Day 6: The Latest Arrival

The most exciting part of today happened in a hospital, but not Dad's. Bethany and Richie had another baby boy! If they keep having boys and Sam and I keep having girls, we'll have to baby-swap! They named him Colson Dale Armstrong, and his stats were 8 pounds, 8 ounces, and 21 inches. For the story behind the name, you'll have to check out their blog (click here), because Bethany promises to post something about that soon. Apparently, big brother Luke was absolutely thrilled with his new wrestling partner. We are very grateful that Bethany and Colson are both quite healthy after the C-section.

Because the sex of the baby was a surprise until Colson popped out, Dad does not know that he has another grandson. We hope he will find out soon! In college, as part of Athletes in Action (AIA), several of my friends had t-shirts emblazoned with the acronym "P.U.S.H." It stood for the saying "Pray Until Something Happens," and it accurately states our game-plan with Dad.

The highlights from today were as follows:

- The balloon that holds the respirator tube in place in Dad's lung deflated, and they needed to sedate him to replace the tube. It was done without a hitch, and Dad is breathing fine (though still with the aid of a ventilator). The respirator therapist came in while I was typing this and assured me that Dad's breathing was looking pretty good, thanks to his relatively healthy lungs.

- Speaking of Dad's lungs, a technician x-rayed Dad's chest this morning to check out Dad's lungs. There were no clots or fluid to report.

- Blood work was done to see if Dad has had any heart attacks while in the hospital, and his heart appears to be healthy. His sporadic heart rate accelerations are not fun to watch, because they trigger an alarm and make him squirm, but they don't appear to be caused by any heart damage.

- They did an EEG on Dad's head to see if he has had any seizures, and, thankfully, he has NOT! That was a relief, as we know that additional strokes and seizures are common with "neuro patients" (the cool medical name for folks with neurological issues).

While all of the above highlights should be seen as "positives," Dad is still in a coma and showing little increased signs of movement or consciousness. That is the nature of an AVM injury, though. It is a long, arduous fight for physical life, and I hope he is able to realize (if not now, then someday) that he is "surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses."

An old friend sent me these lyrics from the song "Praise You in This Storm," by Casting Crowns, and I was encouraged by how they describe our feelings about Dad's slow recovery:

"I was sure by now
God you would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say “Amen”, and it’s still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as You mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will life my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm"

The day started with a beautiful baby entering this world. And here I sit, staring at the machines that monitor and quantify every detail of his endangered physical life. However, I have a profound sense of peace, knowing that Dad's spiritual destiny is secure; he was absolutely ready for any raging storm, like the one he is experiencing. When it's my turn to lay on that hospital bed, I pray that my kids will be able to say the same of me. I can't think of a better legacy.

Remembering that God is good... ALL the time...