Have you noticed that tubes are nature’s primary vehicle for sustaining life?  If you step back from observing the prominence of squares, circles, triangles, and cones, you will notice the overwhelming number of cylinder shapes we depend on daily.  For example, the majority of our oxygen is produced by trees outfitted with tubular trunks and branches.  The oxygen then enters our lungs through tubular bronchioles.  From here, life travels through our blood stream on an expressway of tubular veins and ignites the ability of our organs to properly utilize tubular ventricles, arteries, and cords.  Tubes are literally everywhere!  From the stem of a flower to the vessels on a leaf, tubes are an indispensable aspect of survival on Earth.  And no one knows this better than Jesher.

It has been fascinating to observe how pivotal tubes have been to our son’s survival.  From the moment I first saw my son, he was inundated with pliable cylinders.  He was intubated with a breathing tube.  He had an ‘IV’ in his right hand, and another in his left foot.  He had a PICC line in his stomach, and an NG [nasogastric] feeding tube in his noes (not to mention the fact that the machines connected to my son were also sustained by a network of their own tubes).  I couldn’t even make out what my son looked like; there were just too many cords, hoses, pipelines, and catheters!  And yet, I can admit; our son needed every single one of those tubes to survive—which makes this upcoming observation the most fascinating of them all: Where Jesher needed dozens of tubes outside of the womb, he only needed one tube inside of the womb. 

Over the last three months, Jesher has depended on yards of tubing; however, in contrast to Jesher’s extended hospital stay, he only needed one supporting tube while in his mother’s tummy.  Where the womb uses one cord to feed, to oxygenate, to transfuse, and to inoculate a fetus, medical technology still requires a hand-full (if not dozens) of tubes to yield less efficient—although often successful–results.  Where Jesher’s ventilator required a half dozen tubes to connect him to life-support, Lhorraine’s body only needed a two-foot cord (connected from her stomach to Jesher’s naval) to accomplish the same task.  It is a mind-boggling consideration to entertain.  How can one, cellular-constructed umbilical cord provide all the support that it takes dozens of manufactured cords to provide?  Thus far, I have managed to consolidate the answer into a simple, seventeen letter explanation—intelligent design.

I am grateful for the medical advances that have aided our son’s recovery, but gratitude has not blinded me to the vast gap between the work of human hands and the work of the divine hand.  There is a difference.  Even our best efforts—the most advanced expressions of human creativity and ingenuity—cannot match the timeless efficiency of the divine fingerprint.  Yes, the depression of our son’s uphill battle has caused me to question God’s love and God’s will, but I haven’t been able to question God’s existence.  How can I?  I’ve been surrounded by too much evidence!  Simply put, every artist has a calling card, a characteristic that consistently shows up in his or her work, and I think I’ve discovered the signature, repeating quality within our designer’s work on planet Earth.  The Creator loves tubes!

Here is Jesher’s current medical report:

NO MORE TUBES–Jesher is now tube free!  For the first time in his life, his body is free from all tubular aids.  Jesher is now eating all of his meals from a bottle, so his final tube, the NG [nasogastric] feeding tube, was removed on Thursday.  We now look into a beautiful face void of obstructions.  Our little man is so handsome, and we are so happy that he is no longer being nourished by ‘IV,’ ventilator, cannula, or feeding-tube.  PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAISING YAHWEH FOR DELIVERING OUR SON FROM NEEDING TUBE ASSISTANCE…PLEASE THANK THE LORD FOR HEARING OUR PRAYERS AND DOING MORE THAN MANY OF JESHER’S CAREGIVERS THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN!

BREASTFEEDING–Lhorraine was cleared to breast-feed Jesher!  As I shared in a previous post, we were told that Jesher would probably not be able to breastfeed; however, we asked you all to pray that God would allow Jesher and Lhorraine to bond with each other in this manner.  Yahweh answered our prayers!  Jesher is not only able to breastfeed, but in the words of one Charge Nurse, “He is breastfeeding as if he has always known what to do.”  PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAISING THE LORD FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL GIFT!  PLEASE THANK YAHWEH FOR ALLOWING LHORRAINE TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF BONDING WITH HER SON IN THIS WAY.

WEIGHT–Jesher is quickly approaching all of his required milestones before being eligible for discharge.  He is now 5lbs. 12oz.  We are praying that he can reach 6lbs before he leaves the hospital, but, lately, he hasn’t been consistently gaining weight as he was a couple weeks ago.  PLEASE ASK GOD TO AID JESHER IN GAINING WEIGHT…PRAY THAT JESHER WOULD INCREASE IN STATURE AT A HEALTHY AND CONSISTENT RATE (REACHING SIX POUNDS BEFORE DISCHARGE).

For Jesher, Lhorraine, and I, life over the past 107 days has consisted of a labyrinth of tubes.  Tubular plastics, metals, and glass have been an ever present fixture in our days.  They have been irreplaceable companions, providing necessary support and valuable assistance to our son, Jesher.  Kind of like angels, tubes have served our son like dependable guardians, performing for him what he could not accomplish on his own.  Kind of like God, they have not slept or taken a day off.  Yes, we would have loved to see Jesher nurtured solely by the womb’s one cord, but we have learned to appreciate the lessons we could have only learned from the dozens of tubes that picked up where his umbilical tube left off.

“Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who [made] all things.”  Ecclesiastes 11:5