Thursday Night Update & Prayer Requests

David made it over the hump--he now weighs 3 lbs. 1 oz.!

His breaths per minute tonight were at 40. He has been doing so well the last two days that they're going to turn them down to 35 before his blood gasses test in the morning. (To check his blood gasses, they draw blood from his heel). Those levels determine whether or not he's getting enough oxygen and whether or not they can turn it down. The goal is to keep turning it down and to eventually wean him off of it. If he can't handle having the oxygen turned down to 35, it will show up in his blood gasses right away. His O2's been at 38-45. It's at 44% right now.

John changed David's diaper again tonight (the second time ever!), and took his temperature for the first time under each arm.

David got another sponge bath today and loved it.

Susan didn't go to see him today since she's been feeling sick. She said that John got to do more, which was sweet.

Prayer Requests
Susan has been having intense knee pain. She plans to see a doctor about it since it hasn't subsided and it's been increasingly difficult for her to walk.

Her milk supply continues to go down, and David's feeds continue to go up. She needs prayer for her milk supply to increase since David is quickly catching up with what she's producing.

Please continue to pray for David's lungs and brain.

And that's all for tonight!

Updates and Prayer Requests

The Langagers now have a carseat for when their son gets to come home. Hooray! Some friends got together and blessed them with a few Christmas gifts for David. Susan loved the travel system (carseat and stroller with base), two tiny outfits, and cozy king-sized blanket. She also said that she's not going to exchange a thing--that everything was perfect and she couldn't have picked it out better herself. (Those of you who know Susan can understand the kind of anointing that must have been on the gift-giving. God knew exactly how to bless them!)

Susan says, "I feel so blessed and so overwhelmed. Everything is just wonderful."

We're going to be throwing a baby shower for the Langagers in January. If you'd like to participate in any way, please e-mail lori.todd@yahoo.com. We'll be putting together another group gift, so you'll have another opportunity to bless them in a BIG way.

Good News

David is up to 2 lbs. 15.8 oz. Nearly 3 lbs.! He gained half an ounce from yesterday.

His head circumference is down 1/2 cm, which is awesome.

His breaths per minute were turned down this morning to 40 before they did the blood gas test, and the results were slightly lower than yesterday. She doesn't know if they're going to leave them there since the doctor hadn't rounded at the time she called.

His O2 goes up and down, but it's at 41% right now.

He still had a positive stool test yesterday morning and this morning, which means there is still blood in his stool. Sometimes the HMF which is added to his milk can irritate his tummy (stomach lining) enough to cause some blood in his stool, but he needs the extra calories, so they're still giving it to him and monitoring it.

Prayer Requests
David still needs prayer for his head, lungs, and eyesight. Please pray that he will have no residual effects or long-term complications from being born early. Pray for steady growth and perfect health. Pray for John and Susan's health and strength, as well. They are AMAZING. They have such tremendous grace for this challenging season. I am so honored to be walking with them--to have the privilege of calling them "friends."

A little Gift

Merry Christmas!

Pictures of David Holcroft Langager

11/27 to 12/14

2007

Little David's Little Fingers

Little David's Little Toes

Look at all that hair!

Look, no eye shades!

Little David's Little Body

Mommy's first time changing David's diaper. Look at her hands compared to his. He can't even get his fingers all the way around her pinky. So tiny!

Christmas Eve Updates on Christmas Day

Yesterday's News:

9:10 a.m., Christmas Eve

We have an urgent prayer request. David's head has grown 2 cm from last Sunday to this Sunday (they want his head to grow, but growth of 2 cm or more over a week indicates a potential problem). He has a head ultrasound today to determine the level of fluid on his brain. John and Susan are worried because they can see the difference--that his head is a lot bigger--and they don't want him to have to undergo a spinal tap. The doctor rounds at 10:00 a.m., so they're in the dark right now.

At 11:10 a.m., there was still no news. John and Susan were still waiting for the results from the ultrasound.

3:20 p.m. UPDATE:

Merry Christmas to Susan and John! The ultrasound showed no change on one side and slight improvement on the other. Baby David is just growing! Woo Hoo!!!

Yesterday's News, continued:

An opthamologist was scheduled to check David's eyes today (Monday), but the appointment was postponed until next Monday because of the Christmas holiday. Please pray for David's eyesight and for the appointment to go well on Monday. A big risk for preemies is eyesight.

David got yet another new (and bigger) breathing tube yesterday (Sunday). Since he loves to pull on the tube, he ended up pulling it out all by himself. Yes, he's that strong! The breathing machine is down to doing 40 breaths per minute, which is good. As of Sunday afternoon his O2 was down to 33%. His blood gasses were not real great this morning (Monday). They had to turn the rate back up to 45 and they had to turn the oxygen back up to 53%.

They think that they might have put the new tube in a little too far yesteray, so they pulled it back out a little bit to see if that helps his blood gasses tomorrow.

He had a couple positive stools, which means there was blood in his stool. This can sometimes be caused by the HMF. They did a tummy x-ray to make sure that's all it was.

John and Susan got a new camera. Susan says "It's a dream! I can't wait to show you the new pictures!"

9:25 p.m.

We presented the Langagers with a group gift for Christmas (instead of waiting for the baby shower next month). We delivered a carseat/stroller travel system, two little outfits, a couple Christmas cards, and a king-sized cozy blanket for family cuddling. It was SO fun surprising them!

Susan said that they hadn't seen David for two days since John had been feeling sick, and she had a sore throat and was sniffly. They didn't want to take any chances. When they finally saw him on Christmas Eve, they both wore masks. One of the nurses took a picture, so we'll post it soon.

Christmas Day for the Langagers will be spent with Susan's parents at the Centennial Hospital NICU. Susan's mom will spend the day cooking and they'll enjoy their Christmas dinner at the Hampton Inn and Suites, which is within walking distance from the hospital. Merry Christmas to John, Susan, and David!

The Basics:
David weighs 2 lbs 13 oz

He's 15 in long

He's up to 24 ml every 3 hours on his feeds

He's looking more like a newborn and less like a preemie

His hair is growing longer and getting fuzzier (so cute)!

He's growing bigger every day!

He is a BEAUTIFUL baby boy.

Baby David, your presence is the best Christmas gift this year.

David is one month old!

I got to see baby David this week!!! He is the tiniest, most precious baby I've ever seen--and he's grown since he was born a month ago. Christmas Eve is the one month anniversary of David's birth.

I had to scrub my hands and arms up to my elbows for two minutes before I could enter the NICU. For a few days afterward, the top of my right hand was red and sore. This is something Susan does (and now John--woo hoo for Christmas break!) multiple times a day just to get to see her son. She showed me the raw spot on one of her hands from all the scrubbing.

On Thursday night (I think), Susan came over to the Todd house to do some work. She pumped, worked, and before we knew it, two hours had passed and it was time to pump again. She said that her milk supply has taken a bit of a dip, but David's feeds are continually increasing (he was up to 21 ml every 3 hours on Friday night), so please pray for a bountiful supply for David.

Please also pray for grace and comfort in the practical, unseen things for the Langager family.

We (the Todd family) were able to have dinner with Susan and John on Friday night. I wish I could remember all that Susan said. I think his oxygen levels are down by 20% since they upgraded his mouthpiece, which is great news. The not so great news is that he was fighting a little fungal diaper rash toward the end of the week. Booty fungus is never fun.

Susan was really hoping to get to hold him again. She hadn't held him since Monday. I don't think it's a coincidence that we asked for a church-wide prayer push at Grace Center over the weekend, and that's the weekend she held him twice, on Friday for the first time since he was born and then again on Monday.

Let's continue to pray for Susan and John and baby David even in the midst of all the business of the holiday season.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Wonderful News

David's doing great! He grew out of his breathing tube, so they changed it yesterday. Now that there are no more leaks, his O2 levels are down to 41, which is a 20% drop. His CO2 levels look great, too.

He has no new tests scheduled for tomorrow.

He's sleeping and growing and handling his feeds just fine.

Remember the little scare on the newborn screen? Well, he was retested and all of the screens came out just fine. Yay, God!

Susan says, "Thanks for the prayers!"

(Photos are of Daddy and Mommy praying for David on 11/29 & 11/28)

Today's Update

1:00 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 18. Picture above is of David's first diaper change by Mommy. Yesterday's picture was their first three-member family photo.

• Susan called to say that there was no change on the head ultrasound, so they're just going to keep watching him. A nurse told her that his body can actually reabsorb the fluid. Susan and John are praying that it will drain on its own.


• Feedings are up from 19 to 22 ml every 3 hours.


• They're changing out his bed today.


• As of yesterday, there was no change to his weight. He's holding steady at 2 lbs 12 oz.


• He has some blood tests scheduled for the morning.

The most exciting news is that Susan got to hold him again for an hour last night. They sat together, skin on skin (kangaroo care), all wrapped up and full of joy!

Update and Prayer Request

11:00 a.m., Monday, December 17--posted the next day (Tuesday).

If you receive these updates via e-mail, they come to you the following day, which would be Wednesday (tomorrow). I'm looking into using Feedburner instead of Feedblitz for e-mail updates since it looks like Feedburner sends updates the same day instead of the following day. Feedback? e-mail davidsdailyupdates@gmail.com

UPDATE

Overall, David's doing really well. His CO2 levels went down to 52, which is good. His O2 is in the 60s right now (Monday morning). His feedings are up to 19 ml every 3 hrs. He weighs 2 lbs 12 oz and doing great with weight gain. Last Monday he weighed 2 lbs 4 oz, so he has gained half a pound in a week. His head circumference was measured last night (Sunday) and had gone up half a centimeter from last Sunday; it's now at 26 cm. His head ultrasound was repeated this morning (Monday) but the doctor hadn't read the results yet.

PRAYER REQUEST

Susan and John received a letter from the health department regarding the newborn screening test performed upon David's birth, which is required by state law. One of the screens showed questionable results. It tests for "metabolic genetic disorders" which are diseases that can cause "severe illness or mental retardation . . . but can be treated if identified early." Because of the questionable results on 17OHPDAH (?) the test needs to be repeated. This does not mean the baby has the disease. Susan plans to ask the doctors about it Monday afternoon.

Naturally, it was a little disconcerting to get that letter. Let's pray that the letter was nothing more than a blow to their faith--a cheap shot by the enemy to chip away at their hope. Let's remind God (and ourselves) of His promises for David--of all the dreams and visions and scriptures and prophecies. Let's love John and Susan and David off this roller coaster and into the joy of loving and caring for a beautiful, healthy baby boy.

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

Friday, December 14, 2007. Mommy holds David for the first time.

Good News & Pictures

8:45 p.m.

Susan and John did give David his first bath last night (albeit, a sponge bath), but they washed and shampooed his hair, and while he wasn't crazy about the bath, he loved it when Susan squeezed the washcloth and warm water drizzled down his little head.

He was started on lasix (sp?) yesterday, which is a diuretic. This is a proactive measure to try to get rid of any fluid that may be in his lungs. The doctor believes that starting him on lasix yesterday is what helped him lower the oxygen again today down to 47, which is excellent. He's also on 55 breaths per minute, which means that the machine guarantees him 55 breaths; anything above that he's breathing on his own, which is awesome.

He was given sodium and iron supplements today in addition to breastmilk. One of the side-effects of the diuretic is that he loses more sodium as he gets rid of excess fluid.

His head circumference was 25.5 cm last night, which is the same as it was last Sunday, almost a week ago. They're going to measure his head again tomorrow (Sunday). If it stays the same, that's good. We definitely don't want to see any swelling! He gets another head ultrasound this coming week.

He's taking 18 ml of breastmilk through a feeding tube every three hours. Susan says, "He's just adorable!"

Results

Here are the results from the blood gas at noon:

The CO2 level is still elevated, but it didn't continue to increase. It's not any higher than it was at 8 a.m., so they're not going to do anything about it; they're just going to watch it.

His feeds have now increased to 18 ml every 3 hours.

I'm constantly being reminded that "we don't have because we don't ask." Let's continue to pray specific prayers and believe God for the impossible. If "anything is possible to him who believes," and faith is belief in the impossible, and "faith pleases God," then let's agree for the impossible with the knowledge that God is pleased with our faith-filled prayers!

Today's Update

11:50 a.m.

David's doing pretty well today. Aside from his blood gasses being a little elevated this morning, he's looking good.

He's still on the ventilator and off the nitric oxide. His oxygen is up to 60, but he's stable enough that if he continues to do well, there's a slight chance that Susan will get to help with his first bath tonight!

His head circumference and weight will be measured tonight, so you'll probably get that news tomorrow.

Susan came close to holding him today. She had him in both of her hands to lift him off the bed. Now, if she could just get him through the plastic of isolette . . .

Quick Prayer Request

In a few minutes (at noon today), David will be checked again for his blood gasses since his CO2 was a little elevated this morning. They normally check him twice a day, in the morning and at night, so this is an added test and a quick prayer request that they'll turn out fine. Since I want to go ahead and get this on the blog, the rest of the update will be in a separate post.

Notes from The Prayer Team

A Note of Thanks from Susan's Dad, Dick Kane:

With the prayers and support of all, Susan's mother and I are sure that, just like David who was able to slay Goliath, our David, with God's help and God's guidance of the doctors, nurses, and all who care for and tend to David's needs, will be able to overcome his many challenges of the weeks ahead. Our sincere thanks to all who are praying for David, Susan and John. May God bring peace and joy to each of you.
--Susan's Dad

A Note of Encouragement from our friend Karissa:

Praying at midnight, 12/10/07. I was praying about David and quoting scripture....Plan and a purpose...fearfully and wonderfully... completes the good work he starts in us....completes...complete. Then it hit me. David is complete, perfect in every way. He doesn't need God to "finish" and complete his creation work in David. He is complete! This is all part of his GREAT and PERFECT design. He is in control of the situation! In fact, this is HIS SITUATION, part of a master plan for more of His goodness to come pouring out. What is He up to? We do not know, what we do know is ...IT IS GOOD. Good, like the "good news of the gospel." We can count on it. God put his hands together, created David, sent him "early" to earth and said, "It is good!" Now, I beleive He is just sitting back and watching what He spinned into effect, for the GLORY OF THE LORD to come forth. I also got this Amazing scripture!
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one, and called them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing!
Isaiah 40:26
--Karissa

Some Scripture to pray over John, Susan, and David:

Saturday at midnight we were praying and the Lord gave us this scripture to hold and read over their family.
Psalm 126
When the Lord restores the fortunes of zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations,"The Lord has done great things for them. "The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
With love from Karissa and Jon David

Prayer Team

If you have been praying for the Langagers and your name is not listed on this blog site (in one of the columns to the right), please let me know. I'd like to record the names of everyone on their prayer team to encourage them and remind them that they are not only prayed for, but also loved and supported. If you tend to pray at a specific time of day, let me know that, too. Finally, include your city and state (or country.) Thanks!
Example: David Langager, 2 p.m. CST, Nashville, TN
davidsdailyupdates@gmail.com

http://davidlangager.blogspot.com/

Great News!

5:20 pm

David is doing great! Thank you for continuing to pray!

There is nothing new to report on the hemmoraging. His head circumference is measured every other day, and he's due to have it measured again tomorrow night. They want to be sure his brain is growing, but they don't want it to grow too fast. If it grows too fast, that most likely means more blood is building up in the ventricles. Please keep praying that the swelling will be alleviated without intervention.

We have some praise reports!
At 10:00 a.m., David was weaned completely off the nitric oxide without any problems. Yay, God! They switched him to a regular ventilator and off the oscillator. Since then, they've been able to reduce his oxygen saturation by 20%, which is great because he's doing more on his own. It's set so that he's guaranteed 50 breaths a minute; any more than that is up to him. He's resting more comfortably with it, and his blood pressure is great.

If, over the next couple days, David stays as stable as he has been all day on the new ventilator, Susan and John will get to hold him as early as this weekend. This is such exciting news! Susan was really hoping to hold him by Christmas. What an awesome Christmas present it would be to get to hold him. Please pray that he remains stable.

More exciting news . . . Susan got to brush his hair today! Woo Hoo! Thank you, God, for all the awesome testimonies of your goodness. We cry out for MORE!

Prayer Request and Update

9:22 p.m.

BIG prayer request:

John and Susan just met with the doctor and were told that David has developed some swelling in his brain. There are clots and bleeding in the ventricles in his brain. There are four grades, and he's a grade 3, which means it's not bleeding into his brain. Right now they're just monitoring it closely. Most of the time if a preemie is going to have a brain hemmorage like this or bleeding into the ventricles, it happens within the first 7 days of birth. The fact that it didn't happen until 2 1/2 weeks is actually a good sign.

Please pray that it will resolve itself--that the excess fluid and blood will drain out on its own. If it doesn't and it keeps swelling, a spinal tap is the first option (at least one--it could be that he needs more than one) to drain the fluid and blood. (There's no spinal tap scheduled yet; they're just watching it.) If it gets worse after the spinal tap(s), the standard protocol is to put in a shunt or a reservoir, tapping a shunt from his brain inside down to his intestines, but the doctor said he hasn't had to do that in a long time. Please pray that he won't even need a spinal tap. Also pray that he won't suffer any brain damage.

Today's update:

They're still having a hard time weaning him off the nitric oxide, instead of dropping it one point (or one part per millionth) every six hours, they're going to drop it one point every day, which seems to be working better. They had it down to 3 yesterday, and they got it down to 2 today.

He's going up on his feeds to 16 ml every 3 hours tomorrow.

The pic line, which was the IV going directly into the vein, was taken out today since all of his nutrients are now coming from breastmilk. They started him on a human milk fortifier (HMF), which is like a calorie pack, and he seems to be tolerating it just fine. It's designed to help him put on weight. Thankfully, he has no IVs anymore, lessening the chances of infection.

His phytotherapy lights were turned off today, which is especially nice for Susan and John since they can see his sweet face (the whole thing--not just from the nose down because of the eye shades).

He gets weighed every other day, and on Monday he had lost 10 grams, so he's closer to 2 lbs 3 oz.

His oxygen levels are up and down and up and down. He was at 71 as of 11:25 a.m.

More pictures are on the way. The ones recently posted are not the most recent. They're from 11/28. Last picture is of Mommy Susan (Kane) Langager praying for Baby David. I'd like to encourage you to pray for David as if he were your own. You're such an awesome prayer team!

NEW PICTURES!

Message from a friend--Isaiah 62

Rachel Norris sent the following message today about David. The timing couldn't be more perfect.

Isaiah 62

Isa 62:6

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves;

Isa 62:7

And give Him no rest until He establishes And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Isa 62:8

The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, "I will never again give your grain {as} food for your enemies; Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored."

Isa 62:9

But those who garner it will eat it and praise the LORD; And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.

My Bible opened up last night to this page. I started chewing on this passage and several things stood out to me:

1) The watchmen are appointed by the Lord. We were chosen for this assignment!

2) They were on duty 24/7

3) They were vocal, not silent. This encourages me to speak my prayers out loud, and share with the other watchmen.

4) What the watchmen speak is REMINDING THE LORD OF HIS PROMISES. Remember Lord, You have promised life, and life abundantly! Speak all of His promises over David!

5) It is the Lord who establishes--the answer to the prayer is being established. His end result is making sure David's life is secure and steadfast, not to be moved by circumstances or small changes or Dr's reports. And David's life will be a praise in all the earth, a testimony to God's power!

6) God's promise here is that the fruit for which Susan and David have labored will not be stolen by enemies, but they will get to enjoy its sweetness, and praise the Lord. And as we stand along side and labor with them, gathering the treasures that are theirs, we are keeping the enemy from stealing the treasures first. And as He promised, we will all drink and enjoy the wine in His presence, and praise Him!

***

A couple days ago as I was praying for David (which I do every time I feed, change, and hold my own newborn), I saw a picture of him as an old man! He was VERY old--on into his nineties, it seemed--and he had a cane. As I looked at the weathered stick, its straightness impressed me, and I felt like the Lord was saying that he will have a long, full, satisfying life, and that he will walk a straight path all the days of his life, never veering to the right or left; always straight ahead. I thought of all the verses about the commandments and law of the Lord, making his way perfect, blessing him with a long life, wisdom, strength, health, and all the things the Word of the Lord comes with.

David, you WILL have a long life, and you will follow and love the Word of God all the days of your long, prosperous life!

This Morning's Update

10:00 a.m.

David did so-so last night. They had to turn the nitric oxide back up a little bit, so they're starting to wean him again. He's back down to 4 right now.

His oxygen is in the 60s, and his blood pressure looks good.

They were able to take away one of his phytotherapy lights this morning. He still has some jaundice, but he was back up to two lights yesterday and down to one bilirubin light today.

They've increased his feeds to 15 ml today every 3 hours.

Exciting news! He was weighed last night and he's now heavier than his birthweight. He's now 2 lbs. 4 oz.

Today they're going to try to wean him off the nitric oxide, so that's the big deal and the main prayer focus today.

***

We still have a few open slots for the big prayer push from 4:30-7:00, so e-mail us if you'd like to commit to one of the 15-minute slots. We want to get David off this roller coaster and into some smooth sailing!

Prayer Gatherings

We got the go-ahead from Susan to begin praying at the hospital in the lobby on the first floor from 7-9 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays beginning this week. For the next week and a half, John will be busy with school and won't be able to get to the hospital as much, so if you can come and pray and visit with Susan for a bit, she would be deeply encouraged.

Please pass this on to anyone you know who loves the Langagers. Thank you for loving our dear friends!

The Women's Hospital at Centennial
2221 Murphy Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203
Telephone: (615) 342-1919

Driving Directions
From I-40: Take Exit #209 at Charlotte Avenue. Drive west on Charlotte Ave. (away from downtown), turn left onto 23rd Avenue North. Take a left onto Murphy Avenue. Turn left into Murphy Avenue Parking Garage. Visitor parking is designated on the first and second levels. Once you have parked your vehicle, proceed directly across the street to the Main Entrance of The Women's Hospital.

Parking Information
Free parking is available in the secured parking garage, across from the Main Entrance.

NOTE: If you get lost or need directions on the way, call Lori Todd at 496-8079. Go ahead and program this number into your phone if you don't know your way around downtown Nashville. She would be honored to be your own personal GPS as you make the trek to the hospital to pray for David.

Prayer Request

4:40 p.m.

Update and prayer request from Susan:

David's doing well. His blood gasses looked good again this afternoon, so they're going to try to wean him off the nitric oxide again; however, that's what they tried to do on Thursday when his stats plummeted. This is bittersweet news for Susan and John. Thursday night was so scary for them that they're requesting increased prayer coverage for the next 24 hours.

David's nitric oxide level is at 4 right now, and they're going to try to lower it 1 point every 6 hours, so it will take a while, but the next 24 hours are critical. Susan's not sure if they're going to leave it at 1 for a while or try to take him completely off, but she would love the increased prayer coverage.

Speaking of extra prayer coverage, Susan and John have noticed that David is particularly fussy and that his stats tend to drop from 4:30-7:00 p.m. with 5:15-6:00 p.m. being especially critical and hard for John and Susan because they have to leave at 6:00 for the shift change.

Since this is generally a busy time for people, we're looking for people to commit to 15 minutes of prayer devoted to David during the 4:30-7:00 p.m. window. We're also suggesting that you set an alarm (on your cell phone, for example) to remind you to pray. We want to focus in and pray until we see breakthrough. E-mail davidsdailyupdates@gmail.com if you're joining the 4:30-7:00 p.m. team.

David's bilirubin lights were turned off Friday morning and they were off yesterday, but the jaundice was back up, so the lights are back on today. While his mask was off, Susan's mom got to touch him. Susan's dad said that she's been floating around ever since.

Ready for some good news?

The doctor called David amazing yesterday.

As of 4:20 today, they weaned him off his TPN IV, which was his nutrient IV. He is now getting all of his nutrients from breastmilk; he's up to 13 ml every 3 hours and digesting it just fine. He's just on a saline IV to keep the line open.

His oxygen is in the 60s and his blood pressure readings are good.

He didn't have any x-rays yesterday or today and he's not scheduled for any tomorrow, so that will give him a little break.

Susan says David is "just beautiful" and his skin "feels like cashmere--it's softer than velvet." And she has more pictures to share soon!

Thank you so much for praying!

Notes from The Prayer Team

Here are a few notes from some of David's awesome prayer team:

Jack and I are believing in God’s ability to surpass that which we see with our eyes and take David into the realm of His creative miracles….We declare truth over his body, for abundant life!!!We love you John and Susan and look forward to hanging out with little –mighty-David!!! Peggy and Jack

I was reminded to pray for David last night and today's the first time I've looked at it in a few days, so now I know why God was tapping me on the shoulder. God bless! Christine

I am John's niece in Maryland and I can pray daily with a more focused prayer at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Our church group here in Maryland are also praying for them. And, I sent an e-mail to my husband's family in India who will be praying too...Juliana

I am praying daily, every time I think about them (which is often!) and specifically dedicating 9 p.m. to prayer for David. Laura

I am praying throughout the day and night. I have an eight week old that the Lord also has answered prayer for. Heidi

***
Want to share a specific prayer or encouraging testimony for David, Susan and John? E-mail davidsdailyupdates@gmail.com.

You can get updates and pictures e-mailed to you by following a few steps.

1) On the upper right-hand side of the website, enter your e-mail address.
Click on "Get email updates."

2) Another window will open to confirm that you're a real person.
Type in the numbers and letters in the box.
Click on "Subscribe me!"

3) Open up your e-mail and find the message from "Feedblitz."
Click where it says "Click here to activate your account"

You will automatically receive any new updates via e-mail.
The updates are e-mailed the next day.

To post updates, e-mail davidsdailyupdates@gmail.com
(this address is also on this website).

We'd like to have David covered in prayer 24/7,
so please let us know when you are committing to pray
as well as what city and state (or country) you're in.

Thank you so much for praying!

A Rough Night and some Sobering News

Susan left a message for me today at 10:45 a.m.

She said that last night David had a really rough time from 4:30 to at least 7:00. They let her stay in a little bit after 6:00 p.m. (during the shift change) and also let her come back early to get the update. (Remember that they're not supposed to be able to see David from 6-8, morning and night, during the shift changes).

They had tried to wean David off the nitric oxide last night. Normally, a baby's body will show signs of still needing it, but David's didn't and just kind of freaked out. His stats dropped, they couldn't get them up, and they had his oxygen up at 100%, so they turned the nitric oxide back on.

The nitric oxide keeps David's pulmonary vessels (the blood vessels going to his lungs and that whole area) expanded and helps blood and oxygen to flow through. His little body didn't want to be weaned off it yet; he still needed the nitric oxide.

They did a chest x-ray and there was room for his lungs to be expanded, so they turned up the oxygen, the nitric oxide, and the pressure and put him on his tummy. He did a lot better after that.

He was so unstable last night that they held off on his 5 p.m. feeding. Before that, his feeding amounts had increased. From 8 ml, he got 9 ml at 2 p.m., he was supposed to get 10 ml at 5 p.m., but they held off. They were, however, able to feed him 10 ml at 8 p.m. He has been getting 10 ml ever since. (When we started this blog, he was only taking 3 ml!)

Susan got to be with him last night. After she left, she called for an update at 9:45 p.m. and had a conversation with Dr. Palmer that was very sobering. He said a couple things that are eating away at her faith a little bit.

The doctor said, "You know, he's still a sick little boy. It's amazing that many babies have already declared horrible lung disease by now or their lungs have collapsed by now and David's haven't . . . He hasn't shown signs of pneumonia (yet) . . . It's hard because you call in and we tell you it's a good day, but it's a good day because he's still with us."

The doctor said they could try steroids to help his lungs develop and mentioned the potential risks involved, but that isn't something they normally try until babies are at least one month old.

The other thing that concerned Dr. Palmer was that any time they do little changes, it causes big changes in David, which is not good.

While she was talking to the doctor, they were able to get David's oxygen back down from 88 to 84. Dr. Palmer said he'd be happy with 80. The nitric oxide was back up at 10 last night and the plan was to slowly wean him down to 5 again.

That was last night.

This morning's assessment:

David's temperature is a little elevated at 99.7. They think it's because of the bed temp, so they're turning that down. Hopefully that will help.

He's on his back instead of tummy with no sedative, which is good. They're trying to change positions since his head is starting to develop a flat spot on the left side.

They got his pressure turned down to 9.0 and he had an x-ray today but Susan' didn't have the results yet.

His blood pressure reading was good at 39.

There was a bit more, but I lost it. I'm so sorry. The message was inadvertently deleted when my cell phone lost signal twice. Since I have to play each message multiple times to get all the details down, I have to be careful to hit 4 to repeat instead of 7 to delete. Also, I'm often interrupted by my sweet small children (although I try to do most of the writing when they're napping or in bed), calls coming in, phone signals dropping, etc.

Please pray for technological angels to war in the heavenlies on behalf of clear communication!

Yesterday's Update and Corrections

Yesterday at 10:30 a.m., there wasn't a whole lot to report, which is good, but I forgot that there was more to Susan's voice mail (besides the two corrections below), so I didn't get it until tonight. This is what was going on yesterday:

Good news: they were able to wean David down from 5 to 1 on the nitric oxide. His oxygen levels are still in the 60s. His blood pressure is looking good. There was no x-ray this morning. The doctor hadn't been on rounds when she got her update, so she didn't know if anything had changed (to be able to turn the lights off yet or not).

Two quick corrections to the "Encouragement and Praise" post:
Susan's parents didn't fly into Nashville; they drove. She was going to pick them up at their hotel.
David's not receiving nitris oxide--it's nitric oxide, which helps keep his blood vessels open.

Another Preemie Testimony

I was talking to my friend Bea last night who happens to have one ovary and was diagnosed with PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, which is a leading cause of infertility. She was told by her doctor that she would never have children. She also happens to know (and trust and believe) the God of the impossible. Three pregnancies and two children later, she is now pregnant for the fourth time.

Her firstborn came at 33 weeks. To encourage you, here is Bea's Mighty-God-story:

***

Thomas was the first baby I wasn't supposed to have. He was a gift granted to us by God after struggling on our own before seeking Him the way Hannah did. My OB at the time was so skittish about my condition and medication that I believe she stressed me into delivery on the first day of my 34th week. Thomas only had 33 completed weeks in utero. He was big for 34 weeks but had all the problems a preemie has--respiratory distress because of underdeveloped lungs, jaundice, etc. The respiratory therapists, doctors, and some of the nurses told us to just get comfortable because he would be there for those full remaining six weeks and probably more. They told us his growth and mental development would be stunted and not to expect much from him. We told them the same thing I told the doctor that said I'd never have children: "Our God is bigger than you. Thomas is healed in the Name of Jesus and for HIS glory."

We prayed by the minute as did everyone we knew. I fought back the tears while praying with every annoying grind of the motor of the breast pump. My husband prayed constantly through his work days. I finally got to hold my son when he was five days old for about ten minutes. His oxygen stats went down. He had to go back into the incubator. I was crushed but not defeated. I knew God would not give me this awesome child to train for Him and take him away immediately. I decided to remind God of His promise to give me a healthy baby to raise for Him. He heard me and answered.

Thomas was out of the hospital in 11 days. [EDITOR'S NOTE: 11 days! Not 6 weeks!] It was our 5th wedding anniversary. There couldn't have been a better gift. Now, a little over 4.5 years later, Thomas is in kindergarten a year early and almost reading at a second grade level. As for physical development, at 4 years he is 54 lbs and 49 in tall, the size of a 6-year-old. He is not overweight nor underweight. He is healthy. Those lingering lung problems are nonexistent. All of the warnings they gave us are just comedic fodder now. A couple of years ago we took him to the NICU reunion and no one recognized him. They asked which child was our relative, referring to the other children in the room. Right down to every nurse and the doctor, not one person believed that he had not been full-term or had ever spent a single day in the NICU. It was a glorious day for us and for God.

Please let them [the Langagers] know that we are praying for them nightly and additionally as God impresses us to pray.

Incubated in NICU

Going Home Day

October 2007 on a family hike in Peeler Park (Just for size reference, Thad is about 5'10" and Bea is 5'4")

No News is Good News

I got to see Susan this afternoon. She looked great, as usual. She and her mom were folding laundry at the RM house while her dad flirted with my one-year-old baby girl. At that point, she didn't have any new updates, which is good because that means David was stable.

I realized today that many of you don't know who is writing these updates. My name is Lori Todd, and I'm the wife of James and the work-at-home mommy of Judah (3) and Miriam (1). This is my gift to the Langagers and to you. Merry Christmas!

This is the most recent picture of my family (as soon as I have more pictures of David, I promise to post them!):

A Friend's Dream

This is a dream that a friend of Susan's had before she knew that David had been born prematurely. The thing that really stuck out to Susan is that preemies generally take two years to catch up developmentally and in the dream David was like a two-year-old. She believes this is a sign from the Lord that not only will David make it, but he will also catch up quickly and be a normal, healthy two-year-old all too soon.

11-28-07
Last night I had this dream: I was visiting Susan Kane in the hospital, and she had already had the baby prematurely. But it was so weird because he was like 2 years old. The cutest little blonde hair boy I've ever seen! He smiled all the time and he had a full set of teeth!! He even understood everything we said to him. I was confused because he was just born a couple days earlier, but he was the size and maturity of a 2 year old. Also, Susan said if you even touch his chest in a certain place, it could damage him. John was there too, hanging out with David. It was so precious to see them hanging out and playing together. Susan was in the hospital bed, so at one point, John and David went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. David took John's hand and walked by himself! They brought Susan back some bacon and eggs. I had brought her some food, but she didn't like it, and I was reminded of what a picky eater she is. :)

BEFORE & AFTER
To encourage you even more, here are before and after pictures of a friend's son who weighed 3 lbs. 9 oz. at birth. He was born at 31 weeks and stayed in the hospital for 5 weeks. The pictures below are from April and November 2007, repectively. She says, "I want her [Susan] to see that her David will be a big, healthy, chunk of a boy before she knows it." Amen!

Encouragement and Praise

Since we asked who is praying, we've had half a dozen people respond and another half a dozen subscribe to the e-mail updates. The Langager family is getting soaked in prayer. Thank you so, so much!

On the way to pick up her parents this afternoon from their hotel (they're here, which is awesome!), Susan left the following message about David's progress:

Yesterday they had to put him back on the bilirubin lights for jaundice, but he had 3 big poops yesterday, which helps get rid of jaundice. Today they were able to turn off one light, so he's down to one light and he's had 2 big poops today, so that's good.

Another encouragement today for Susan was that he was pretty stable yesterday with a bit of a rough night last night; however, today they had to put in a new holder for the ventilator in his mouth. Even though there's a lot of jostling around when that happens, they were able to keep his oxygen in the mid-60's, which is good (they've been having to turn it up to 100% and yesterday he was already at 100% before being weaned back down to the 60's--and that was without any added stimulation). What a victory! Yay, God!

He's still up at 9 on the oxygen pressure, and today they were reducing his nitric oxide, which is just another setting on the oxygen. Depending on how much he can handle, they're going to try to lower it by one point every 6 hours. It was at 5, they got it down to 4 today, and at 6 p.m. they were supposed to turn it to 3 to try to get down to 1, depending on what he can tolerate.

They had to give him a dose of lasix (?) today to get rid of excess fluid,
but he's peeing and pooping normally and healthfully, and that's really
good.

His blood pressure has been good. They took out the UVC line, the line in his umbilical cord, which they knew would have to come out at some point, and he's doing well.

Biggest Praise Report today for Susan:
The x-ray this morning showed that his lungs are still hazy, but no longer hyper-extended, or blown up too much. This is a direct answer to prayer! Please pray that his lungs will completely clear up.

James 5:16 (NIV)
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Who are the righteous?

Galatians 3:6 (NIV)
Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Do you believe God? Do you have faith in Him? Then, you are the righteous! Your prayers are powerful and effective!

We are believing God for every promise, every prophecy, every dream, every prayer--every word spoken over baby David. We are calling forth his destiny and purpose, speaking LIFE and HEALTH to his little body. Our God is not the God of the inevitable. Our God is the God of the impossible.

Mark 10:27 (NIV)
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

Luke 1:37 (AMP)
For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.

Are you praying?

Then we want to hear from you!

On the right-hand side of this blog, underneath the small list of specific prayer needs, is a list of intercessors: who is praying when and where. Seeing who is praying on a daily basis deeply encourages Susan and John. Seeing who is praying all over the country--and all over the world--creates a sense of community among the Body of Christ, the Bride.

Are you praying? What time do you usually pray during the day? What city and state (or country) do you live in? We want to add you to the list!

E-mail davidsdailyupdates@gmail.com and let us know when you're praying and where. Let's SHOW Susan and John our love and support!

This Morning's Report

He had a rough night last night. He had to skip his 8 p.m. feeding. They were able to give him his 11 p.m., skip the 2 p.m. and give him both the 5 and 8 a.m. feedings, which is GOOD news.

For most of the night they had him on 100% oxygen, which is kind of scary for Susan since they usually turn up the oxygen whenever they have to do something to him. If it's at 100%, they can't turn it up anymore. The day nurse today got it weaned down to 77%. They will keep trying to wean him down slowly.

This morning he had a big poopy diaper, which is good news. He also had x-rays on his lungs and tummy this morning, but Susan hasn't received the reports on those yet.

The day nurse told her today that there have been no changes to his feedings, which is good news, but he still needs a lot of prayer. Susan really wants to be able to touch him and talk to him. Please pray for him to be able to handle stimulation.

Keep exercising those faith muscles--we're running the race together and it's not a sprint!

Last Night's Report

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for David. He only had to skip three feedings, and his oxygen levels have been weaned down this morning. Yay, God!

Here's a praise report from yesterday:

David's bilirubin lights were turned off yesterday morning (Monday), which means his eye mask was removed. This is a VICTORY! John and Susan were able to personalize his isolette a bit by putting baby blankets up. They also plan to put up scriptures. If you have any words of encouragement, specific prayers, or healing scriptures to share, please e-mail them to Susan (or e-mail davidsdailyupdates@gmail.com).

John got there late last night to be with Susan and David, which was great because of all the difficult reports. He even went back to the RM house with Susan for a while and napped with her for an hour before going back home to prepare to work the next day.

Please pray for wisdom about how much time John needs to take off--this is John's first year teaching and he has a limited amount of paternity leave and wants to spend most of it at home with Susan and David when David is released.

The doctors rotate week by week, and this week David's doctor was calling him AMAZING. They have been amazed at how well he's done for so long.

At the same, time, David is really needing prayer. Susan said this morning (Tuesday, 9:30) that she can't talk to David or touch him because he can't handle any stimulus at all. You can imagine how difficult that must be on her. We need to pray for her to be strengthened and encouraged and full of faith as she navigates all the positive and negative reports.

Call to Prayer

Susan's update from 9:05 p.m. on Monday:

Please pray. David is having a rough night. He started out the day well this morning, but he's been sliding downhill. When she got back at 8:00 p.m.(remember shift changes are from 6-8 and she can't be there with him), they told her that it's what they expected, that the honeymoon period is over.

There was bile in his tummy, so they're stopping the feedings for now. He's not tolerating touch or stimulation. He usually handles touch pretty well, but he's been getting agitated during diaper changes and when they take his blood pressure.

His oxygen and pressure are back up, as well.

Susan would love to get more prayer coverage going. For those of you who are praying throughout the night, we hope you read this first so that you can pray specifically for the needs she mentioned.

Thank you so much for praying. Remember, we don't have because we don't ask. Let's all ask together and in agreement for God's promises to be fulfilled in David's life.

Sunday's Update, Dec. 2

We have three big praise reports to share today!

On Wednesday, Susan and John learned that one of the side-effects of the oscillator is that the outside of David's lungs (the aveoli) get fuzzier on the x-ray, but Wednesday's x-ray showed some expansion of his lungs, which is GOOD. When Susan called the NICU today (Sunday), they had turned down the pressure on his lungs because yesterday's and today's x-rays were CLEAR around the outer edges--not fuzzy! This is a direct answer to prayer!

His oxygen level is up from 39 to 50, but the pressure is down from 10 to 8, which means David is doing more of the work. That's the kind of news we like to hear.

The nitris oxide is at a 5, he's no longer on the dopamine, and his blood pressure readings were awesome: 34-35-36 mean. They don't want him to go below 25 on the sedative. It was down to 29 last night.

During the nights David is more agitated than during the day, so if you're up in the middle of the night PLEASE PRAY FOR DAVID!

Susan got to change his first poopy diaper today (the meconium tar kind--hard to forget those). He had a bowel movement early this morning between 5 and 6 a.m., smears throughout the day, and another little poopy diaper tonight that Susan got to change. He's consistently wetting diapers so his kidneys are functioning properly. We need to pray that he has a BM every day.

So, his aveoli look clear, he had a good poop, and the third thing to rejoice over is that the humidity level was turned down in his isolette because his
skin cells are looking so good. They're sloughing off and strengthening, becoming more like a newborn's so that he doesn't need as much humidity.

His bedding right now is a disposable hypoallergenic sheet since his skin is so hypersensitive and so new, but he will graduate to pillowcase bedding later this week. All good signs that baby David is developing as he should. Thank you for praying!

Tonight Susan met a lady whose baby was preparing to go home. She had been there for two months and Susan said they were looking at being there for three since David was born at 26 weeks. The lady said that her baby was born at 26 weeks, too, and was 2 lbs 1 oz when she was born (just like David), but after 8 weeks, they were headed home. The testimony of JESUS is the spirit of prophecy: we pray that John and Susan will get to take baby David home early, too!