. This test will tell if the cooling procedure stopped the swelling of the brain or not.

[Brother Ben]

Bro. Matthew's most recent email

Sorry that I did not give an update yesterday. It was late when I got home. The results of the brain scan came back and there is no swelling or blood! We have been told that if the baby progresses well, he may be able to come home in a few days! He must be able to eat the amount of food he is suppose to be eating. They are slowly giving him more and more food.

(Ben again) I'll try to find out about Mrs. Gish.

[Brother Ben]

Matthew's most recent email as of 7-17-06

Elijah had some purple hard callous bruises on his back and arms. We were told that this is due to a chemical reaction that takes place in the body when there is a lack of oxygen. Elijah was going to come home possibly tomorrow (Monday) but that has changed. They are now saying that they must monitor his calcium level because this chemical reaction will cause the amount of calcium in the body to go too high. Hopefully I'll have more information later.

[Brother Ben]

I received this email from Matthew.

...............begin email..............

Elijah is home. This will probably be my last update about Elijah to everybody. Elijah's G. I. scan came back fine. This means that there is no physical problems causing him to throw up. He has been doing well at home keeping his food down. We were told that Elijah has improved the best out of all babies in his condition. All praise be to God. He's home and doing great! Thank you for all your prayers!

[benshelpmeet]

Praise be to God!

[Andrea]

That's wonderful news!! Praise the Lord!

[beinfaith]

This is awesome news! Praising the LORD for this little one and for his family. And praising the LORD for his wonderful older brother, who kept us all updated as he could!

Becky in Indiana