Surgery Tomorrow!

Celia had another day filled with peace and rest.  Later this afternoon, Julya and Alex were told that her surgery to close her abdomen will be around 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.  Keep Celia, Julya, Alex, the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff in your prayers!  Alex and Julya were even able to give her a bath tonite and had a lot of fun styling her full head of hair.  They held their baby for the first time while the sweet nurse changed her sheets.  Celia was so content resting in her mom and dad's arms!  She didn't make a fuss while they washed her perfectly pink body. Celia has her gloves out and she is ready for round two :)

For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?—the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. Psalms 18:31-36 

Game On...

The Murillo family was well prepared for the Hawkeye game today! Iowa fans can thank their good luck charm, Celia, for the win :)

Today was a challenging day.  Celia isn't getting much pain medication and this has led to several crying spells.  We have had to limit the amount of activity in Celia's room by keeping lights low, voices down, and regretfully turning away visitors.  Mom and Dad do an awesome job taking turns and working together to calm her down.  They have mastered some soothing techniques and we even heard the nurse say, "I just need to step back and let mom do it."  

 Celia's awesome nurse today figured out a way to swaddle our sweet baby.  This technique really helped keep Celia from batting her arms and kicking her legs.  We feel bad suppressing her natural cheerleading ability, but we do need to save those moves for after recovery :)

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. -Psalm 127:4

We are so thankful that Celia's intestines have good coloring :) Please pray that Celia's intestines will have enough viable tissue to absorb nutrients! Her surgeon was concerned that there is not enough viable tissue for her survival.  Pray that God will bring her intestinal tissue to life and that the shape of the lumen will be functional!  We will not know the answers to these prayers for weeks and we are asking you to pray for peace, rest, and health for Julya and Alex while they are waiting.

All I have seen teaches me

to trust the Creator for all I have not seen. 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Pray that Celia's body will remain healthy while we wait for her intestines to be ready for digestion.  Keep the amazing doctors and nurses at Blank Children's Hospital in your prayers! Pray that God's will be done.  Thank you for your faithfulness!  Thank you for your prayers!  We have heard of you who pray for us and say that you do not even know how to pray- we LOVE you and THANK YOU and believe that your prayers are heard by God! Everyone wants to know what they can do to help right now and here it is: we really need prayer!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:6-7 

Mom and Baby

Signs of Hope

Every time you feel in God's creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and say: "O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Thou Thyself, Creator of all!"

-Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

I am amazed by the love that surrounds a tiny two-day-old baby.  Gazing through the glass doors into a NICU room, seeing a father hovering over a tiny bed, looking into his three pound baby's eyes with tears in his own, is a sight that my words cannot express.  My picture only captures a fraction of what I felt.  An overwhelming sense of love is infiltrating Celia's room.  Alex shared that he and Celia had a special moment this morning.  With just the two of them in the room, she was wide awake and looking at him and everything around her.  Her eyes moved him to tears.  She is the kind of baby that can do just that :)  She has already got her daddy wrapped around her teeny, tiny, little finger (and the rest of us too)!

Celia's grandma, Margo, pointed out today that Celia's hands are usually open- a very interesting observation.  Most newborns come into this world with clenched fists.  Not this baby. She comes in with open hands.  Open to the gifts God gives!

Gifts like a pacifier.  One of the few things that is able to give her comfort.

 

Gifts like her mother whose presence brings her comfort.

 Gifts like nourishment and medicine.

Today we are thankful for pink intestines- a sign of blood-flow.  We are thankful for the first night that mom, dad, and baby can be together, as Julya was discharged from the maternity ward today.  We are overwhelmed by the love that is displayed in so many different ways by ALL OF YOU; meals, words, texts, emails, hugs, time, gifts, messages, prayers...the list goes on and on.

God is moving and we are giving Him all of the praise and glory!

Please pray: 

1. for Celia's intestines to become full of life, tubular in shape 

2. that she will gain weight

3. that her platelet count will increase

4. that her liver will remain healthy

5. that she will be free of infection

6. that she will not be in pain

7. Julya's and Alex's health, strength, and rest

8. for Julya's back, as she is experiencing pain

We [actually] saw His glory...For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift. John 1:14, 16

By Prayer and Petition

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him. I John 5:14 & 15

 

Baby Celia was born with gastroschisis.  Her condition was known ever since her first ultrasound at 20 weeks.  It was terrifying to hear this diagnosis, but we were hopeful in knowing that we were in good hands at Blank Children's Hospital.  From what we have heard, most babies born with gastroschisis have surgery to place the intestines back in the abdominal area.  After a natural delivery, Baby Celia was whisked away for this surgery.  Later that evening, the surgeon delivered news that we weren't prepared for.  He explained that it is unclear whether or not Celia's small intestines are viable, which isn't usually the case for gastroschisis.  It seems that her lumen is not tubular as it should be.  Please pray that God will open the lumen and bring life into this tissue of Celia's small intestines. Pray for Julya and Alex.

Celia also has a low platelet count.  The good news of the day is that she was at 67000 this morning and increased to the 70000s this evening! This number should normally be 150000. Pray that her platlet number will increase.  The neonatologist said this is probably a complication of gastroschisis and not another issue that we need to really be concerned about.

Today Celia recieved a PICC line so that 1.) she doesn't have to be constantly poked for tests and 2.) She can recieve TPN (total parenteral nutrition) through her veins during the time she is unable to digest food. Pray for her liver as this is hard on it to filter out waste.  This is all a balancing act.  

Pray for God's hand over the doctors and nurses as they make critical decisions.  Her surgeon let us know that he didn't sleep well last night after talking with Julya and Alex (and our family).  Pray for a clear mind and plenty of rest for the doctors and nurses throughout Celia's treatment. Her surgeon requested that we would pray that God would guide his hands as he works on Celia.  Celia's neonatologist said that she is, "nice and spunky...she's cute." She has her boxing gloves (thanks to aunt Traci) and is ready to fight!