Alone on a log?

Yesterday a friend emailed me a story about what Native Americans used to do to determine the right of passage to manhood. They would take a boy into the wilderness, blindfold him, and sit him on a log all night. If he removed his blindfold, he did not pass the test and was not considered a man. Imagine the noises he could hear and the fear he would have throughout the night. Surely there were beasts all around, but to pass the manhood test, the boy had to stay put and ignore his instinct to run.

As the morning sun hit the young man's blindfold, it was his cue to remove it. It was at that time that he realized why no wild beasts attacked him for there, sitting next to him on the log, was his father who had protected him all night.

God is just like that -- protecting us even when we think we're on our own. Karl can certainly bear witness to that fact, and I believe our trip to Minnesota this time offers even more proof.

Take today, for instance. Karl's heart rate was still a little higher and his blood pressure a little lower than normal. Teresa, the Physician's Assistant this weekend, was concerned about it and kept careful watch over it. It dawned on her overnight that he probably needed more prednazone because he was fighting some sort of infection or irritation. She doubled the dose and bingo, his heart rate dropped and blood pressure came back up.

She immediately asked for a consult with the endocrine docs. A short time later Dr. Stan and Dr. Norman came in and began quizzing Karl about various things, such as the color of his skin and scars along with his medical history. They said sometimes the pituitary gland will communicate his adrenal glands, causing them kick-start. When this happens, the chemical they send turns scars and skin darker. They did not suspect this happened, so they will concentrate more on the pituitary gland, but not until after Karl's wounds are healed and his infection is gone. They will then do a complete work-up on his endocrine system to make sure he has the right levels of medication. This will certainly help him in the long run.

Something we learned today but were not surprised about is the fact that Karl has the beginnings of a MRSA infection deep inside his wound. They told us in ICU on Thursday MRSA was likely, which is why they were giving him two different antibiotics. Of course we are very concerned because this infection is resistant to antibiotics, but Karl's nurse, Lindsy, said it was not uncommon and as soon as they identified the bug, they would be able to treat it.

Tomorrow will certainly bring a lot of answers. We should know the results of the biopsy. We may know what course of action they plan to take in terms of surgery. The fears we are now experiencing about what comes next will be replaced with new fears. But one thing that continues to comfort us is knowing that God sent Karl here. And we also know He's sitting on the log right next to him.