The Big Day

Monday will be one of the most important days in Roscoe's young life. On Monday, Roscoe will undergo two procedures:

1. Ventilation Scan

Roscoe's will undergo a lung scan which will give the doctors get a preview of how well the blood is being distributed throughout his lungs. This preview will assist them by letting them know what they might expect during the cardiac catheterization (his second procedure of the day).

1. Cardiac Catheterization

Roscoe will also get a cardiac catheterization, where they thread a small tube from an artery in his leg up through parts of his heart and into the vein that connects his heart to his lungs. As I mentioned in a previous post, the results of the cardiac catheterization will either be to perform surgery at a future date, stent the vein during the catheterization, or to wait for the vein to grow naturally.

The result of these procedures (especially the catheterization) will have a major effect on Roscoe's progress toward a normal, healthy life. See the bottom of this post for our specific prayer requests.

My view of the golden gate bridge (with San Francisco in the background)
on my way back from visiting the Sebastapol congregation on Sunday.

On Sunday, Roscoe took another step backwards. His breathing support started the day at around 60% oxygen and ended the day at 100% oxygen. Along with his increase in breathing support, his heart has also started beating very fast. For instance, just now he calmly woke up and his heart rate jumped to 170 (when normally it would be around 130). His heart rate and oxygen requirements are most likely related, as his heart would need to beat faster if his body isn't getting enough oxygen. These two factors probably indicate that his pulmonary hypertension is triggering again, although not as severely as it was last week. Monday's results will give much needed insight into the current state of his pulmonary hypertension and what can be done to resolve it.

Since Roscoe's heart rate keeps skyrocketing even when he is normally awake, the nurses give him additional sedative and painkillers to keep him calm. Though Alisha and I hate to see it happen, they said that right now we're choosing the lesser of two evils (pulmonary hypertension crisis vs pharmaceuticals). Once the cardiac catheterization happens, they can start making plans to wean the drugs once the pulmonary hypertension has been dealt with. We took two videos of Roscoe in a medically-induced slumber, while he dreamed of wonders and adventures that only his mind knows at this point. You can tell by the expressions on his face that he was experiencing something great, but we don't quite know what it was.

While we'd certainly love for Roscoe to be happy, awake, and vibrant, right now we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. His pulmonary hypertension seemed to be getting worse over the past few days, which is disappointing because he had several days in a row of very positive progress.

We especially ask that you pray for the surgeons and doctors involved in Roscoe's care on Monday. We will post updates when we know the time that Roscoe is scheduled to go through both procedures. Please pray that the surgeons and doctors:

1. Have wisdom (in the life decisions they make for Roscoe)
2. Have skill (in their ability to carry out the decisions they make)

Alisha and I have chosen to pray at least once during each hour of the day, to show God our persistence and to plead with him to give Roscoe a result that will lead to a long, happy, righteousness-filled life. Hopefully our prayer plan for the day will match with God's intent in Luke 18:1-8, which is partially quoted below:

"Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart,

...

will not God bring about justice for His elect which cry to Him day and night, and will he delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly."