Elijah Updates

The Day After

Wow. The doctors could have been a little more informative in the beginning about the degree of pain Eli was going to experience today. I don’t know what I was hoping for, but Ray and I were caught totally off guard today by the intensity of Eli’s pain today. Last night was bad, but today was worse as they began to move him for the first time. It was all I could do to not burst into tears along with him as he kept looking at me like “why are you letting them hurt me like this”. He got out of the bed, “walked” (we pretty much carried him and he moved his feet forward a few inches), and sat in a chair for a few hours. After watching him in agony I left the room and had a little emotional outburst of tears. When I recovered, I walked back towards the room and Dr. Tulipan was sitting at the nurses desk. He asked me how Eli was doing. I told him about how shocked we were at the level of pain he was having. He responded by saying “Well, the surgery he had is one of the most painful for a child”. Thanks for the subtle preparation there, Dr. Tulipan. Then he asks me “Is Eli experiencing any weakness in his legs”. Well, if not being able to put weight on his legs without screaming for God to touch him constitutes as weakness, then YES!! He also has been experiencing severe headaches. I think the day after surgery must be the worst, and it’s almost over, Thank the Lord. Please pray for supernatural, speedy healing of the nerves that are delivering pain to his back. Pray that Ray and I can be strong for Eli and continue believing together in prayer that God will be glorified through all this. What a day. Hoping the evening is better. He’s back in the bed now, thanks to our friend Keith and Ray carrying him quickly. It wasn’t pretty, but it’s over and he’s finally comfortable and looking through all the goodies people have brought.

Thank you to everyone that has brought and sent gifts and goodies. He is finally feeling up to going through some of it.

Thanks for all your prayers. We love you all and thank God so much for you. You guys are definitely holding our arms up like Aaron held up Moses’ arms. We are feeling it deeply and tangibly.

We still aren’t sure about visitors yet. When he is in pain, he feels like he has to be so brave when a visitor comes. Then he whispers to me to ask the person to leave. This is so NOT the Eli we all know who loves people. I’m hoping we will see the true Eli back some time tomorrow. Please pray that along with us.

Love,
Angela and Ray