Bro. Ed's Sermon Notes: Prayer Request Update

Bro. Ed's Sermon Notes

Hello and welcome to Bro. Ed's Sermon Notes. I'm Bro. Edward Gulledge, Pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Hamburg, AR. My hope is that you will find wisdom and encouragement through the writings of this blog. Remember...God loves you.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Prayer Request Update

Greetings from Jacob’s Nanna,

I count it a blessing that Brother Ed asked me to write a piece about Jacob. We are truly grateful for the many prayers that are lifted up to God every day by your congregation. Maybe it will bless your hearts to know a little about the little man you are praying for.

Jacob was born to Stacie and Joe Wilcox, December 6, 2005. At birth, he weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. Today he weighs 10 lbs. 2 oz. Jacob struggles to gain weight because he burns up so many calories just to breathe.

When Jacob was born, he got some fluid in his lungs. We were told this was not uncommon for C-section babies. He started his life out under an oxygen tent and on an IV for feeding. Finally, the doctor let him begin feeding by bottle. This was a slow process for Jacob because his suck reflex hadn’t developed well.
At the time of his release from the hospital, the doctor told us that he heard a heart murmur and wanted him to be checked out at Children’s Hospital. While we waited for the appointment to arrive, we continued taking him to the doctor for weight checks. His weight loss and abnormal breathing worried us tremendously. His breathing was very irregular and he would work so hard (sometimes 45 minutes) even to take 2 oz. of formula.
When we took Jacob to Children’s, their first diagnosis was that Jacob was missing the valve that allowed the clean blood to flow from the heart into the pulmonary artery (which carries the blood to both lungs). Surgery to insert a shunt was scheduled to be done within a couple of days. Upon further testing, the staff at Children’s decided not to go into surgery blinded. The tests didn’t allow them to see all of his arteries clearly. He was then scheduled for a heart-cath. At this time, Jacob was a mere three weeks old.

His first heart-cath revealed that Jacob didn’t have a pulmonary artery to carry blood to his lungs.
This diagnosis was added to the missing valve and a hole in his heart. Our first thought was, How is our baby living?! Our God is so great! The heart doctor even said that Jacob had some tiny “God given” veins that attached from his heart to each lung. These veins were working to carry blood to his lungs and keep him alive. These veins aren’t designed for this job long term–something would need to be done before Jacob is six months old.

The doctors at Children’s say they see about two cases of this kind per year. Their plan is to build Jacob a pulmonary artery. The other problems will be taken care of as needed and as allowed. The doctors say he will have to have several surgeries. We aren’t sure how long of a time period this will span. Jacob has finally started to gain a little weight. He has had some problem with reflux and at this time he is on a formula that works for him.

Jacob is scheduled for another heart-cath to be done on March 9, 2006. The doctors and staff will schedule his surgery after these results are discussed with the heart staff. We will let you know how he progresses.

We, as a family, wondered how we would have had the strength to survive some of the battles that Satan has imposed on us. He has truly tried our faith, but we gave Jacob to God. What else can we say. He is the Almighty Healer. We know that God could have chosen to heal Jacob divinely. We trust that he has chosen to give the doctors the strength and guidance needed to take care of him. I prayed for God to put a hedge of protection around Jacob as he endured all of his tests and procedures. Even the nurses were amazed that he was such a calm, good baby throughout everything. We could “see” the hedge around him and knew who held it there. Many of your prayers were responsible for the strength we had. But we are weak, and sometimes we even asked “Why”.

We are a family of young parents, working grandparents and many branches of family. Jacob has been blessed with large families on all sides. But as the case in most large families, there are branches of our family that you could say are “out of the loop” as far as their active walk with God. We ask that you pray with us that maybe God will use this situation that He has allowed to happen in our family to bring His children back into fellowship. Please pray also that we as Christians will have the strength and faith to carry this cross so that others may see God work in us. We never know who is looking to us for strength, even when we ourselves feel needy.

I am just a grandmother that has been blessed with a beautiful grandson. I have a great faith in our Lord, but am challenged by Satan on a daily basis. Thank you each so very much for the many prayers that have been lifted up to God for Jacob and our family. This is very stressful physically and emotionally on our entire family. Please continue to pray with us that God’s will be done and that we all grow and be better for it.

Our family can’t thank you enough for the prayers that God has heard and will continue to hear.

Thank you & Love in Christ–

Jacob’s Nanna and Family

posted by Bro. Edward @ 1:12 PM

1 Comments:

At 10:52 AM, Anonymous said…

Lisa, I was surprised to see your greeting on Ed's blog. But as soon as I started reading, I knew it was your baby Jacob. Then I saw the picture...he is absolutely beautiful...I know you are so proud of him. We've had him on our prayer list,too.I think about him often, then I'd forget to ask Michelle about him when I'd talk to her. I know God will see your family through these difficult times.God bless.
Carmen Smith