It has been a comfort to walk down the hall and check our Carepages on the high speed internet access available here at the hospital, and to see that he is being lifted up by so many who already care about him, and us. It is so wonderful to be here at the hospital, and be so near to Drew. Right now the head nurse is again attempting to put in an arterial line, that will enable them to constantly monitor his blood pressure, as well as having easy access to his blood when they need some for tests. They have already tried 3-4 times without much success. His vital signs remain not quite right, but stable. The doctor indicated to us that time is what we need. The longer he can hang on, the more time they will have to get test results back, and to help stabilize his out of control vitals. So pray that his tiny body will have the continued strength to breath, and his heart to beat. In the middle of the helpless dark night of despair that we went through this afternoon, my hearts cry was that God get the glory out of this (my heart would usually add the postscript that I would like God's glory to be manifested by Drew miraculously being suddenly well and stable, of course) and in the middle of all this, that is really what seems to be important. When everything crumbles around me, His love remains strong and steady. It is wonderful.

I, Gracie, just talked with the doctor on call a little bit ago and he seems a little relieved that Drew seems to be stable for now. His heart rythm is still abnormal, but his blood pressure has remained stable through it all and his kidneys are functioning properly, both good signs that he is being able to pump blood where it needs to go. He is in the process of receiving a second blood transfusion and is also considerably calmer than he was earlier. Of course, he is on a lot of drugs that have that effect, but it is nice to see his body at rest instead of striving and obviously in pain. His eyes are remaining open alot, but it's hard to tell if he is really seeing us. So we've been talking, singing, and praying over him, letting him hear our voices and know we are here. What a helpless feeling when I just want to cuddle him up in my arms and let him really feel my presence. So I just pray he will feel God's presence when we aren't able to be.

Wow, what a continual process of handing him over to God! We are getting some early lessons in parenting, knowing if we make it through this crisis, it won't stop here. But it was a comfort to leave the hospital, get some coffee, and look up at the moon and stars, realizing that the God who created all of that is holding our little son. We are so thankful for these doctors and all that they can do, but ultimately his life is in God's hands. Oh, that we may learn to completely trust His ways. They sure are beyond our understanding.

We have a wonderful nurse tonight. She has a personal interest in our little guy because her son is also Andrew Clark. She has been very comforting and reassuring...even coming over to hug and hold me when I was losing it. She really seems to know what she is doing which is a comfort to us.

Thank you again for all the notes and prayers. We feel upheld.

David here. We are ensconced in the hospital for the night, and are glad to be here with tiny Drewbaby. Drew continues to plague us with his irregular heart beats, weak vital signs and such. He has brought us several times today to the point of emotional exhaustion. He is in for a darn good spanking, anyway. His bottom is still really to small to get a good spank in, so I will have to wait. We have given him stern instructions to be a good little NICU patient and stop trying to ruin our lives and eat all the steak. GOSH! I write that, and laugh, but my heart is hurting tonight for our tiny little boy. His life is really hanging in the balance. So many things went wrong today in the space of just a few hours, and the doctors looked so intense as they worked over him, and so concerned as they talked to us about what was going on (they don't really know) that Gracie and I have come to the point of having to once again tell God that our children are His to do with what he will. My heart is numbed with the thought of being without our Drewbaby. I don't feel like I have the emotional strength to hope for the best right now, when the doctors eyes are preparing us for the worst. Gracie and I cling tight to each other and know that whatever may come, Drew will be alright one way or Another, and we will just have to love each other more.

PLEASE PRAY!! Drew is still struggling. The doctors think he has meningitis due to the amount of white blood cells in his spinal fluid. They are treating that and hope he will improve. However, a little bit ago he started having an abmornal heartbeat which concerns the doctors greatly. I guess it is in response to the infection in his system. The doctor told us that this could be a sign that he is headed in the wrong direction and could even possibly be fatal. This is the first time that word has been used for his case and you can imagine our feelings at this time. Please pray for our little guy, for God's miraculous touch on his tiny body. And please pray for emotional and physical strength for us. This is an exhausting time. Thank you.

Thanks for all the prayers and please keep on praying! Drew is still having a crisis and we still don't have many answers. They did a spinal tap today and are awaiting results. While we were standing there talking to one of the doctors about it, Drew's heart rate dropped, then skyrocketed. As things progressed, more and more people came into the room and over an hour later, there are still several by his bed doing some procedure. They have reinserted the tube into his lungs to breathe for him, they have him sedated, and they have administered the strongest antibiotics...it looks too much like an infection. Because of his heart issues, they are trying to take all the stress off of him so they can deal with his other issues. We are still awaiting more results so we can have a better idea of what is really going on. We covet your prayers. It has been a really stressful 24 hours for us, and it's not over yet. It is so nice to know so many are holding Drew up in their prayers!

We would greatly appreciate your prayers for our little Drew. Yesterday he started on a downhill slide and we are still awaiting some answers as to what is going on.

His bilirubin was way down yesterday, so they took him off of the phototherapy. But he had some spitting up episodes that have caused slowed heart rate and breathing (both of which are common for preemies). Yesterday as we held him, we could tell he wasn't feeling well. He was crying a lot (we've never heard him cry so much!) and flailing his arms and legs, obviously uncomfortable. We've gotten used to all the monitors going off, but it was stressful because it was obvious something wasn't right. He was pale, his temperature was higher than normal and his iron level was down.

Last night when we visited, he was pale and listless. A "work-up" had been done on his urine and blood, testing for possible causes of his illness. The white blood cell count came back fine, but the cultures will take a couple of days. They started him on antibiotics to stay ahead of possible infection.

Then around midnight last night, we got a phone call asking for consent to do a blood transfusion. I couldn't believe he was that bad off. We woke up again around 3am and called the hospital to see how he was doing. He had received the blood transfusion, his temp was down and he had pinked up some.

This morning we are at the hospital awaiting the doctors' rounds. We want some more info (if they have it) as to what they think is going on. It is stressful to be at his bedside and see him so uncomfortable. I wish there was something more that I could do. Holding him yesterday, I started realizing what it's like to be a mom. He is not in my hands, he is in God's. And this is just the very first of many more years of mothering moments like these!

We appreciate your prayers so much and will keep you updated as we find out more.

Drew is still coming along well. We had a minor setback yesterday when he was placed back on the bilirubin light, but they think that the return of a higher level is only due to breast milk, which is common for all babies.

Then today when I (Gracie) went in to see him, he was completely breathing on his own! It was pretty short lived...only about 3 hours before they decided to put him back on low levels of oxygen. But it is a start at least. It was pretty exciting to see his whole face without a tube running across it. Hopefully soon he'll be able to be off of it completely!

Dave was able to attend a coffee brewing lab today. He was pretty excited about learning more of the trade he loves. After all, it's what brought us to Chapel Hill a couple of weeks ago. I guess it's only appropriate that he continue his education during our stay. :)

I located a local Creative Memories consultant so I could get some supplies to start on Drew's baby album. I've been struggling with the fact that he still doesn't seem like he's ours yet. It feels like he belongs to the hospital and we just get to visit. So I think starting an album will help in all of the processing I have left to do.

In some ways the past 2 weeks have flown, and in others, it seems like we'll be here forever before we can take our little son home with us. I know it will be over before we know it...and looking forward to that day!