Madilyn is doing so much better, but we still need your prayers!

Hey guys, it's been about a month since our last post, so this one is a little longer than usual...

This week I've been reading through 2 Kings, and I came across an interesting passage regarding King Josiah.  Josiah was the product of two of the worst kings in the history of the Jewish people.  In fact, his father Amon was so evil and corrupt that his own people assassinated him and installed his son Josiah as King at the tender age of 8.  These kings were so evil that God made this promise through the prophet Isaiah in 2 Kings 21: 

26 "I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down." 

Think about that, things are so bad in the nation that God is going to pour out his wrath on these people, wiping them off the face of the earth like you or I would wipe leftover food off a dirty dish...

Therefore, Josiah reigned during a time of complete turmoil and adversity.  What's amazing about Josiah is that even in those circumstances, he turned to the Lord and served him with such zeal and fervor that a spiritual awakening broke out throughout the nation.  After Josiah died, God's wrath would still be carried out as Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonian Empire.  However, because of Josiah's leadership, the people of Israel would never struggle with idolatry again.  Even in their captivity, the people held fast to the Lord, and placed their hope in God's redemption.

Here's what I learned from Josiah - I need to go hard after the Lord in whatever circumstance I'm facing.  I may never know how God will use this season for His Glory, but that's not the point, I'm called to serve Him, and let God take care of what happens next! 


How is she doing?

Since our last post, Madilyn's Creatinine level slowly moved down to .6 which means that her kidneys are now functioning at 75%.  We are very thankful for the improvement, especially when we look back and remember when she left the hospital 8 weeks ago she was functioning at 20%!!

Since that day we have been praying for her Creatinine to drop down to .5, and we continue to pray to that end. After the kidney doctor did some calculations based on her height, he actually said that .4 is normal for her, and .5 would be 90%.  

This week, the Kidney doctor let us know that he believes .6 is likely where Madilyn is going to stay. 

That news has been hard to take...mainly because we have been looking forward to a time when this disease would be gone, and we could look back on all of this. So, we are doing two things.  First, we're praying that Dr. Simon is wrong and her number moves down again before her next blood draw on Friday 11/11.  Second, we're praying that the rest of her numbers continue to improve so that more of her medications can be reduced or removed. 

Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Creatinine level of 0.4 on her next blood draw 11/11.
2. Pray for her Potassium count to improve more.  She is still taking a small dose of a medicine called Kayexalate to keep her potassium down.  We pray she'll be able to stop taking that medicine soon.
3. Pray for her Red Blood Cell count to improve. Right now, she is in the 9 - 10 range on her red blood cells, normal would be 12.  Pray for Madilyn to get back to a normal red blood cell level.
4. Praise God for normal blood pressure! Madilyn has stopped taking medicine for this, and her blood pressure has been normal.
5. Next week, the doctor is going to look at the long term numbers for Madilyn, please pray for these to be in the normal range - things like Para-thyroid hormone, vitamin D, Calcium, and more.
6. Pray for our family as we continue to care for Madilyn. Pray that we don't attach our hope to these results.  We want to give everything we have to Christ, regardless of blood tests!

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Here are pictures from our camping trip to Jellystone Park!  We had a blast getting away for our first vacation since the summer!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Update on Madilyn's Recovery - please keep her in your prayers...

Hey guys, it's been a couple of weeks since we updated you all, so I wanted to let you know how Madilyn is doing, and how you can keep praying for her.

Last week, I read Psalm 103, the day after we learned that Madilyn's kidneys were still recovering:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,    and all that is within me,    bless his holy name!2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,    and forget not all his benefits,3 who forgives all your iniquity,    who heals all your diseases,

In the Psalm, David describes the way he feels, as though he was a new man and his youth had been restored.  After 7 days of waiting and wondering, when we learned that Madilyn's kidneys were above 50%, and that she was still healing...that's exactly how I felt.  Like a new man.  I'm so thankful for the good news, but I'm also praying for God to strengthen my faith throughout this process, and to allow me to feel confident in Him, even when the news isn't good.

How is she doing?

Over the past two weeks, Madilyn has continued to improve.  Her last blood test was on Friday, and her Creatinine level has come down to .7 which shows us that she is still improving.  This Wednesday marks the 5th week that she has been out of the hospital, and from what we've seen from the other moms who have had kids with HUS, usually it takes a month or more for them to get back to normal.

We are praying that her Creatinine continues to drop down to .5 because that would show her kidneys are at 100%.

Madilyn has been enjoying school for the last week or so, and even went back to her class at church this Sunday.  She was very happy to be back, and her friends in class were super excited to see her.


Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Creatinine level of 0.5!!! Her next blood draw will be in two weeks, so we would love to see that .5 next time she goes in for blood work.
2. Pray for her Potassium count to improve.  She is still taking a medicine called Kayexalate to keep her potassium down, but she is able to take a much smaller dose.  We hope she'll be able to stop taking that medicine soon.
3. Pray for her Red Blood Cell count to improve.  As her kidneys heal, pray for Madilyn to get back to a normal red blood cell level.
4. Pray for her blood pressure to improve.  Madilyn is taking a medicine right now to keep her blood pressure at normal, but we are praying we can eliminate that medicine after this two weeks.

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Here's a couple pictures of Madilyn and her brothers goofing around...love these silly monkeys!!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Awesome news and huge answer to our prayers!!!

Today we took Madilyn for a follow-up at Dell Children's.  They did blood work to check her levels and see how her Kidneys have been healing.

The great news is that her Creatinine is down to .8!!!  We were praying for anything below 1.0, so we are pumped about this news.  What this means is that she has jumped up from 40% kidney function to somewhere in the neighborhood of 70%.

Today we are celebrating and thanking the Lord for how she is healing.  Tomorrow we will meet with her kidney specialist to determine what medicines she needs to keep taking and how much, but we are so excited to see her kidneys are healing!!

Thank you so much for praying, it means a ton to our family.

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Wednesday Update on Madilyn's recovery

Hey guys, here's an update about Madilyn's last check-up so that you know how to pray for her and us going forward.

Today as I was studying in Isaiah 42 and 43, I read this passage that really comforted me and reminded me who has been with us during the last month. Listen to the word of the Lord given through Isaiah in 43:1&2  

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

There were a couple things that stood out to me from this passage.  First, it was God who allowed the nation of Judah to go through the trial they were in.  Second, God promised them that He would be with them throughout the trial.  Whatever they were going through, God was going to help them!  This is a promise that we are clinging to right now - God, whatever happens from here, we are dependent upon you, we are trusting that you'll be with us through it all.

How is she doing?

We had some tough news on Monday when the doctor looked at Madilyn's blood work.  Unfortunately, her Creatinine level did not decrease from last week, so it was still stuck at 1.1. We are praying that it will go down until it reaches the normal level of .5.  The fact that it's stuck at 1.1 is disconcerting, since that represents about 40% of normal kidney function.  Basically, if the level stays here Madilyn will need serious medications and hormones throughout her life.

The good news is, our Doctor looked at the results and said that he thinks the blood test was skewed.  Madilyn was so nervous about the blood draw that she didn't eat or drink much at all that morning.  This meant that the water level in her blood was lower than it should have been, and he could see that in her results.  So, he thinks that her creatinine may actually be down a little more from last week, but we just don't have the test results to show that.

Also, when Madilyn went to school last week she promptly picked up a cold...she came home on Friday with a runny nose and low grade fever.  We think this also contributed to her not wanting to eat or drink over the past few days.  So, this week we decided to keep her home, and Granby had to come back and help watch Madilyn during the day so that Jennifer and I can work.

Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. We need you to keep on praying for her kidneys to come back to full strength, pray for no long-term damage!  Pray for Creatinine level of 0.5!!!  (Scott Frazier reminded me this week that we need to pray for this until God changes our prayer, so please keep it up)
2. Pray for her appetite to pick back up as she gets well from her cold - we need her to eat and drink well to help in the healing process.
3. Pray for our nerves as we wait for the next blood test.  My biggest temptation is to worry about all that could happen, but that's not helpful, and it's actually sinful (Matthew 6:34). Pray that we draw closer to the Lord for help with the things we cannot control! 

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

This pic is from last Friday night when we all went to see Round Rock take on Smithson Valley.  Sorry San Antonio friends, the Dragons Rocked them!!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Hey guys, we had a busy week last week, and we forgot to update the blog with Madilyn's news.  Here's a quick Monday post, and we'd love for you to pray for her today.

How is she doing?

We have had Madilyn home for almost two weeks now, and she has been doing really well.  
When we first brought her home we had to take her in every other day for blood work.  This was not fun for her at all.  After being in the hospital for a month, Madilyn is not happy about seeing Doctors, and especially about having blood drawn.

Madilyn's potassium level has been the main thing we've been watching, even though she's on a low potassium diet.  Since coming home, she has been on a medicine called Kayaxelate to control potassium.  It's a pretty gross medicine, and she has to take 40ml of it (not bad for an adult, but Madilyn hates it).

You can tell by the picture below that Madilyn's color is still quite not right.  This is due to the anemia, she'll also be anemic for a while as her kidneys recover (kidneys are in control of how many red blood cells you produce).

Last week, Madilyn was able to go to Pre-school.  She was so ready to go and meet her teacher and new friends.



Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Madilyn's kidney function to keep improving...Madilyn's kidneys have improved from 20% when we left the hospital, to 40% at her last visit.  Some of the other HUS moms have told Jennifer that this part of recovery could take around a month.
2. Today we are taking Madilyn into the lab to draw blood and check her levels.  Please pray for her to not be afraid, and for it to go smoothly.  Also, we are praying that her levels have improved to 80% today!
3. Keep praying for our family as we wait to see where she will end up. There is nothing we can do but wait and see, so pray for God to give us peace while we wait. 

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

We finally brought her home!!

Hey guys, I wanted to send out a quick post about how Madilyn is doing since we came home, and I would like to ask for continued prayer for her.

How is she doing?

First off, the great news is that we were able to bring her home on Tuesday afternoon.  All her labs came back good, and we were able to pack up our hospital room and bring her home!!



This is Madilyn's first nurse, who also happened to be her last nurse!  Thank you Nurse Kim, and all the other amazing people who took care of her for the past month.





Now the recovery continues at home, and we could really use your prayer for the next few weeks and months as she heals.  We are finding out more and more about the kidneys, and we've learned that they are an interesting organ that is very difficult to predict.

Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Madilyn's kidney function to keep improving...Madilyn's kidneys are filtering at just over 20% right now.  This number has been going up steadily, and we want that to keep improving until it gets to 100% or very very close!
2. We now have to take Madilyn into the lab to draw blood every other day...this is very traumatic for her, and she does not like it.  Please pray for us to endure, and to be able to help her have peace about this and ease her pain.
3. Keep praying for our family as we wait to see where she will end up. There is nothing we can do but wait and see, so pray for God to give us peace while we wait. 

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Quote of the day - when we brought her home, Madilyn must have said 10 times "I'm so glad to be home"...usually that was followed by a hug and I Love You.

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Monday update for Madilyn...almost ready to go!!

Hey guys, I'm happy to post some more good news about Madilyn, and ask for your prayers for her continued recovery.

Yesterday I was able to go to church for the first time in about 6 weeks...it was great to be back with my church family, and to Worship Christ together.  Before the service I spent some time studying Isaiah 41 again.  The passage that stood out to me was this one from verse 20: 

20 that they may see and know,    may consider and understand together,that the hand of the Lord has done this,    the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Isaiah has been comforting the people by reminding them of God's sovereignty and provision.  In this passage, God tells the people exactly how He will provide for them.  He will make streams rise up in dry lands, He will make gardens grow in desert places, He will show up in power to provide for them...so that all will see and know that it was the Lord's hand that was behind it all. This was my prayer on Sunday and today...that God would heal Madilyn completely, and that we will see His hand working throughout the process.

How is she doing?

Madilyn's blood work continues to improve each day.  Today her Creatinine level was down to 2.2 and has been steadily declining over the past few days.  We pray that it keeps going down every morning until it reaches the normal level of .5.

We woke up this morning and headed to the operating room to remove her Perma Cath for dialysis...everything went great and she now has one less piece of plastic in her body.

Tomorrow morning they will check her labs one more time, and as long as her potassium levels are in the normal range we will be headed home!!  After 28 days of being here, we are ready to get up and get out of here.




Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. The rest of Madilyn's recovery will be at home, but we need you to keep on praying for her kidneys to come back to full strength, pray for no long-term damage!  Pray for Creatinine level of 0.5!!!
2. We will also be treating her blood pressure at home for a while, until her kidneys can regulate it on their own.
3. Pray for her to eat and drink well while she's at home to help in the healing process.
4. Currently, Madilyn's kidneys are filtering at 20% function.  This number has been going up steadily, and we want that to keep improving until it gets to 100% or very very close!
5. Pray for our nerves as we wait to see where she will end up. There is nothing we can do but wait and see, so pray for God to give us peace while we wait. 

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

This pic is from the last night of playtime with her brothers after supper...it has always been her favorite part of the day - when they come distract her and play with her.  We are so thankful for how strong and helpful these guys have been!!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Update for Friday...Keeping up the good work

Hey guys, I wanted to post a quick update today and ask for prayer for over the weekend.

How is she doing?

Madilyn's blood work continues to improve, which gives us great hope that her kidneys will be able to return to normal.  She has not needed any dialysis since last Friday, and if things keep going the way they have been, she will not need it anymore!

Right now we are patiently (sometimes impatiently) waiting to see if Madilyn's Creatinine level will get down to normal.  This will be the sign that her kidneys have little to no long term damage.  Earlier this week, her level was 5.7, then it dropped to 5.1, yesterday it dropped to 4.0, and today it dropped again to 3.4.  

Last time I posted, Jennifer and I thought that her doctor said 4.0 was normal for Madilyn, but that was incorrect.  Normal for her size and age would be around 0.5...so we still have a long way to go, but we are praying it just keeps going down.

This can make our mornings a little stressful while we wait for the results to come back. Of course Madilyn isn't stressed about that at all...





Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Keep praying for Madilyn's kidney to come back to full strength, pray for no long-term damage!  Pray for Creatinine level of 0.5!!!
2. This weekend they are working on her medication for blood pressure, trying to get it under control so that she can go home.
3. Monday at 9:00AM Madilyn will have her surgery to remove the catheter.  Pray for her to be relaxed and the procedure to go great.
4. After the surgery, we should be able to take her home on Tuesday or Wednesday, and we are so ready!

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Update for Tuesday...no more dialysis!

Hey guys, I wanted to post a quick update to let you know some good news and some things to pray for.

How is she doing?

This morning, Madilyn's blood work came back with improvement in her kidney function.  Her numbers have started to go down on their own, which means she is off dialysis unless something changes.

We are so excited to see this improvement, and now the next step is to watch and see how low her numbers go.  We aren't sure if they will return to normal, because we just don't know yet if she has any long-term kidney damage.  So, the next few days we will be watching her blood work and praying for her to be completely healed up.

Her Creatinine level is the big one we are watching, yesterday it was 5.7, today 5.1.  Normal would be 4.0 or under, so we want to see it go down below 4 over the next few days.




Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Keep praying for Madilyn's kidney to come back to full strength, pray for no long-term damage!
2. Right now we are scheduled to have surgery on Monday to remove her catheter...if things look great tomorrow and Friday we could possibly push it up to Friday.
3. Pray for her blood pressure to keep getting lower, the kidneys play a big role in regulating blood pressure, so Madilyn may need medication for this for a few months, but we're praying it won't be life-long.

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Monday Update...great news to share!

On Sunday morning, I was able to spend some time reading and praying before going back up to the hospital. The passage I was studying was from Isaiah 41. I picked this passage because it's one of my favorites, and it's one that I discovered when reading John Piper's book Future Grace.

In this passage, Isaiah is speaking for the Lord as he reminds the people where their hope, joy, and rest comes from; even as the nation was being threatened by a brutal empire that was conquering the world.

Listen to this quote from Isaiah as he explains to the people who is in control:

4 Who has performed and done this,    calling the generations from the beginning?I, the Lord, the first,    and with the last; I am he.   

Things seem to be out of control for the Israelites, they can't make sense of their circumstances and how this evil country is allowed to prosper.  God reminds them, that he is the one moving things for his own Glory - the first...and the last.

This promise has been something Jennifer and I have held close to our hearts over the past 3 weeks, some times it's been hard to remember, but other times God has shown up in powerful ways to remind us.

Listen to the second part of the promise in verse 10:

fear not, for I am with you;    be not dismayed, for I am your God;I will strengthen you, I will help you,    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

This promise is such a comfort to those who are struggling through difficult circumstances.  The Lord has brought you here, and with his righteous right hand he will strengthen, help, and uphold you.  When you remember this, your circumstances become an opportunity to bring God glory. You find yourself looking around a hospital for people in need of prayer, and people who need to feel God's presence. You hear your four year old daughter look up at you and say "dad, can we pray for the babies who are in the hospital right now?"  

How is she doing?

We have been waiting for the doctors say that Madilyn's kidneys are functioning fully.  This morning Dr. Simon, took a look at Madilyn's lab work and said that she is not there yet, but she is on her way.

Right now, Madilyn's kidneys are filtering, and she is producing enough urine.  Her electrolytes and acid/base levels are back to the normal range.  The only thing that still needs improvement is Madilyn's BUN and Creatinine level. The levels were not high enough to need dialysis today, but we will have to check it again tomorrow to see if she needs a treatment.

We're praying that the filters will improve throughout the day, and that she can stay off Dialysis, then we can prepare to remove her catheter and make plans for taking her home.





Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Keep praying for Madilyn's kidney function! We are so ready to take her home!
2. Tomorrow is the first day of school for Siler and Caleb, we don't feel ready, but pray we don't forget anything important!
3. Keep praying for Jennifer and I to make the most of our last few days with the doctors and nurses, we want to make sure we Glorify Christ in this tough time, and make sure that the people we meet know we have our hope in Him.
4. Pray for Aubrey, who is 10 is in the Children's Hospital in Temple also with HUS, but they are hoping she will be home by the weekend.

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Update for the weekend - 8/20

How is she doing?

This Friday, Madilyn had to have dialysis again to balance out her BUN, Creatinine, and Electrolytes, but her kidneys are now functioning enough so that she doesn't need dialysis to remove any fluid!

The Doctor said that he thinks this was her last Dialysis that she will need!  We are praying that this is the case, but we won't know for certain until we check her blood work on Sunday and Monday. Sometimes when the kidneys start working again, they aren't filtering as efficiently as they normally do, and this takes time to improve.  We are praying that the past few days her kidneys have been improving and she'll be off the dialysis machine forever.

If that's the case, then on Monday we can start the process of getting her to come home!  Our hope is that she'll be home early in the week so that we can be together as a family while school is starting up.






Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Keep praying for Madilyn's kidney function! We are so ready to take her home!
2. Pray for the boys to have a great start to 3rd and 4th grade next Tuesday!
3. Pray for Jennifer and I to make the most of our last few days with the doctors and nurses, we want to make sure we Glorify Christ in this tough time, and make sure that the people we meet know we have our hope in Him.
4. Pray for our extended family - since Madilyn came down with this strain of E-Coli, two of her cousins have also been diagnosed with it.  Katelyn, who is 2 has been recovering well at home, and seems to have missed the HUS that comes with this form of E-Coli.  Aubrey, who is 10 is in the Children's Hospital in Temple with HUS, but it seems that they caught it much earlier so we are praying she doesn't have to stay in the hospital as long as Madilyn.

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Highlight of the Day:

Madilyn was able to meet several former olympians this week at the hospital, she even got to hold a Gold Medal and a Silver Medal.  Caleb said he'll make sure and win one for her later on too.

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Wednesday Update...still improving, but things are moving so slow!!

How is she doing?

Over the past few days, Madilyn has been showing signs that her kidneys are recovering and starting to work again.  She's been making more urine, and her blood work has been looking better, but still not quite back to normal.

We had hoped that today her blood work would come back with enough improvement to pass on dialysis.  Unfortunately, it didn't.  Even though she has made a big improvement in urine production, her kidneys still aren't filtering like they need to be.  The doctor let us know that this is part of the process, and part of the waiting game for her to heal.

So, right now we are praying that Friday would be the last dialysis that she has to have, so that we can start the process of evaluating her and sending her home.  Jennifer and I are trying hard to be patient and wait on God's timing with this, but it is very tough when Madilyn is so ready to go home and be back in her room!





Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Keep praying for Madilyn's kidneys! We're praying for them to recover enough over the weekend so that we can the process going to take her home.
2. Pray for the boys to be ready for school to start next week.  We have meet the teacher night this Friday, and then Tuesday they start 3rd and 4th Grade!
3. Pray for Jennifer and I to be patient, and find strength in the Lord during these hard days of waiting!  Pray also that we have great conversations with our doctors and nurses as we pray for them and with them together.

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Highlight of the Day:

When Siler and Caleb came to visit today, they had Madilyn rolling with laughter.  Caleb and Siler were acting out something and falling down on command for Madilyn, and she laughed every time. I told the kids to quiet down in the halls, and the nurses corrected me...they said let them laugh as loud as they want, it's music to their ears!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Update on Madilyn from the Weekend...

How is she doing?
This weekend was a good one.  Madilyn has been doing a great job eating, and getting up and walking around the hospital.  She's also keeping herself busy with art and loves getting visits from her brothers.

Today and yesterday she had dialysis again.  Even though her kidneys are making a comeback, she's still not producing enough urine to get off dialysis.  This is probably our biggest prayer right now, that she would have a great day tomorrow and make lots of urine. She can't go home until they don't require dialysis anymore.  Hopefully we can see that progress throughout the week this week.

Her blood counts have still been good, and they've seen her red blood cell count stabilize.  Now they are giving her some meds to boost the production of red blood cells, so we should see more improvement in her energy and anemia.

Jennifer and I are still taking turns staying the night with her, and now we are trying to figure out how to get the boys ready to go back to school next week, praying that Madilyn is home before their school starts!!!





Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Keep praying for Madilyn's kidneys! The sooner they get back to full function, the sooner she can get out of here.
2. Pray for the boys as they get ready to start school, we've had a lot of turmoil the past few weeks, and yet they start a new school year in just 7 days!
3. Pray for Madilyn to be patient while she waits to go home, she is so ready to be back in her own home, but we want her to be 100% first! 

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Highlight of the Day:

Today before her brothers came to visit, Madilyn wanted to buy them a couple gifts...so each brother got a tiny beany boo toy that she picked out just for them.  She loved seeing them open up their presents!!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Update for Friday...Madilyn is doing so much better!

How is she doing?

Madilyn is doing so much better!  Thank you for praying for her!  On Wednesday, she needed another blood transfusion because her red blood cells and hemoglobin were very low again.  This is part of the recovery process for HUS, but it's still no fun to see her need another unit of blood (so far thats 3).

Thursday was another great day, with her IV out Madilyn was able to go do some fun stuff around the hospital, and even show her brothers some of the gardens and play areas they have here.  

Today, she started with dialysis, but she did not need another blood transfusion today.  Her platelets are up again, 240 was her number.  Still not normal, but getting closer.  Also, she peed about 150cc today.  If that keeps going up, it means her kidneys are coming back to full strength, and we can stop doing dialysis!!  It seems weird talking about pee all the time, but that's pretty much what we do.

Jennifer and I are taking turns staying the night with her, so we get some time at home with the boys now, and they are grateful for being back in their own home.  They keep asking when we can get Madilyn out of the hospital.





Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Madilyn's blood work to keep trending in the right direction.  They kidney specialist says 3 days makes a trend - we want a good trend.
2. Pray for Madilyn to get more of an appetite, so that she can keep on eating and drinking her protein shakes.
3. No dialysis for the weekend, pray for her kidneys to make lots of urine, then she won't need another dialysis on Monday!
4. Keep praying for those kidneys! The sooner they get back to full function, the sooner she can get out of here.  Tuesday would be 2 weeks in the hospital, so we'd love to go home before then!

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Highlight of the Day:

Yesterday Madilyn was chasing her brothers around and hitting them with her my little pony named Rainbow Dash.  It was good to see her ready to play and mix it up with her brothers again!

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Happy update for Tuesday!!

How is she doing?

Monday and Tuesday both turned out to be really good days.  On  Monday, Madilyn's blood work came back with improvement, and then she did a great job with the dialysis and getting up and around better.

Then today her blood work came back even better, and her Kidney Doctor (the amazing Dr. Simon) said that if this continues then we can start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  We are hopeful, and praying that she can be on her way home soon...this weekend would be miraculous and we'd be thrilled.

Today, Madilyn had her IV Nutrition removed - which means she will be getting her food through her stomach, which will help her kidneys out a ton.

She did a good job of eating, getting right to her calorie goal by eating the high-calorie milkshakes they ordered for her.  Pray for her little tummy to keep feeling better so that she can keep up the good work.  If she does, then we will not have to put in a G-Tube to help with nutrition while she's at the hospital.

Today she was also removed from isolation, so we were able to explore the hospital, and she also got to paint, and play bingo with cookie monster.

Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Madilyn's blood work to keep trending in the right direction.
2. Pray for Madilyn to get more of an appetite, so that she can keep on eating and drinking her protein shakes.
3. She'll have Dialysis again tomorrow, pray for the procedure to go smooth, and for her to be patient an feel great afterward.
4. Keep praying for those kidneys! We want these kidneys to have zero long-term damage!

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! Thank you again to all our family, church family and Missional Community family, who have come through so well for us these past couple weeks.  You'll never know how comforting it is to have so much support! 

Highlight of the Day:

My favorite moment of the day was hearing Madilyn let out a big belly laugh when Cookie Monster was calling out bingo...she just thought he was hilarious!! 

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Update for Sunday, and so far today...

I'll have to watch my hermeneutics for this one, but this morning I was comforted from reading through Isaiah 40. The passage is in reference to Israel and the trouble that the nation had been experiencing.

What I was comforted by was a truth about the Lord from verse 28 - 31.

Have you not known? Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,    the Creator of the ends of the earth.He does not faint or grow weary;    his understanding is unsearchable.29 He gives power to the faint,    and to him who has no might he increases strength.30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,    and young men shall fall exhausted;31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary;    they shall walk and not faint.

This is exactly what we are asking God to do for Madilyn, would he renew her strength, build up her body once again, and help her to recover quickly.




How is she doing?

Yesterday was a tough day.  We started off with some bad news.  Madilyn's red blood cells were down considerably.  This meant that our day of resting from dialysis would be used by getting a blood transfusion, and adding a PICC line which meant she had to go through another procedure with anesthesia.

She is running out of patience for procedures, doctors, nurses, and anyone else who comes into her room.

Today, her blood work came back much better, she's had about 3 days of increased platelets, and today it was even better.

Her Dialysis went great today, she even slept through the last 45 minutes or so.  She looks great and feels much better.

Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Pray for Madilyn's blood work to keep trending in the right direction.
2. Pray for Madilyn to do a great job eating and drinking her protein shakes - this is now the doctor's main concern to be able to get her off the nutrition IV, and if she can't get in enough calories on her own, they'll opt for a g-tube.
3. No Dialysis tomorrow, pray for good rest, good walks and playtime, and for her to have a little fun!
4. Keep praying for those kidneys! We want these kidneys to have zero long-term damage!

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!! 

Highlight of the Day:

My favorite moment of the day was asking Madilyn to pray for the other kids on her floor.  As we walked around and prayed I told her that Jesus has us here for a reason, and we are going to work for him while we are here.  She agreed and finished her lap while we prayed. 

For His Glory,

The Rascos

  

Just a quick update today...

How is she doing?

Today was a great day.  We had the 3rd Dialysis treatment this morning, and everything went really smooth. Madilyn was patient and did her part really well.  They had to change her bandage after the treatment, and Madilyn was not happy about that!!  

The good news about that is, she's showing that she still has a ton of strength left, and she is getting back her sassy personality.  She has lots of questions for all the doctors...which is what she calls anyone who comes into her room.

She spent more time playing with her brothers today, and even got some amazing toys from friends and family, and an organization called Ambers Angels.  She loves getting these gifts, and it's a great distraction from not being able to go home.

Madilyn had to go pee a little again today, and that's a great sign!!  We are praying that her blood work keeps improving as well.  She's been eating better today, and we need her to keep that up and get off the IV nutrition

Big PRAISES - 

Madilyn's fever didn't come back today, and her blood cultures came up clean for bacteria.  That means she's off antibiotics, which is better for her kidney recover!

Madilyn went pee again today!

We also found out for sure that it was E-Coli 0157 that got her so sick.  This is a good thing to know, because it means her case of HUS is what they call "typical", which means there is less chance that her kidneys will have long-term damage.

Here are the things we need you to pray for:

1. Madilyn's platelet count to keep trending up, we want to see those numbers improve so we can see everything else follow.
2. Pray for Madilyn to keep eating and drinking her protein shakes - this will allow her to get off the nutrition IV, which will aid her kidneys in recovery.
3. No Dialysis tomorrow, pray for good rest, good walks and playtime, and for her to have a little fun!
4. Keep praying for those kidneys! We want these kidneys to have zero long-term damage!

Thank you again for praying, please keep it up!!

Highlight of the Day:

These pictures below are from one of our friends Shelby.  Me and Madilyn were supposed to be in Shelby's wedding tomorrow, and Madilyn was going to be the flower girl.  She was so excited to be in the wedding, but today Shelby brought her flower girl crown and told Madilyn it was a princess crown.

My favorite moment was when Shelby got ready to leave, Madilyn stopped her and said, "wait, don't you want to pray?"

For His Glory,

The Rascos