Turning back each page of time
I see where I have been
I see the place He brought me from
to let me start again
and I questioned many times the road
He chose for me to take
but I found out without a doubt
that He makes no mistake
He makes no mistake
no matter how rough the way
when it's His child at stake
He'll see me through
He understands the trials around me
that cause my heart to break
but I'm glad to know within my soul
He makes no mistakes.
I started thinking about this song as I was reading a letter that John wrote when we were at Children's Hospital, to update everyone who had been praying for us. What an amazing journey these past few years have been, a journey that I feel blessed to have been a part of! I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
Friday, January 26, 2007
A Letter From Mom and Dad
Friends & Family,
I wanted to express my sincere thanks for all of the support that you have provided for us this week. I think that if prayers were visible by satellite we would have seen an amazing cloud covering the country this week. I can't tell you all the stories that have been relayed to me about entire churches and communities praying for Fin. It has been a great blessing to see the healing power of God in my son.
Over the past week Meredith and I have ridden a roller-coaster of emotion as we rejoiced at the birth of our son, watched as he was revived about 20 times in the first 24 hours of his life, cried when we learned that he had a severe stroke, agonized as he fought to survive, and worried about test results and Fin's future. However, now we rejoice again as Fin has made some miraculous progress over the last 24 hours.
First, some background. Fin's EEG results did conclude that he is having siezures and that he has limited electrical activitiy on the left side of his brain. Fin's MRI showed that nearly the entire left side of his brain was damaged by the stroke. Despite what sounds like terrible news, Fin started breathing on his own last night and was completely removed from the ventilator and all oxygen assistance today. Fin has also begun eating on his own (he is a big eater like his dad), and no longer needs the feed tube. Fin also will have his i.v. tube removed tonight assuming all continues to go well. Fin is also moving the right side of his body and is very active and alert. Long story short, we are anticipating taking Fin home this weekend. What a miracle!
Moving forward, our neurologist tells us that Fin will face some challenges. She says that it is
likely that Fin will have siezures, will be weak or debilitated on his right side, may have trouble
learning, may have deficincies in his motor skills, and may have trouble communicating and seeing. However, our neurologist also says that a baby's brain is a clean slate and that Fin's brain has the ability to shift these functions to other parts of the brain and to create neuron pathways around the damaged areas. In any event, we have registered Fin at the stroke clinic at Children's Hospital so he will get the best care possible moving forward.
In the end, Fin's future is in God's hands and that is a good place for it to be. Especially,
considering the fact that we have a countless number of you praying on Fin's behalf. I ask each of you to pray SPECIFICALLY FOR FIN'S HEALING at this point and to claim God's promises for Fin. It is our hope that Fin's healing will be a glorifying testimony to God's amazing power.
In addition, I wanted to let you know that my sister Melissa (a.k.a. the blog queen) has already
posted a site online to keep you posted on Fin's progress. I have very limited access to the phone and Internet in the NICU at Children's and keeping everyone updated has been a challenge. However, we are very thankful for that challenge :) Also, please do us a favor and forward this message to your church groups, friends, etc. that don't know us but have been praying for us on your behalf. It is our hope that Fin's healing will be testament to the power and faithfulness of God.
Thanks again to each of you for all that you have done.
Sincerely,
John & Meredith Templin
Wow. I guess I should also be saying a big, fat THANK YOU to everyone who prayed for us during that time, because anyone who has met Finley knows that he has definitely been touched by the healing hands of God. We may still have a long road ahead of us, but look at how far we've come!
Thank you again, sweet friends!
Meredith
***Um, yes, that is actually me, not the woman who ate Meredith. I was just so hungry when I was pregnant with Finley..... Lots of women gain over 80 pounds these days don't they???
