It happened! Tyler got his MIRACLE! I don’t even know where to begin. Last evening, (15th), Tyler’s condition deteriorated quickly as he lost huge amounts of blood via his GI tract, and his organs started to shut down. A team worked on him for around an hour right around shift change. In the midst of the chaos, Ron and I were holding onto Tyler’s feet, with our eyes glued to his vital signs monitor. We saw right when Tyler lost his battle. Despite being on 100% oxygen, being bagged, and even being switched from the oscillator to an APRV vent, then to a conventional vent (all last ditch efforts), Tyler’s oxygen levels kept dropping.
When there was nothing medically left to do, the doctor finally looked at us and said it was time for them to get Tyler cleaned up a bit so that we could have our last moments with him. Ron and I waited across the hall for what seemed a very long time, sobbing, holding each other, notifying family. Our pastor and my sister were with us as well. Then I climbed into bed with Tyler for the last time. I told him how amazing Heaven was going to be for him, how beautiful and perfect and pain-free and sorrow-free. Ron and I said all our last words to him, all the while still hoping for a miracle.
His oncology Fellow, who first met Tyler on 9/7/11, said her goodbyes and cried as well – she had come to love Tyler. As we watched the monitors, we saw his levels sink lower and lower. Tyler’s sister and brother-in-law arrived, as well as a couple from church. Each spent time with him. Then Ron and I went back in to be with Tyler. We noticed his O2 levels were climbing. Everyone thought it was Tyler’s body making a final effort to fight before it quit. Finally, his transplant doctor came in and said they’d like to take a blood gas. It showed Tyler was ventilated well, but not oxygenated well, and confirmed for the doctors that he only had hours left.
Tyler’s attending doctor said when we were ready, they would stop his blood pressure medicines so that he could “die naturally.” All this time, he remained on the conventional ventilator with all his sedatives and paralytics. Ron and I were not ready to stop the blood pressure meds yet, so we remained with him. Baffled by his O2 levels which rose into the 90’s, they drew another blood gas. This one showed Tyler was over-ventilated, so they actually weaned his settings down on the conventional ventilator, but kept his O2 at 100%. Ron left the room for a moment, and I lay with Tyler some more. Instead of talking to him as I had been, I started praying.
Thinking of the Centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant who was far away by just speaking the word (Luke 7:1-10), I asked God to speak life into my boy’s lungs, heart, stomach, etc. I prayed this over and over, naming as many organs as I could think of. While I prayed, many, many others were praying as well. The doctor came in again. She had noticed Tyler’s blood pressure rising, so she wanted to come down a little on one of his pressors. They drew another blood gas. This one caused them to wean him down to settings that are considered very typical, settings he had never seen since being intubated over four weeks ago.
When they left, I kept repeating my prayer. We weren’t sure what to think – the doctors weren’t really saying how to interpret all this. Finally things clearly switched over from facilitating a child’s last moments with his parents to taking care of a living patient!
Tyler started noticeably blinking his closed eyes, an act that was medically impossible on the amount of paralytics he was taking. People started laughing and smiling in his room. He was weaned down to 60% oxygen on the vent. Then, of all things, Tyler started to move his head, not like he had been for the past four weeks, but more purposefully.
Seeing that Tyler was regaining conciousness, the doctor rushed to his side, and Ron and I drew close to talk to him and comfort him. Unbelievably, we saw him use great effort to wrinkle his forehead and squint his eyes. Ron asked him to squint his eyes again if he could hear us. Almost immediately, he did it again! At this point everyone was in tears. We understood what everyone else understood: Tyler’s obvious awareness and purposeful movements shouldn’t have been possible given the high dose of paralytics and sedatives he was on. It was so evident that something amazing and supernatural had taken place!
The doctor was too curious about what had happened in Tyler’s lungs to wait for the 6AM xray, and ordered a stat xray. She was astounded and grinning as she showed us the before and after xrays – Tyler’s lungs look better than they have in weeks! In fact, the lower lobes of his lungs haven’t looked this good since his lungs first got in trouble.
As I write this in Tyler’s PICU room, Tyler has just opened his eyes three different times! Those beautiful, beautiful eyes! I don’t know what else to put here other than Tyler looks peaceful for the first time since he got sick in late January. He actually looks as if he’s sleeping. I can’t think much more to write coherently, but I’m sure I’ll have more to report on Tyler later today.
We still don’t know if his stomach bleeding is continuing, or if that was miraculously healed as well. We are stunned, jubilant, exhausted, and praising the Lord!!!! The doctors had nothing more they could do; God gets all the glory!!!
I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow! (Jeremiah 31:13)