After fasting and prayer. . .Vivienne is defying the odds!

We are very humbled from the events of the last day. 24 hours ago we were rushing to the hospital thinking our non-responsive and lifeless little girl was going into surgery on her intestinal track to remove a dead section of her large intestine. Now, this morning, we are counting our blessings! The nurse practitioner called last night to tell us they had ordered another head ultrasound because Vivienne's eyes were dilated, with her left eye dilated more than the right. She was concerned that Vivienne was suffering from blood on the brain, but that it could also be a side-affect from the morphine they gave her prior to her transport to Primary Children's Hospital. This was at 6:18pm last night. Heidi and I hung up the phone and offered up a quick prayer that it would not be blood on the brain and within 10 minutes received a call back from the nurse saying that the imaging technician was already there and from the looks of it there was one small bleed, but that the dilated eyes were most definitely from the morphine ONLY, and the small bleed was nothing to be concerned about at the moment. She told us that the radiologist would review the film around 9pm and confirm her initial assessment. The nurse left a VM a few hours later that the radiologist agreed with the NP and all was well with Vivienne. Her lab tests continued to improve throughout the day yesterday and last night, and this morning we received a very positive report from the bedside nurse that Vivienne looks much better already, has gained 40 grams in the last day, and the antibiotics are clearing up the infection. They were taking x-rays every 4 hours the last couple of days to watch her bacterial infection, and based on the progress of the past 24 hours, they no longer feel they need to take any more x-rays today! 

Vivienne is responsive to the nurse this morning and doing and looking well. The nurse is optimistic that surgery will not be needed at this time, but the next 7 days will confirm that. When an episode of this magnitude occurs they have a policy to not allow us to hold her for 7-10 days, and they try to keep the incubator closed as much as possible except to change her diaper a few times a day along with take her temperature and do minimal cares. 

We cannot thank you enough for the combined faith and prayers of the past 24 hours. Together we have moved a mountain of sickness, doubt, fear and concern! God has heard and answered our prayers without delay! We are humbled by your faith and sacrifice on our family's behalf. She is responsive this morning, "Awake and alert" according to the nurse, which we have not seen or heard since Monday night. Today is a good day!

My brother, Rich reminded us of President Uchtdorf's talk where he taught that we cannot "See the End from the Beginning," and it was just what we needed to hear to help us regain a faithful and grateful heart in the face of adversity. For some reason, yet unknown, we have been given these trials and challenges at this time.  Hopefully some day we will be able to look back on this season of our lives and recognize the blessing these trials are for us to prepare us for that future day. To be honest we aren't there yet, but the events of the last 18 months of our lives have taught us that answers do eventually come when we are ready to receive them. We have been humbled by the immediate answers to our prayers today. We just hope the Refiner's fire will simply burn what logs he has already thrown on it at the moment, and that he is fresh out of fire wood for a while that it can cool down a bit;). Nevertheless...

We love you all! Thank you for following our story and praying with and for us! Thank you for your faith! Thank you! We could not do this without your support and faith! We are feeling sustained from moment to moment.