Another Twist!!!

Most everyone already knows how things are going but for those that aren't on Facebook and haven't been keeping up with our updates I will update here as well! First...the good news..Lauren will be going home on Friday. She has improved greatly..her migraines are under control and her stomach pains have stopped so they will be discharging her tomorrow! Now for the not so great news...first off, there is a terrible stomach bug going around up here which Jeff and I had hoped to avoid but weren't able to so we spent Tuesday and Tuesday night very sick! Thankfully it only lasted 24 hours and even though we still feel a little bit under the weather, we are much better than we were! Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon they came in to tell us that Michael's port had come back positive for bacteria again which meant that they were going to have to pull the line. That would actually require two surgeries (one to take the port out and then another one after they had cleared the line)! We would then be here for another 14 days on IV antibiotics. Well, since we were planning on leaving for vacation on the 28th of June, it would cut right into our vacation and take out the first week. We were all disappointed and since I wasn't feeling well physically it brought about tons of tears. What was most heartbreaking for me was watching Michael be so upset and disappointed. That brought me out of my own disappointment and Jeff and I talked with Michael for a long time. We explained to him that being angry was not the way the Lord would want us to be and that sometimes we just have to exercise our faith and put our trust in Heavenly Father that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. We told him how thankful we were that we were able to catch this when we did and that this was truly a blessing from the Lord. We asked him to put forth all the faith he had and that Heavenly Father would bless him. Jeff is going to give him a blessing and we asked others to pray in our behalf as well. We just accepted it and tried to remember that we are not left alone to deal with challenging times. Later yesterday evening the doctors came in again and told us that after they met with the surgeon that he really wanted to try and save the port, using surgery as a last option. They decided to do a new treatment which is they will run the vancomycin to Michael every 8 hours and in between those times they will do a vancomycin lock which is they will push a small amount of vancomycin into his port and let it sit for one hour three times a day! This they are hoping will clear the line faster and it will get all of the bacteria. We felt like that was an answer to the many prayers that were being offered up in our behalf. This morning Dr. Muge came in and told us that if this clears the line then we will be able to do it for 10 days instead of 14 which would mean that we would get out in time to make it to our vacation! I know that doesn't seem like a huge deal but to the kids it is a big deal and I know that Heavenly Father knows how much it would mean to our family to spend some quality time together. We are sending up our prayers that this treatment will clear the line and that all will go on schedule. We are thankful for the blessing the Lord gave us of finding out about the port infection before it got into his bloodstream and made him very sick. We are thankful that all the prayers that are being lifted up for us are being answered and we are most grateful that as we turn to the Lord and ask for His strengthening hand that we are being supported by His all powerful hand. We are exercising our faith and asking for everyones combined prayers and faith that Michael's port will be cleaned and we will not have to remove it! We are so grateful for the many friends and loving family that are supporting us and are helping us thru this challenging time in our life. If I can find a silver lining in all of this it is that very thing...that we have been blessed with many friends and much family who unite their faith and prayers with ours to bring about our desired result. I can never express enough my gratitude to the Lord for His guiding hand in my life. I know the Lord never gives us more than we can bear and He will fortify us in all things for as I am reading now in the book of Ether...we are "tight like unto a dish" and we will and can survive the storms! We love you all!