"For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God."  Ps 86:10

Once again Nate was able to have a "quiet" day.  He was woken up this morning by the 'kidney' docs, who told Nate he didn't need dialysis today, and probably won't need dialysis again.  In other words they think that his kidneys seem to be starting to head in the right direction.  This does not mean that they are healed, or are functioning properly, rather that they are going in the right direction.  Only time will tell, and only the LORD knows what they will do.

Today during physio Nate's right shoulder was causing some problems, he is waiting to have an x-ray either tonight yet or tomorrow morning before surgery to make sure the shoulder is okay. 

Nate is booked for his first skin grafts tomorrow.   It is to take place the Lord willing at about 12:30.  This is another big day, with many concerns, but ultimately it is in God's hands and He will continue to carry Nate through this as well.  His will be done

Please continue to pray for us.  Please pray for Nate for his surgery tomorrow, and a restful night tonight.  Please continue to pray for healing with his kidney's that they may continue to heal. 

Thank you for your constant prayers and words of encouragement and support.

"I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.  The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. " Ps 135: 5-6

Nate had a relatively good day today.  All his dressings were changed, and they looked good.

Nate did not need dialysis today.  He will be having dialysis tomorrow though. 

Nate was up in the neuro chair again today and did his physio in the chair, which meant he know had to fight gravity as well.  This really tired him out, but it was neat to see how much he can do.

Nate was also told today that he is not getting enough calories and so they are thinking of putting a feeding tube in to give him high calorie nutrition.  They will not put the feeding tube in if Nate is able to drink these high calorie drinks. Hopefully he will be able to drink as many as necessary.

Please continue to pray for healing.  Healing for Nates kidneys and wounds.  Strength for each day again both spiritually and physically.

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens" Psalm 68:19

Today (Sunday) Nate had a good day.  He was able to be up in a Neuro Chair,  its like a stretcher, but it goes into a sitting position.  We went into the waiting room to visit with Taryn, Aiden, Nate's parents and my parents and little sis.  It was the first time Nate has been out of his room on anything other then a stretcher.  He was finally able to see more then just the ceiling tiles.  He was so thrilled to be up, but it exhausted him quite quickly. 

In regards to Nate's kidney's the ultrasound showed that there are no blockages and the kidneys appear intact.  It is now time that will tell if the kidney's function again.  Please continue to pray for healing in this area as well.  When it comes to the kidney's, doctors cannot say one way or another if they will function or not, each person is different and each body reacts differently in this way.  We are thankful that the doctors have no say in this matter, and that here too we can see that our Heavenly Father is in full control. 

 After speaking with the cardiologists and arrhythmia docs this morning again, we were told  there is no true answer as to why Nate is having issues.    Nate has Wolff-Parkinson-White, which causes the fast heart rate, but why it happens sometimes and not others they do not know.  When Nate had the chest pain last week, they believe it was due to a high potassium level, but once again they speculate.  All we know is that Nate is in God's hands, He controls all that goes on and He has a plan for Nate. 

Nate is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday D.V.  for skin grafts on his right arm and hopefully left stump.   This is an exciting step for us, but at the same time it comes with a little bit of concern.

Nate has been a 'mystery' all along, and if there are no answers posted on the blog, then there are probably no true answers.  I will continue to post "answers" as they come up.   Nate is not a typical case, and has too many factors that contribute to his condition, so it is difficult to give answers all the time. Please be patient with me. All I can say is that our Heavenly Father has the answers and He will reveal them to us, on His time if it is necessary. 

Nathan and I would like to ask that you continue to pray for healing, especially now Nate's kidneys and for continued healing in his limbs.  Thank you for the prayers you have prayed and we ask that you continue to remember us daily.

"The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made."  Ps 145:9

Yestrarday (Sat)  Nathan was moved back down to the burn trauma unit (BTU) He had a much more peaceful day, with no dressing changes and no dialysis.

We recieved results from his kidney ultrasound and there are no blockages and the kidneys look intact, now we wait for Nates blood work to show his kidneys working.

Please continue to pray for healing, strength and comfort. 

"Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress."  Ps 71:3

Yesterday (Friday) Nate had a busier then normal day.  They changed all his dressings, removed the vacc dressing from his arm and now he has a 'normal' dressing on it (same as on the stump) and they were able to put the vaccu seal back on his leg.  Nate is booked to have his first skin grafts on Wednesday for his arm and stump (thus the reason a 'normal' dressing)  Nate also had dialysis and a lot of physio yesterday. 

At the end of dialysis, Nate's heart went into a VERY rapid rate.  (over 200 beats per minute)  Many people were called into his room and soon Nate's heart rate was returned to normal.  So needless to say Nate has been transferred once again.  This time he is on the fourth floor (cardiac floor) where they can monitor his heart rate a lot closer. Hopefully by the end of today Nate will be back in the BTU (if they have a bed)

Each day again we are faced with the challenges of our frail bodies and are reminded of our complete dependence on our Heavenly Father. For though He allowed all this technology to help Nate, He is in full control of all that happens. 

Please continue to remember Nate in your prayer, that his kidneys may function again, and Nate is given all he needs as he is moved to different rooms in the hospital. 

"But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more."  Ps 71: 14

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most Hight will rest in the shadow of the Almighty."  Psalm 91:1

Nathan once again had a busy day, but he slept the night and didn't vomit in the morning.   It started with dressing change of the stump which looks really good and clean.  Nate then went down stairs for the ultrasound of  his kidneys of which we do NOT have results yet.  While  down stairs they also replaced Nates pic line (like an IV but it goes all the way to the heart) so its in right this time. Once back upstairs physio attacked Nate and started with all his exercises.  He sat up a little bit straighter today.

Tomorrow is supposed to be an even busier day for Nate, but i'll tell you about tomorrow tomorrow

Please continue to pray for Nate as the reality of time sets in a little more each day.  We are thankful for each prayer.

Two Days Left

I would like to thank those who have taken the time to support Nathan and Aileen by purchasing tickets for the upcoming Fundraiser Breakfast.

This is just a reminder that there are only two days left to buy tickets.

For the many of those who have been offering your prayers and saying how you wish you could help or do something helpful ... this is the way you can!! Take a moment to purchase a ticket or two, or more ... whether you plan to attend or not the funds will all help Nathan and Aileen and their children now and in the future.

To purchase tickets or send a donation e-mail me at robnstephfamily@gmail.com . If you live in the Hamilton area you can purchase tickets at Golden Fish and Chips - 1050 Upper Gage. For more details about the function please see my previous post by clicking here.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

Nathan has had once again a busy day....he did not have his kidney ultra sound much to his and my dismay....it is supposed to happen sometime this week.  Nate did have dialysis today, which tired him out.

Today Nate also underwent quite the physical work out with physio.  They worked his right elbow, hips on both side, and even had him sitting up almost to 45 degrees.  He sat this way for almost an hour and read  for about 20 minutes of it.  (Made him look more like himself especially since he was reading an war book)  After this he was tired! 

Hopefully he will sleep well tonight and not vomit in the morning like he has been doing for the past number of mornings.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  Please continue to do so especially as the reality of how long Nate will be in the hospital sinks in.  Today it has been 4 weeks, but we know that there are many more weeks ahead of us.  Please pray for us each day again. 

"The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing."  Ps 34:10

How comforting it is to know that no matter what our Heavenly Father will give us what we stand in need of.  This has been shown to us time and again through out the past almost 4 weeks.

Today Nathan was seen by yet another team of doctors who specialize in arrhythmia's of the heart.  They confirmed the Wolff-Parkinson White diagnosis, but stated that they don't think this has caused any of his heart problems in the past weeks.  They will follow Nate again when he is discharged and will take further action then.  We can be thankful that this too is another blessing out of God's hands.

Today they were also able to get the vaccu seal dressing on Nate's leg, something they have tried in the past but failed, but as of now it is working well.   They also redid the vaccu seal on Nate's arm and think that this might be the last time they need to do this type of dressing on this arm as it appears ready for skin grafts. 

Tomorrow Nate has to have a ultra sound of his kidney's to see if the infection did extensive damage to the kidneys or if they are just in shock.  Nate is a bit up tight about this as he (and me) are praying that the kidneys will start to work again.
It is incredible to see how the human body was created.  how each part truly plays a crucial role.  Writing this reminds me of  how we in Christ form one body and how each member plays a crucial role (Rom 12: 4-8)

Today Nathan's leg splint was finally changed.  It stank so bad we had to keep the blankets on or plug our noses.  The splint was put on after his ?third surgery and since then the leg has seeped a lot of drainage which the splint lovingly soaked up :)  They also repositioned Nate's leg from 45 degree angle to 30 degree angle and over the next two weeks will slowly straighten his leg and stretch the tendons and muscles they had to move.

Nathan is still extremely exhausted and had to be woken up more then once during physio (his exercises)   He was also moved back to the Burn Trauma Unit (BTU) to the same room in the same spot  (YAH!!)   Hopefully tonight he will sleep and will gather more strength again.

Please continue to uphold us in your prayers.  Nathan and I are overwhelmed by the number of prayers that have gone up, and pray that you will continue to remember us daily. 

"The LORD will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forever more."  Ps 121:7-8

Today was a very busy day for Nate.  From early morning until this evening many things transpired.  Today Nate had to have a CT of his lungs to see if there was a blood clot in his lungs.  Once again we see the mercy of our Heavenly Father and the results showed no blood clot.  At this time they think his chest pain was due to his high potassium levels.  Unfortunately they are not sure why this time his high levels affected him and not any other time.  Obviously we see that our Father in Heaven works in ways not known to man, but through each difficult hill we must cross He carries us safely.

Nate also had dressing changes, another ECG, dialysis which needed to be run for 5 hours because it clotted the first time around (what else is new??) he will be having another ECHO either tonight or tomorrow morning. 
Today Nate was extremely exhausted, with absolutely no energy to even talk.  He is physically and emotionally drained.  Sometimes we wonder if he is over doing it.  At this time we would like to ask that visiting be brought to a minimal, with no visitors except family for the next day or two.  Nate needs to be kept quiet and needs as much rest and sleep as possible. 

They are hoping to send Nate back to the Burn Trauma Unit (BTU) sometime tomorrow D.V.

Please continue to pray for Nate, that he may continue to trust in his Heavenly Father.  Pray for us, his family and for the medical staff.