Prayer Request

Many of you who read this already know about this prayer request for our friends the Bobendriers. I know others of you sometimes look at the blogs of our family and friends on the side bar. Please read the email below from my friend Tiffany regarding her 4-year-old son Silas and PLEASE PRAY!
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First and foremost, PRAISE THE LORD for His grace and mercy today!!

Most of you on this email should have heard the news about Silas today. We called a few point people and tried to spread the word as quickly as we could. If you were missed, we ask you to join us in prayer now and to pass this along to any and every one who you know will pray.

Last night Silas went to bed with a bad cough which we suspected was due to an oncoming cold. Over the course of the evening his physical state grew worse to the point where it was very difficult for him to breath regularly. I took him into urgent care this morning and they were immediately concerned about the low oxygen level in his blood. The sent us to the local hospital, whose staff did everything in their means to help him. What they were trying was not working and thus they sent us to Children's Hospital for more specialized care. It turns out that he developed a very quick onset of severe pneumonia which caused his left lung to collapse. After many attempts to re-inflate the lung, they were worried about his viability and needed to turn to a lifesaving effort called ECMO (ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation). Basically since his lung was not working properly, his blood was not oxygenating well enough. The ECMO machine cycles his blood from his body, oxygenates it (and removes the CO2) in the unit and pumps it back into his body. This is done to allow his lungs time to heal. ECMO can last anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks. We were told to be prepared for the longer end of that spectrum. We were told that there are many risks involved with ECMO, many which we have already passed, praise the Lord! The procedure itself is risky...he pushed through that this evening and is now stable. The continued risks involved include primarily the potential for bleeding, particularly around incisions he has (he has three chest tubes in) and possibly in the brain (less likely but obviously serious if it develops.) He has two nurses monitoring him 24/7 and we feel very confident in the care that he is receiving. However, we still covet your prayers as we will not be "in the clear" until he is home and healthy.

Please pray specifically for:
a miracle!!
quick healing of his lungs so that he can be off the machine ASAP (long term risks increase with the length of treatment)
no bleeding or clotting as the blood cycles through the ECMO machine and his body
Titus and Judah as we will not be with them for the next couple of days
Dave and I as we weigh our options for long term plans if we need to be here for a few weeks.
complete recovery with no lasting effects

THANK YOU so much for loving this amazing boy of ours. We are anxious to see him open his eyes and talk to us again. We will try to send updates periodically and post on my blog as well: http://immeasurableblessings.blogspot.com/

Storm the gates of heaven for the sweet soul that God graced us with. He's not done with him yet!

Tiffany and Dave