Almost There

With our youngest son Levi, everything is a countdown - how many more days until I get to go to school again? how many more days until I get to go to a friend's house?

And so, the countdown in on: in 4 sleeps it is surgery day and in 3 sleeps our family will be spread apart, with Danielle, Jordan, Curtis and Levi going to friends' houses after school and Noah being admitted to the hospital for further testing. 

Noah had an appointment recently and we discovered that his kidney has dropped 2% in the last 4 weeks. He is now at 13% function. It is most defintely time for the transplant and Noah is super excited for it! He is so looking forward to having more energy and we pray that this will happen for Noah with no added complications.

It is so hard to believe that the day is almost here. All of the planning, details and anticipation are about to be realized. 
We have realized that there are some details that not everyone knows. Rob and Noah will both be having surgery in London, but they will be in different hospitals. This is a bit inconvenient but it is necessary. Rob needs to be in the transplant hospital so that his surgery will go as smoothly as possible. Rob's kidney will then travel across London (possibly via police escort, which Noah thinks is super cool!) to Noah, who will be in the paediatric hospital because this is where he will receive the best care after surgery.
Of course this has added some extra planning and anxiety. We have had family graciously agree to support both of us in the respective hospitals, both before, during and after surgery and we are truly blessed.

Noah will also need to be admitted the day before the surgery in order to have some more testing done. Noah is a complicated boy and the surgeons don't want to be surprised by anything when they begin this surgery. Noah needs to have a contrast CT scan prior to surgery so that the surgeon knows exactly where everything is prior to beginning. The dye that this scan uses is very hard on the kidneys and the doctors have been holding off on doing this test because they are concerned that it will decrease Noah's kidney function dramatically. Doing it the day before surgery means that this will not be as much of an issue because within 24 hours he will have a new kidney!

Noah only has 1 more day of school to attend before he needs to off for awhile. He will miss his friends a lot during this time, and so with this is mind, we were able to plan a get-together with the boys in his class and take them out for a very memorable evening! 

At a recent visit that we received, the Heidleberg Catechism, Lord's Day 10 was read: 

27.	Q.	What do you understand by the providence of God?
	A.	God's providence is his almighty and ever present power, 1 whereby, as with his hand, he still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, 2 and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, 3 indeed, all things, come to us not by chance 4 but by his fatherly hand. 5
		1.Jer 23:23, 24; Acts 17:24-28. 2.Heb 1:3. 3.Jer 5:24; Acts 14:15-17; Jn 9:3; Prov 22:2. 4.Prov 16:33. 5.Mt 10:29.

28.	Q.	What does it benefit us to know that God has created all things and still upholds them by his providence?
	A.	We can be patient in adversity, 1 thankful in prosperity, 2 and with a view to the future we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from his love; 3 for all creatures are so completely in his hand that without his will they cannot so much as move. 4
		1.Job 1:21, 22; Ps 39:10; Jas 1:3. 2.Deut 8:10; 1 Thess 5:18. 3.Ps 55:22; Rom 5:3-5; 8:38, 39. 4.Job 1:12; 2:6; Prov 21:1; Acts 17:24-28.

What a comfort this is!

Through all of the things that have been going, we have been so encouraged by family, friends, co-workers and our school/church communities. We have been reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness and we pray that He will continue to surround us all as we continue to count down the days.

Many of us know Psalm 23 well. Here it is put together in a new song for enouragement: Psalm 23 by Leanna Crawford