Jesus' Empathy

Jesus can empathize with suffering and the threat of death. I was reminded of this by a text message from a friend, who sent some verses mentioned below. It is always helpful to us on this rough road to get reminders from those outside the path who can see past the immediate rocky areas in front of us.

Jesus personally experienced the anxiety and fear that comes with an expectation of suffering, as he prayed "let this cup pass from me" (Matthew 26:39). He knew that the suffering was coming, but he wanted to avoid it if at all possible. I take comfort in knowing that Jesus can empathize with our anxiety and fear in facing what is possibly the end of Roscoe's young life.

Jesus also experienced sadness himself on behalf of others. The shortest verse in the bible (John 11:35) simply says "Jesus wept". This verse is in reference to the passing of a close friend of Jesus (Lazarus). Jesus knew that Lazarus could be raised from the dead, so perhaps his weeping was because he knew the hurt that others were feeling as Lazarus was taken from them. Once again, I take comfort in knowing that Jesus can empathize with our sadness, should God choose to take Roscoe from us.

Roscoe started off with a good day yesterday, but had a big rough patch in the middle. The doctor switched Roscoe's arterial line from his left hand to his right foot because the line was too leaky and unreliable in his left hand. Now with it in his right foot, both of his hands are freed up to interact with us. Unfortunately, he had to receive blood and so they made 5 attempts at inserting a new IV, which caused him to desaturate to the 30's. The daytime nurse was also rather unfriendly, so Alisha didn't feel comfortable leaving Roscoe's side all day, for fear that the nurse would improperly treat him (when Alisha pointed out that the nurse was suctioning him incorrectly, the nurse snapped at her). When we left at night he had a great nurse and was sleeping soundly.

We are hoping that today we'll get to hold him again, as we've heard rumors that the doctor on staff is very agreeable to parents holding. If that happens, we'll be sure to soak it all in as we haven't really been able to hold Roscoe since the morning of June 10th, almost 4 weeks ago.