Nanny and aunty Judy at the hospital first thing on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, they were not allowed in to see Benjamin, but I took these pictures so that I could show him who had come by to check on him:)
Pastor Virl came to visit with a bag of super books for Benjamin to read.
Benjamin doing so well.
Uncle Martin came to visit too.
Aunty Paula (my best friend from school days) came by to visit too.
Greetings Praying Friends,
God has answered so many prayers and we have so much to be thankful for. I just got off the phone with one of the nurses in the pediatric ICU unit that Benjamin is in and he has just woken up from a good night’s sleep. Yesterday, we received the official diagnosis from his CT scan. Benjamin has “a depressed skull fracture with associated left subdural haematoma and underlying contusion.” This means that there was (and maybe still is) some bleeding under his fracture.
However, his
external vital signs are still good and outwardly he is showing signs that he
is improving rapidly. He has been sleeping a lot (which is normal with
this type of injury) but yesterday he was alert, talking, and even able to read
some with his mother and apparently sit up and do some coloring in a coloring
book. This is exactly what we have been praying for.
Today (Wednesday, Aug. 21), Benjamin is supposed to get another CT scan and then we will know a lot more about what is happening on the inside. Our prayer is that the bleeding had stopped and that any previous bleeding has already dissipated. If the bleeding has not stopped, the surgeon may decide to drill a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure but from his outward stability we are hopeful that this will not be necessary. However, we are grateful that Benja is in a hospital now where surgery can be performed if necessary.
One disappointment yesterday was that Anita was not able to speak to the neurosurgeon herself. She had met Benjamin’s primary doctor early Tuesday morning when he saw Benjamin but she was in another room sleeping when the neurosurgeon came to examine him. She had left instructions to be woken up when he arrived but for some reason this did not happen. She is the only one from our family that is permitted to be with him in the ICU and she just cannot be there all of the time.
Anita’s parents and many of our friends and relatives from South Africa have been such an encouragement and help to her. Here in Malawi we have received so many encouraging texts and emails from so many of you that I am not sure when we will be able to respond to them all. But THANK YOU all for praying and please continue to pray (especially for the results from today’s CT scan).
Today is the first day of school for our other 3 kids here in Malawi and I am up early to help get them ready and take pictures as we normally do. It is Allison’s first day of preschool and though she misses her mom she is glad that God’s mercy and grace is being displayed in big ways on her brother, Benjamin, and that her mom can be down in SA with him.
I will try to send out another update tonight.
In Him,
Today (Wednesday, Aug. 21), Benjamin is supposed to get another CT scan and then we will know a lot more about what is happening on the inside. Our prayer is that the bleeding had stopped and that any previous bleeding has already dissipated. If the bleeding has not stopped, the surgeon may decide to drill a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure but from his outward stability we are hopeful that this will not be necessary. However, we are grateful that Benja is in a hospital now where surgery can be performed if necessary.
One disappointment yesterday was that Anita was not able to speak to the neurosurgeon herself. She had met Benjamin’s primary doctor early Tuesday morning when he saw Benjamin but she was in another room sleeping when the neurosurgeon came to examine him. She had left instructions to be woken up when he arrived but for some reason this did not happen. She is the only one from our family that is permitted to be with him in the ICU and she just cannot be there all of the time.
Anita’s parents and many of our friends and relatives from South Africa have been such an encouragement and help to her. Here in Malawi we have received so many encouraging texts and emails from so many of you that I am not sure when we will be able to respond to them all. But THANK YOU all for praying and please continue to pray (especially for the results from today’s CT scan).
Today is the first day of school for our other 3 kids here in Malawi and I am up early to help get them ready and take pictures as we normally do. It is Allison’s first day of preschool and though she misses her mom she is glad that God’s mercy and grace is being displayed in big ways on her brother, Benjamin, and that her mom can be down in SA with him.
I will try to send out another update tonight.
In Him,
Brian
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