Prayers requested for a friend

Hey, all! Ground-breaking news - I'm posting for the 2nd day in a row! I know, as soon as you pick yourself up off the floor, you'll keep reading with eagerness.


Would you all please pray for my friend R and her 2-month old baby J who is in the ICU with RSV (Respiratory Syncitial Virus), which, if you don't know about it, is a very common virus that causes most people to have a cold. But for some children, especially small babies and children with respiratory problems, like asthma, RSV can be life-threatening. It can cause bronchiolitis, which is an inflammation of the bronchioles in the lungs, which can cause extreme difficulty in breathing. Several years back, the daughter of one of my BFF's was hospitalized with RSV for 11 days, and indeed, she did almost die. So, now everyone in our circles knows how serious RSV can be. This means that my friend R also knows how serious this can be and if very worried about her little baby boy. But he is stable. And, being a breastfed, chubby and otherwise healthy little baby leads me to be very confident that he will recover just fine. He just needs the extra help of forced oxygen and the watchful eye of the ICU staff at this point while his little body battles the RSV.


I was at the hospital for a good chunk of the day yesterday so my friend could get some rest, get a shower and make phone calls (her husband is currently driving back from California, which obviously adds to the stress of the situation). During the time I was there, J's nurse was on the scene regularly and the respiratory therapist and attending physician made appearances only one time. And while it seemed to me that they all essentially said the same thing, my friend was visibly distraught by the doctor telling her that her baby would have to be on high-flow oxygen for at least another 24 hours. However, when the nurse came in and said basically the same thing, my friend was much more encouraged because the nurse was able to communicate that her experience with babies over 20 years made her believe that J would turn the corner and improve soon.


Did you ever realize how easy it is to walk into a situation like this and offer support and an encouraging word. I am quite confident that this little baby will improve over the next few days, and in no time, he'll be home and as good new. I can look into my friend's face and say, "don't worry, he'll be OK." But it's never as easy to receive that kind of encouragement as it is to give it. And it makes a difference when you receive that kind of encouragement from someone who's been there. I pray that I will become a better encourager and help people to truly have hope. Sounds kind of ironic for someone who struggles with depression, hey???


Please pray for my friend's peace and the quick recovery of her chubby, beautiful boy.