This blog post is part of a series that I began for telling our story. You can read the first post here.

From this point forward, I’m going to be sharing the text of posts as they were written at the time. Some will come from this blog; others, from our CaringBridge site. I may from time to time write my own reflections after re-reading, but mostly I will just be sharing words as they were written. So much of this journey for me is revisiting what happened, and realizing just how difficult the journey was for us. And now, seeing how far we’ve come since that time.

I continue to be blown away as I re-read our journey. How many tests were done on our sweet little girl? I think shock must have set into my brain, plus sleep deprivation, because otherwise I think I would have simply had to stop living myself from the sheer volume of stress. But a mama’s heart keeps beating, if not for herself then for her children. I kept going, moment by moment, test after test, for her. And after it was all over, I kept going simply because God wasn’t done with me yet. And I’m still here.

From CaringBridge on April 26, written by my sister:

They weren’t able to do the lp last night so the plan is to try again this afternoon. Otherwise they are hoping to wean her off the ventilator in the next couple of days – please pray this goes smoothly and she is able to have the strength to breath on her own. 

They also ran tests and found the group b strep in Stephanie’s milk. So Stephanie also needs to go on antibiotics. This is also such a blessing though as it gives the doctors insight to the source of the infection which is treatable. They will still run tests, but the hope is that it is not a genetic or immunology issue. 

Please continue to pray for sweet little Samantha. We are hopeful that as these tests continue to be run that they come back as good as they can and that the lp shows that she is getting sugar to her brain (this is the brain’s source of food) and the infection is decreased significantly. We pray that the next MRI shows healthy brain activity and a stop to the damage and even a reversal from the previous scan for the better.

Our God is a great God – He can do these things and perform miracles in Samantha’s life and in her little body. We entrust her life to His mighty, healing hands. Look at what a witness her life has already been at such a young age! We praise God for her life and seek His mercy in her on-going prognosis. Thank you for your prayers!!!!

They just finished the lumbar puncture.  Although they won’t have the results till tomorrow the fluid looked better than last time!  It was still cloudy and off-color but there’s a definite indication of progress (the first one was thick and yellow) – Praise the Lord!

Also, her room is no longer under isolation – the medical staff doesn’t have to gown/glove/mask to come in, they are no longer worried about contagious stuff, AND they can swaddle her, which means she is much more relaxed and comfortable.  What wonderful news!  We rejoice at every step – please continue to pray that the lp shows that her brain is getting the sugar it needs and that the infection has shown significant decrease.  Thank you so much!!!!  We are so thankful God promises to hear our prayers – keep them coming!  Samantha is fighter!

Next post coming tomorrow.