The Artisan Post

A few days ago our grandson, Asher, 11 months old, son of Dathan and Katrina, was admitted to hospital due to a life-threatening decline in his health.

Many people have come to know about this, many people are praying for him, and many people are asking for updates. It was decided to make updates via my blog.

These will be updates directly from Dathan and Katrina. Here is a first post for October 6, sharing the journey so far:

“Hi everyone, thank you for caring for us from afar. It’s overwhelming, comforting, and humbling to know that there are church family all over the world bringing us before the throne of grace.

While some of you have received regular updates, others haven’t. So here’s how it all began.

What started as a regular day on Friday turned into our worst nightmare on Saturday. Asher became unwell just after lunch on Friday (Oct 3rd). At the time it just seemed like the ordinary stomach bug. He was keeping much down, just small portions and water. He was tired and unhappy, as anyone is with the stomach flu!

Things took a turn at 5:30 Saturday morning. He was extremely tired and lethargic, head was hot, and had more trouble breathing. At this point, we decided to take him to Boundary Trail Hospital. Thank the Lord we did! His eyes were rolling, and his colour worsening. In triage, he passed out and was rushed in.

They immediately gave him oxygen and some fluid. At about 8:00 in the morning his heart stopped and he went into Cardiac Arrest. It was the longest 5-10 minutes of our life. To see medical stuff doing compressions on your baby is the worst sight any parent could see. At that point we thought we lost him, but God spared his life.

The medical staff stabilized him enough for transfer, and he was moved to Winnipeg Children’s Hospital at 12.30pm. When he got to hospital there was flurry of activity with little change. At one point the Doctor took us aside and said, “Is there family who need to be here, because he may not make it.” But the God who gives life, breath and everything, sustained his life.

As of Oct 6th, they are still unsure what has caused this rapid deterioration of his health. Currently, he is on a ventilator and his condition is “critically stable” as opposed to “very critical.” They have done a CT scan, ultrasound which has ruled out a couple possible causes, but it’s still hard to say. Depending on Asher’s health, they plan to do an MRI later this week.

And so we wait. Wait for results, wait on God’s leading. The words of 2 Chronicales 20.12, comes to mind, “[Lord], we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” He has shown his goodness and nearness in this very difficult time.

Prayer points:
Wisdom for the Doctors as they determine a prognosis and diagnosis.
That the blood work results will give some obvious answers
Continued peace and patience as we wait, and comfort no matter the outcome.
Good sleeps – for all of us
That the swelling in his body would lessen
That he would be able to breath on his own soon
A prayer for his curious older brother – Elias”