Roller Coaster

We have been told that this journey would be a roller coaster, many health care professionals as well as people who have gone through a similar journey as well.  

I googled roller coasters to gather a definition to help convey the roller coaster we have been on the last 3 weeks...one google point described it as ---"Going from the bottom to the top of a wave and then back down." and "anything characterized by abrupt and extreme changes, especially up and down"  and lastly "When your emotions go up and down like a roller coaster. For example, you keep slipping in between happiness and sadness"

Whitney has been holding on and fighting. We are optimistic she will continue to climb up this steep mountain...she had made it at least 1/4 of the way before she fell back down again. I believe through the power of prayer and with God's healing hands she will get back up the mountain. We are taking it one day at a time again. Waiting on God to heal Whitney. I believe with my whole heart that Whitney will be healed, but in my human way want so desperately to just see her better now...and am trying to bargain with God. I hear the words "Whitney will be healed, but in My time" constantly...I hope and pray those are God's words to me and not me saying them to myself. Anyone who has gone through something this tough can understand the conversations in the mind, the heart and with Christ.

Pray for our peace as a family and for endurance. The heatlh care professionals aren't uplifting at all and Satan is finding many joy stealer's to do his work! Thank you for the encouraging words, uplifting prayers and the constant reminders that God is with us and God is in control!

With eager hearts,
Whit's Sisters

Acts of Compassion

In the last few days some real encouraging "stuff" has been happening...Whitney's numbers improved as reported on Sunday and we are still riding that same wave. She hasn't really moved from those numbers yet, however the encouraging part of all of this is how much we have learned to TRUST. For us we have learned the intricate details of the stats, numbers and the ups and downs of it all, but more importantly we have learned to trust. God has been quieting our hearts and asking us to just listen, breath and wait. And that is all we are doing right now...and praying.

The word compassion has been bumping around in my head all day. I hear it loud and clear in songs, in verses, in text messages from friends and family...Compassion----"Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it."

We sooooo feel your compassion. It doesn't take much to encourage us and we get lots of calls, texts and cards and they are so encouraging. We even have people in to talk with us or better yet pray over Whitney! These acts of compassion fuel us and keep us encouraged and keep our focus on Christ and how much he loves us. It is wonderful to receive hugs and even kisses...and for those of you who know me personally you know I am not so touchy feely, but it feels so wonderful to be cared for. We can't do this on our own, we need our friends and family to love with us, pray with us and we know you are standing in the gap for us.  

It is truly a miracle that Whitney hasn't gone septic, had a hole(s) put into her lungs with the big ventilator, had kidney failure or any organ failure at that. It is a miracle that she just has pneumonia and H1N1, which she continues to fight fight fight! Her body is working and getting rid of this virus as quick as she can, she is tolerating all the movement and changes they do to her daily and sometimes a few times a day. She is building up the strength to get onto the conventional ventilator. Our prayers are still for that! She is still sedated, paralyzed and on a lot of meds and with this new ventilator some of that will change and we should be able to talk to her again very soon. This conventional ventilator used at a certain level will allow us to speak to her, she will undergo a Tracheotomy---"consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea. The resulting stoma can serve independently as an  airway or as a site for a tracheotomy tube to be inserted; this tube allows a person to breathe without the use of his or her nose or mouth." This sounds horrific, but in reality the machine she is on is far worse for her...baby steps all the way and praying she continues to take them!

We trust and we know our God loves us and He love Whitney too!

With eager hearts,
Whit's Sisters

Whitney Whitehead Donation Account

Hi Friends and Family~
For those who are interested in helping us with Whitney's medical journey - a fund has been set up to assist with the mounting medical expenses. You can donate at any Whatcom Educational Credit Union (WECU) with this number #298377
Thank You!

Why? For what reason?

This day was peaceful, even before we all woke. With the heaviness behind us, we all went about this day with a peaceful, optimistic and trusting walk. When mom arrived to the hospital this morning we got some good good news. Whitney had a great night last night and went through the day with some great numbers, she is even more closer then she has been to getting on the new ventilator! Thank you Jesus for your blessings!

It is hard to really explain what a ICU waiting room does to people and how complete strangers, who maybe are believers or maybe aren't have a common bond and can feel each others deep pain. We all have different circumstances that bring us to the ICU waiting room, but in the end they know some of your deepest hurts, see your biggest fears and for that you cant change that relationship. We have been able to develop special relationships with some very special people.

The common conversation that comes up in the quietness of this room is Why? For what reason? Interesting enough many families we have had the pleasure of meeting have had some very deep and heartfelt conversations with us and us with them. Some have been fellow believers. To share our joys and pains has been more of a journey we weren't even prepared for. We have come to cherish the ups for other patients and their family members and feel the gut wrenching pain when someone loses someone as well.

I have over analyzed many reasons for why this has happened and I can't help but be reminded of the Father we know and how blessed we are and how miraculous His love is for us and oh, how much His glory is being seen by so many people, those who walk with Christ and those who don't.

If my sister has do go through this brutal illness to see a few more souls in heaven...then so be it. Right? Isn't that what it is all about? I know my sister will be healed, I know God will be the one to do it, but if someone can be saved through her story of survival and miraculous healing then it is all worth it, including the ups and downs and the pain we her family are going through.

I will never be able to convey how healing our God is more then you seeing how healing our God is. He is mighty to save! He is alive in us! May Whitney's story and how amazing it is be a constant reminder of how great and mighty our God is and how much He loves us, He loves us so much that He sent his son to die for us...so we will be free, live a life in eternity, how cool is that! How amazing is that!

Thank you for your continued prayers and the continual support!

With eager hearts,
Whit's Sisters

Heavy----continued

Last night as I typed out the words to "Heavy" it almost didn't even feel complete, I was so tired and spent on the events of the day, but due to my ocd sort of way, I had to blog...I post every other day and I had to do it...as the words flowed out of me, parts didn't feel even worth mentioning...my husband even commented on how honest it was...I dragged myself to bed...my feet and legs were so heavy and my feet were even swollen...as I woke this morning I knew I hadn't just felt a heaviness in my soul, I had physically felt it yesterday and it had physically made me tired and more weaker then all the days prior. God was sooooooo showing me how much I need Him and how much I need to give Him everything...EVERYTHING, nothing less. Man I can be so stubborn.

Today my mom read me the devotional from Jesus Calling----"Waiting on Me means directing your attention to Me in hopeful anticipation of what I will do. It entails trusting Me with every fiber of your being, instead of trying to figure things out yourself. Waiting on Me is the way I designed you to live: all day, every day. I created you to stay conscious of Me as you go about your daily duties. I have promised many blessings to those who wait on Me: renewed strength, living above one's circumstances, resurgence of hope, awareness of My continual Presence. Waiting on Me enables you to glorify Me by living in deep dependence on Me, ready to do My will. It also helps you to enjoy Me; in My Presence is fullness of Joy."

I could hear Jesus speaking to me as well with a little Third Day----Revelation----Come On Let Me Love You

Yesterday you found your heart was broken
Tomorrow doesn't leave much room for hope
Today you found in my arms are wide open
My heart is full of love

Come on let Me love you now
Come on let Me love you
And hold you through the storm
I will keep you safe and warm
Come on let Me love you now
Come on let Me love you and kiss away your tears
I will always be here
Come on let Me love you

These words spoke volumes to my heart. Today my family and I are going to walk with certainty that God is in control, He is taking care of Whitney and we will be waiting on Him the great Physician, our Lord, our Savior and our Healer!

Amen

Heavy

As I sit hear eager to tell you all about the news of the evening and how uplifting it is, I feel like a heaviness was on me today. My mom had said the exact same words to me as well today. I know as I type these words why my day was so heavy and I know I needed to ask Jesus to take these heavy heavy burdens from me, but for some reason I was feeling too weak to just ask and honestly I didn’t want to even let them go. My heart aches for Whitney to be healed, it all feels so surreal still. We have gone through a lot of tough stuff in our family and losing Dad was extremely hard and I didn’t think that pain could be topped, but seeing your sister hooked up to machines and waiting on the Lord to heal her has been a bigger heart ache then we were ever prepared for. We remain optimistic and eager to see when and how God heals Whit.

Whitney has been riding the waves, not making any splashes good and not good in days…that should feel encouraging right? Whitney is still on the biggest, baddest ventilator and they are slowly lowering her off the paralyzing meds and sedation meds. She has made miles of improvement over the last two weeks, but in order for her to get anywhere she needs to get off this ventilator. Our prayers are still for her numbers to get to where they need to be so they can get her on a better and less invasive ventilator, one that works with her breathing more.

This is the uplifting news to report…one of Whit’s doctors has pushed and got Whit approved to take a new drug that is 70-90% effective for fighting this nasty illness. It isn’t FDA approved in liquid form, but it’s powder form is. Mom was very educated by the doctor and we are praying that this drug is what Whitney needs to have for a full recovery.

This drug is in transport right now, flying somewhere over the deep blue and should arrive by morning. Praying the meds work and her numbers start to come down to where they need to be and we turn a corner! Our hearts need a little pick-me up!

Thank you for your continued prayers and comforting words. We appreciate all the love that we have been given. Say some extra prayers for the achy hearts we have been feeling today! There has been an account set up at all Whatcom Educational Credit Unions for anyone wanting to contribute to the expenses during this time...it is under Whitney Whitehead Donation Account. Thank you again for all the support and prayers for our family.

13 days---321 hours---18,720 minutes

Time stands still on the third floor in ICU waiting…you are in another world up there. Hours and hours, days upon days seem to be lost…literally. It is day # 13 for Whitney. She has made some baby steps and the doctors are finally feeling encouraged by this…we have been abundantly encouraged by the small steps all along, but it feels even more of a momentous event when the doctors feel encouraged…it gets mentally exhausting to hear the words “she is really really sick” and “we have done all we can” so often.

In the last two days our nursing staff and doctors have made more of a impact with us for the better and even when all our prayers are focused on Whitney and for her healing, God still hears the cries of our hearts. He blesses us with a great night nurse. A parking spot you can find right away rather then 20 minutes later… I know this sounds very silly, but time is precious, even though it doesn’t move very fast on the third floor. I can very much see God’s hands all over, even in these small details. I have never seen God more in my entire life. My prayers are simple, in fact I don’t even form sentences anymore…all I say is words like--- heal, save, give, need, please…In fact I don’t even pray for anything other then my sister anymore. 

Satan continues to send joy stealers to steal our joy, but we keep sending him back to where he came from. We are so aware of how Satan is trying to destroy our spirits and take away our joy.

We are continuing to pray specifically for Whitney to accept the new ventilator; she needs to be on this new one…like yesterday. The ventilator with every day she is on it, is very harmful to her lungs and even though it is giving her life it is also causing a lot of damage. We are praying her “numbers” get to the right place for them to try again and she finally accepts it. This step is so critical to her healing and taking any more baby steps. She really can’t go anywhere else without being on this new ventilator. Your continued prayers for her healing are very appreciated, thank you for your diligence and specific prayers for Whitney. We are enthralled with the overwhelming response to our family’s needs and the enormous support given. Many Blessings!

With eager hearts,

Whit’s Sisters

"What does that mean?"

“What does that mean?”

That is a popular question today…

My mom and us girls have had a real education about medicines, ventilators, blood pressure, feeding tubes and everything hooked up to Whit. Sometimes when we reply to a message or you see something on facebook you don’t always understand fully what we are talking about. I thought maybe a few descriptions and visual aides would help you all to understand what is happening with Whitney.

Whitney is stable right now, which means her numbers---blood pressure, sedation, blood gas, fluids, etc. are where the doctors and nurses feel it is best right now. She is still maintaining a ventilator number of about 70%, which means she is breathing 30% on her own and the vent is doing the rest. It doesn’t sound like a great number, but when you pair it with all the other things hooked up to her and they are stable, it means she is doing well. Whitney’s numbers last week were about the same, but as they moved her in her bed, did her breathing treatments and gave her meds, she would crash (where her numbers would go down and she is back up to 100% on the vent) every time… we had too many doctor conversations that ended with “we have done all we can”…those words are very daunting and hopeless and mixed with ups and downs from stable to unstable…it was feeling very very troublesome.

Whitney has been moved in her bed, had meds changed up and had her sheets/bed changed in the last two days and she hasn’t had a crash yet. She bounces back and or doesn’t even change when they do move her, change meds and change her sheets. Those are the baby steps she has taken, and I only mean it metaphorically…she is not able to walk or talk. Whitney is still on the ventilator, which means she isn’t able to speak, she is paralyzed and is heavily sedated. They need her to be in that state so she doesn’t remove her feeding and ventilator tubes.

There are lots of tubes, medicines, blinking lights and procedures happening to her daily, hourly and nearly every minute…however with all the medical “stuff” happening to her, we know one thing is clear. Our God is the one healing her and sustaining her life right now. We know that God has a clear design for what is happening with Whitney and we are faithful to see Him through. We have complete trust in Him and therefore we have complete trust in Whitney’s doctors and nurses. We are overwhelmed with the response to pray for Whitney and are overjoyed with how many loyal Christ followers have lifted our family up in prayer. We so appreciate the diligence and continued prayers for Whitney’s healing.

With eager hearts,

Whit’s Sisters

The JOY of the Lord is your STRENGTH

In the last 24 hours we have found JOY...Whitney remains critical, she is still at the bottom of the hill, but our joy, hope and everything we have is found in Christ and the peace He gives us. We have had an outpouring of love and support, so many prayers spoken over Whitney and our family. The ICU waiting room is bursting with laughter and smiles. A few days ago, we didn't have a tear left in us. What has changed? We have found something that a lot of people crave and never find and we found it in the midst of sorrow and pain...  Nehemiah 8:10 says, "The JOY of the Lord is your STRENGTH" and that abundantly applies to us today.

With all the joy, prayers, wonderful people coming into the hospital and praying, feeding us and just being there to support us...there has also been some joy stealer's along the road this week. A wise friend of ours said something I just knew came from Jesus the moment she said it...she said " Satan senses a Victory and will pull out all the stops to steal our Joy" I felt like saying duh! Wow, that rocked my thoughts and Satan will not steal my joy any longer!

I found this today and it so applies to what we have learned today..."So, I encourage you, don't let the devil defeat you by stealing your joy. Remember, that when you have no joy, you have no strength, and that's when Satan can come in and rob you of everything you have. Satan has no refuge when JOY is present. THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!" - Dr. Jerry Savelle

Whitney needs us to be strong, to have joy so we may have strength! Thank you for your prayers, we are continuing to pray that she accepts the new ventilator when it is time for them to try again. We are also praying her numbers start coming up and she starts taking some baby steps up this mountain. We are very blessed to have so many churches and people praying for our family. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Perspective----a way of regarding situations, facts, etc, and judging their relative importance

Perspective is a great way to express what the last week has been like for Whit's family, friends and faithful prayer warriors!

This week has taught us a lot about perspective...I never really understood what a ventilator did or really what it is...last week, had someone told me "so and so was on that machine" I would have not really grasped what it is or how the machine even worked.

A ventilator, and this definition only will give you a better understanding for what is happening with Whitney...

... uses pressure to blow air or a mixture of gases (like oxygen and air) into the lungs. This pressure is known as positive pressure. You usually exhale (breathe out) the air on your own, but sometimes the ventilator does this for you too. A ventilator can be set to "breathe" a set number of times a minute. Sometimes it's set so that you can trigger the machine to blow air into your lungs. But, if you fail to trigger it within a certain amount of time, the machine automatically blows air to keep you breathing.

Right now the night before her nearly week long stay, she is 100% on this Ventilator, meaning she isn't able to trigger it herself and it is blowing 100% oxygen into her lungs, she has gone as far down as 55% and then gone back up to 100% over this last week. Her week has been a roller coaster ride, baby steps of progress one day to back at the bottom of the hill the next.

It has been an emotional week, but with all the emotion and bumps in the road our perspective of life, choices and what we normally take for granted have changed.

Whitney will have a huge mountain to climb and I am confident she will make the climb to the top! The prayers and loving support have been beyond a blessing to all of us. We thank you for praying and then praying even harder!

Whitney is a fighter and she is fighting very very hard! Please keep my mom in your prayers as this day along with so many more to come have been very difficult. We are praying for a miracle and know only Jesus can grant it. God's plans don't change just because we don't like what is happening. We believe nothing just happens for no reason at all, we know Christ has a purpose and we lean on Christ to show us the way.

With eager hearts,
Whit's Sisters