“In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider:
God has made the one as well as the other”
(Ecclesiastes 7:14)

In this life under the sun, God is teaching us that He is the sovereign ruler who gives both blessing and suffering.

Abigail is spending her five-month-old birthday in the hospital today. She has been undergoing tests since Friday, and Natalie has been staying with her. The night nurse briefly saw some purple in Abby’s leg on both Friday and Saturday night, and agreed that it looks abnormal. The pediatric doctor and original ER triage nurse also said they may have heard a faint heart murmur through the stethoscope, but it’s really hard to tell.

So far, the pulse & oxygen meter, her blood pressure, blood sample, urine, x-ray, and EKG have all come back normal. Perhaps today or tomorrow we’ll hear back from the cardiologist about her echocardiogram (ultrasound) results. She is also undergoing a pneumagram test which will monitor her breathing, heart, etc. for 15 hours, so Lord willing it will show what is going on.

Natalie is very thankful to know it’s not just “in her head,” but that a few medical professionals have confirmed they see something, though we’re still not sure what. Looks like Natalie and Abigail may have to stay through tomorrow at least.

Please pray that God will give us grace and peace through this trial, and that doctors will see something definitive. We’re thankful tests are coming back negative so far and that some problems are being eliminated, but we just hope they don’t discharge her without getting to the bottom of this. The color change is subtle and elusive, but something is obviously going on and we’d like to know what.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve noticed our five-month old Abigail’s skin sometimes turning purple/grayish instead of a healthy pink. It’s been especially in her legs, and now it seems to be worsening. After holding her just a brief time, her legs darken as though her circulation is being restricted.

Natalie took Abby to the doctor last week and they didn’t see anything, but took her again this afternoon, and after a couple tests he was able to see she has “delayed capillary refill” (her blood capillaries are not refilling at the normal rate).

She’s not in any immediate danger that we know of, but we are instructed to take her to the ER immediately if she develops trouble breathing or her skin begins to turn blue (this has happened twice in the past 3 weeks when we fed her and apparently held her in one position for too long). Otherwise, we will just try not to cut off her circulation, and will take her to the cardiologist just as soon as they can fit her in.

This appears to be unrelated to the problems with her right kidney, which is still being tested for hydronephrosis. As most of you know, Dylan had a major heart defect which required open-heart surgery when he was 2, so we’re on somewhat familiar territory here. But this is the first evidence that Abigail has a heart condition.

We’re very grateful for your prayers, and that God is in control of all this. We’re also thankful that the doctor confirmed Natalie’s suspicions about a vascular problem, and that we are now on the fast track to see the cardiologist.

Abiding in Christ,
Stephen & Natalie