Prayer Request for my young friend
I received this email from our Mission team leader who received it from Brad at CSI.
Good morning,
I wish I could begin this email on a lighter note; however we have a very urgent need for specific prayer.
Thursday afternoon, our little Virginia was scheduled to have surgery on her arm. This surgery was to break and reset a bone that was previously broken. Apparently it didn’t heal properly and needs to be reset with metal pins allowing for complete mobility in the future.
Debbie and I took her to the private hospital here on the island at 1pm on Thursday for pre-op procedures. At approximately 4:30pm, while waiting for the surgery to be completed, a parent’s deepest fear had become a reality. Before they even began the operation, something went wrong in the anesthetic department. Virginia’s vitals, heart and breathing had stopped for over 5 minutes. We don’t know exactly how long as we have gotten 3 different lengths of time from 3 different doctors/nurses that were in on the resuscitation efforts.
After she started a little bit of breathing on her own, and her heart pumping again, I put on a robe and entered the operating room. She still had a tube down her throat administering oxygen as she couldn’t do it on her own. Her heart rate was between 190 and 213 bpm. They were trying to wake her up but couldn’t. I wanted her to hear my voice and know that I was here and continued to squeeze her hand and pray, talk and sing to her. I think I might have felt her squeeze my hand a little, but that might have been just some wishful thinking.
Debbie and I remain rotating throughout the 24 hour days between the hospital and the orphanage. Debbie spends the night at the hospital. We are in a room right next to the surgery room. It has 2 beds in it, a chair and Virginia’s IV stand. Debbie brought in our ear thermometer so we have been able to monitor her temperature which was up to 102 on day 1. All they had was a regular thermometer which was very difficult to use.
This morning Virginia is still not doing very well. She has stopped the “seizure” type shaking and flexing and the grinding of her teeth. She has broken off 2 teeth. I have since made a padded tooth protector out of a tongue depressant stick, a rubber surgical glove and some sterile tape. She has not spoken. When she has opened her eyes, she is not recognizing any voices or faces. Just a dazed look. She is responding to pain. I will lightly tickle her feet checking for movement and she continues to respond to that as well. We were told by Sandy, a dear friend and RN who lives here and stayed through the first night at the hospital, that “there are different levels of comas and this might be what is happening”. We really can’t get anything from the doctor on staff here except that “it is just going to take more time for her to come off of the anesthetic”.
We are very concerned about brain damage. Virginia is such a lively little girl and very smart. Please join us in prayer, all of us, in that the Lord would perform yet another miracle regarding Virginia. He saved her and brought her back to life in the operating room. We now are praying for Him to wake her up from this “coma like” state, free from any brain damage.
We also pray for the young man Joel, who was doing the administering of the anesthetic. Although we probably will never really know what positively took place behind those operating room doors, due to the conditions and culture we live in here in Honduras, we do know that he is doing his best, as well as all of the other staff on hand. We are thankful for them and ask that you keep them in pray as well. When you are finished with that, if there is anything left in you, please pray for Debbie and I and the God given strength to continue the pace we are running at right now. Debbie just finished with a very serious upper GI sickness that took her out as well as several other islanders over the last couple of weeks. Yesterday, I lost my voice and have come down with a pretty nasty head cold and sore throat. God’s Grace is sufficient.
Thank you all for your continued love, prayers and support. I will do my very best to keep you updated in a timely manner. Please be patient.
Love in Christ, our only Hope,