Here I raise my Ebenezer

The "fruits" on Abishael´s "tree"

December 12-Jan 8 we visited friends and family in the United States.  It was a wonderful time, and we enjoyed the activity and the chance to meet people that I hadn´t seen in years and that Abishael and Abraham had never met.  Abishael was the toast of the town, and he experienced many new things, along with meeting some of his extended family for the first time.  He especially loved fish and had a great time at two different aquariums and at The Huntington where there are many koi.

A little over a week after we returned home from the United States, he had a new first - being a patient in a hospital.  We returned from the States on Tuesday, and by Saturday he had a slight cough.  On Monday his pediatrician diagnosed a throat infection and prescribed medicine.  By Wednesday, however, Abishael´s fever was returning every time the tylenol wore off, and all he wanted to do was sleep.  Thursday morning we took him back to his pediatrician, and he told us that Abishael would have to be hospitalized, because he had bronchial pneumonia.

On entering the hospital, his x-ray

Our pastor´s brother-in-law is a doctor at one of the hospitals in Puebla, and his daughter is a pediatrician who has rounds in the same hospital.  Abraham called Dr. Jorge, and he arranged for us to check in to the hospital, without having to pay the 10,000 peso entrance fee.  After the staff assigned us a room, we went for Abishael´s blood test and chest x-ray, and from there to the room where his treatment began.

Because he had already been taking an antibiotic, Dr. Magdalena prescribed three different and stronger antibiotics, along with other treatments.  The nurses inserted his i.v., a difficult and painful process for a baby who has no idea what is being done to him and why.

So began the hospital stay.

We checked in early evening, and by the time night had fallen, the various treatments had taken some effect.  Abishael had entered the hospital droopy, pale, fussy, and glassy-eyed.  He regained some color and energy almost immediately, and over the stay steadily transformed into the bouncy, curious child he normally is.  His love of exploring and playing with everything made keeping the i.v. line in very difficult.  In fact, it pulled out once, obliging the nurses to replace it in the other hand, wrapping the whole works in bandage to keep it more secure.

Day 2, playing with Daddy

As anyone who has ever stayed in a hospital can attest, the following days were tiring and long.  But we were extremely blessed.  Abishael´s body didn´t object to the strong medications, and the pneumonia cleared up well.  Dr. Magdalena did not charge for her time.  The hospital bill was less than we had thought it would be, and our church took an offering to help us with the cost.  Several people brought us food, so that it was only on the last day that we had to buy our meals.  Most of all, people all over the world prayed for us and for our son.

And so, like with the Biblical stone called Ebenezer, a stone of remembrance set up so that the Israelites would recall God´s provision, we remember God´s faithfulness to us in healing Abishael and using his people to bless us in many ways.

Abishael is still taking an antibiotic, probiotics, tylenol, and an expectorant, and he has one more day of out-patient nebulizer treatments.  We have to be very careful to guard against a relapse, especially since the weather has turned cold.  Please pray that his lungs will strengthen and he will return completely to normal.  Pray also for our finances, because, although the cost of treatment was a fraction of what it could be, it was still significant.