Yesterday Lauren took a considerable turn for the worse. He was lethargic and almost comatose all day long and complained of severe pain every time he awoke. He was having serious incidents of wheezing and difficulty breathing in spite of being on oxygen and having several nebulizer treatments. Tests showed that his kidneys also seemed to be shutting down.

I felt especially sorry for poor Becky who came up to spend the day and had almost no real interaction with her father. She and I did manage some good time together, but the overall experience left her disappointed and emotionally drained. I was discouraged but kept looking forward to a better day today.

This morning I was awakened by one of Lauren's doctors.  She had looked at the blood tests and information from his chart and was very concerned.  She laid everything out for me and told me that this was probably the beginning of the end.  In addition to the things I already knew, she said that his kidneys were continuing to fail and that his blood pressure was dropping -- both bad signs. She said Lauren has only a few days to go; he might not even live long enough to make it home.

With grace and assurance that could only have come from the Lord, I did not get upset or even any more discouraged. I simply asked the Lord to do His will. I did pray that if He was not going to take Lauren to be with him very soon, He would let him rally enough to be able to make the trip home.  Lauren and I both would rather he was there when the end comes.

Within an hour, Lauren was awake and alert and has been for most of the day. He has had only one wheezing spell and required only one breathing treatment all day.  He has also begun to cough up fluid after the treatment, which is a good thing but had not been happening. His pain level has been lower than usual and the blood pressure is almost back up to normal. They have not done any new tests on the kidneys, but his urine output is increasing, which indicates they are probably working better.

God is working! Praise him for that and continue to pray for His will and His care for all of us