Prayer Request for A Tiny Baby (Update in post #12850)

If you will, please remember this tiny baby in your prayers. He’s the grandson of a very dear friend of mine. Logan was born on July 25. His due date was in October, making his mommy 26 weeks along, being born 3 months and 3 days early.

Logan was 1 lb 9.4 oz when he was born and is now weighing, as of this morning, 1 lb. 8.3 oz. The little guy is now 12-1/2” long.

He’s a real trooper and is fighting with all his little body can fight with. His Grandma said that he’s starting to recognize his mommy when she comes in the room and hears her voice. She said he tries so hard to open his eyes, and starts kicking his feet.

I asked my friend if there were any specific prayers, other than the obvious…and this is her reply…” A prayer of thanks for the miracle called "Logan.”

On a personal note, I’ve read the emails daily from my friend. I’ve known her for years, I’ve heard her talking about her family for years…but I’ve got to tell you that I’m SO impressed with how her children have all banded together in support. What an incredibly wonderful and loving family.

Father God, we lift up Logan’s little body to you. We pray that you can strengthen him hourly, daily, weekly, until he’s grown enough to go home with his precious family. We ask for guidance for the doctors and nurses who are caring for him. We ask for strength for his parents and extended family. Thank you so much for the gift of life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

The Smell of Rain

A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the
doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. Still
groggy from surgery, her usband David held her hand as they braced
themselves for the latest news.

That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only
24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver the
couple's new daughter, Danae Lu Blessing.

At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound and nine ounces, they
already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft
words dropped like bombs. "I don't think she's going to make it', he
said, as kindly as he could. "There's only a 10-percent chance she will
live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does
make it, her future could be a very cruel one".

Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described
the devastating problems Danae would likely face if she survived. She
would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and
she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from
cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on.

"No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old
son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to
become a family of four.

Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.

Through the dark hours of morning as Danae held onto life by the
thinnest thread, Diana slipped in and out of sleep, growing more and
more determined that their tiny daughter would live and live to be a
healthy, happy young girl. But David, fully awake and listening to
additional dire details of their daughter's chances of ever leaving the
hospital alive, much less healthy, knew he must confront his wife with
the inevitable.

David walked in and said that we needed to talk about making funeral
arrangements. Diana remembers, "I felt so bad for him because he was
doing everything trying to include me in what was going on, but I just
wouldn't listen, I couldn't listen."

I said, "No, I don't want to listen to what the Doctors say; Danae is
not going to die! One day she will be just fine, and she will be coming
home with us!"

As if willed to live by Diana's determination, Danae clung to life hour
after hour, with the help of every medical machine and marvel her
miniature body could endure. But, as those first days passed, a new
agony set in for David and Diana.

Because Danae's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw,' the
lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they
couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer
the strength of their love.

All they could do, as Danae struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet
light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay
close to their precious little girl.

There was never a moment when Danae suddenly grew stronger. But as the
weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce
of strength there.

At last, when Danae turned two months old, her parents were able to hold
her in their arms for the very first time.

Two months later, though doctors continued to gently, but grimly warn
that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life,
were next to zero. Danae went home from the hospital, just as her mother
had predicted.

Today, five years later, Danae is a petite but feisty young girl with
glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She shows no
signs, whatsoever, of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she is
everything a little girl can be and more, but that happy ending is far
from the end of her story.

One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving,
Texas, Danae was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local
ballpark where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing.

As always, Danae was chattering nonstop with her mother and several
other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent.

Hugging her arms across her chest, Danae asked, "Do you smell that?"

Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana
replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."

Danae closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?"

Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet, it
smells like rain."

Still caught in the moment, Danae shook her head, patted her thin
shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells like
Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."

Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Danae then happily hopped down to play
with the other children.

Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all
the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their
hearts, all along.

During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life,
when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was
holding Danae on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers
so well.

"Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future.
It's simply taking God at his word and taking the next step."

OK...like I hadn't cried enough today!

THANKS for the beautiful story!

More Prayers for Logan... the remaining triplets (we have to get something better to call them) and Ryan...

Also see below another FReeper child to add to the list...(all of this praying is getting addicting) from FReeper Gitmo

(From the Richard Haynes thread)
She says,

"I'm hesitant to talk about Jesse on this thread. My problems are minor compared to what Lady Pilgrim's family is facing. But a number of people have FReepmailed me asking. Here is the FReepmail I sent them.

My 8 year old just had the third of what were supposed to be two surgeries on his left foot. One more to go, then we start working on the right foot.

They're excrutiating procedures. He screamed for 5 hours straight even though they had him on a maximum adult dose of morphine and some other pain killer.

Around Easter his feet started changing shape and have curled up like fists. He walks on the sides of them. He can't really wear shoes. They don't know what is causing it. There are 2 nervous disorders that can cause this, but he came up negative on both of them. The surgeries are basically rebuilding his feet.

On top of that, in recovery yesterday a sweet nurse handed him a peanut butter cracker. He goes into cardiac arrest if he eats peanut butter. (I had made sure they knew this ahead of time.) I screamed NO as she handed it to him. It was supposed to be a cheese cracker. I shook up the whole recovery ward when I bellowed at her, but it stopped him from eating it. She hadn't seen his charts yet and meant no harm.

Sorry to dump on you. I appreciate your prayers."

We can always add ANOTHER child, right?

I just received this in an email and know that it will touch the hearts of all those who have been in prayer for Logan and the others.

Have the tissues handy.

GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD
This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa.
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator. (We had no electricity to run an incubator.) We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.
One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed.
As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts.
"Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with many of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.
During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of a corollary, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?"
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen?" I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there?
The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland.
I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the verandah, was a large twenty-two pound parcel.
I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly.
Excitement was mounting.
Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.
From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out.

Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored.

Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.
Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the ..... could it really be?
I grasped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle I cried.
I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!"
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!
Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before - in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."
"Before they call, I will answer!" ~ Isaiah 65:24
Please share this amazing story with as many others as you can.
Our God really IS . . . AN AWESOME GOD!

Logan's update.. he's 2 months old today!

Hi to all.....

Last night was a big night for me and Logan :) I got to see him have his Mommy give him a bottle for the first time. Now for a "regular" baby, this is no big deal... but for Logan.... it's HUGE! They put 41 cc's of milk in the bottle thinking he would dribble out a lot... nope! Not Termite!! He finished all they would let him have and they made him quit with 4cc's left. And he did it in 20 minutes. Not bad considering he doesn't know how to suck and breathe, so Beth has to allow him to quit sucking so he will breathe. When the boy was sucking..... he was REALLY sucking!!! And when he burps... mercy! The little guy really gets rid of the gas bubble!

As of this morning, he weighs 4 lbs, 5.8 oz. He's growing so fast, you can almost watch it happen. They are taping his foot to correct the turned position and we have been told that by the time he leaves the hospital, it will be fine. He doesn't seem to mind it at all.

Logan did have 2 Apnea episodes through the late night and again this morning, but the staff is not concerned... yet. He went through a lot yesterday, he had 3 bottles and once again they took blood for his work up. His hernias a really bothering him. In fact, the doctors are watching him very closely to decide how much longer they can wait before correcting them. And......... today he starts his innoculations. On his birthday!! Poor little guy :( But better that he be protected than let some bad germ get hold of him.

Last night, Beth brought something to my attention... Logan has a chin dimple! She does also.... and so did her grandma. So this little one is showing the extension of a very special lady.... his great gramma. His little eyelashes are growing.... Logan is starting to look like "Logan".

Looks like in the near future, our little one is going to have to undergo the surgery for the hernias. There's just not much longer they can wait. He had to be given medicine to help with the "hurt" of them and that's not good.

And I must add that Nana doesn't like it when everything's not going really good for him. We hate to see him in pain... as does any parent. We just keep reminding ourselves that he's a fighter... and he has a tremendous strength for such a little guy. God has and will continue to protect him and watch over him.....

So to our little miracle baby...... Happy Birthday Termite! You've given so many people so much happiness in these 2 months. Thank you God for your blessing, and we pray for Logan's continued well being and progress.

~~~~~~~~~BG here....I also got an email from Logan this morning...

Hi Aunti Nancy .... the doctors have scheduled me for surgery tomorrow to fix my hernias. Can you please ask my friends at the Freepers Thread to please say a special prayer for me, my Mommy and my Daddy too? Mommy's really worried about me. God will protect me.. I know he will. Thank you... I love you ... "TT"

~~~~~~~~~BG again.....I cannot thank each and everyone of you ENOUGH for the wonderful prayers, the posts, the forwarded emails that you've posted and for your support. It's SO amazing. We all are praying for each baby, child and adult that you put on this thread. God IS listening to these prayers.

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