Miracle Monday

Here is a reflection on today, the 3rd day in the ICU.

God is good.

My heart is so full as i reflect upon this day. so full, because of the love and support we have received from everyone, so full because of the blessings we have received from our father in heaven, and so full  because the boy we are pulling for, i get to call my brother.

Me and my mom stayed the night in the hospital next to my brother. while my dad stayed at home with the little boys. we are about to get real familiar with the whole taking shifts thing. anyways, last night....me and my mom would switch off. One of us would sleep, while the other sat by his bed and held his sweet hand. The doctors came in and informed us of a few things, they told us that they were concerned about the swelling, bleeding, and fluid in the brain. They decided that they would go in and do a little procedure and insert a catheter in his neck, with a tube leading up to his brain, hopefully supplying the tissue with oxygen and blood flow. They also told us they would try to pull off some of the fluid and blood from the brain, because there is so much. I love those doctors. They're amazing. me and my mom sat with britt for the first part of the morning, just holding his hands, and talking his ear off like usual. I was telling him all about everything that the school was doing for him, and the community, and his teams. and i know he would want me to tell you thank you for loving him, and believing in him. As the day went on, the swelling seemed to be reducing a little in his head.  Sweet boy's got  a head the size of a very large pumpkin and i don't think he has ever looked so handsome. I kept joking with him, that the ladies are going to love his new haircut. half bald, half hair type thing he's got going on. such a trendsetter. I had a lot of time, just me and him. I love just talking to him. cracking jokes, quoting movies, and singing songs with him. i can't seem to ever let go of that hand of his either. i read to him the hundreds of notes and letters from his dear friends. I cried the entire hour or so i was reading them. Those kids are something special i will tell you that much. Their cute inside jokes, sarcastic remarks, and sentimental messages were so comforting. I know Britt loved them and heard every word. It made me realize that he is a part of many more lives than any of us knew. Those kids love him, and he loves those kids. truly. It was a really special time to share with him. I did a little more decorating of the new living area, my mom calls it the Taj Mahal, because its so spacious compared to the last room we were in. haha. sommer. It feels much more like his special place. Jerseys, balls, letters, posters, pictures, signs, it all means so much. The nurses and doctors all come in and take a minute to really look at all of the little things, and pictures, and i think it really helps, them getting to know who Britt is outside of this hospital bed. His numbers were looking good all day, staying pretty stable for the most part. They took him in for a ct scan, of his abdomen, and pelvic areas, and guess what! it came back pretty dang good, they said it showed nothing that called for attention right away and looked good from what they could tell. yay! for most of the day the respirator was doing all of the breathing for him. Which doctors say is okay, because it puts him exactly where they want him to be, breathing wise. I sat in on a thing they call "rounds" where they go to each room and congregate with the whole team (doctors, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, etc.) and the talk about the patient and their progress/status. I listened to them all talk about my brother, and i couldn't help but feel like there was so much hope and good in what they had to say. given most of it was smart people doctor talk and i didn't understand a lick of it, but i felt so good about it all. They are all so amazing, working so hard around the clock to make sure our boy is in good shape. I had to talk a little bit about myself and our family, kind of just give them some information so they could get to know us, and they just hugged me after and said that they were going to do everything they could for Britt, and they see how much we love him and each other. so so good to hear such encouraging things like that. Later as the day started to wind down, i watched the nurse perform a test on him. She would squeeze his fingers and hands real hard looking for a reflex or reaction of some sort. She squeezed one of his fingers on his left hand, and he shrugged his head. She squeezed his toe on his left foot, and he pulled his leg back an inch or so. and then she moved to the right side and said its uncommon for a patient with damage to the right side of the brain, which he has, to be able to move the left side of their body. As i sat there and watched this, and hoped and prayed with all my heart to see a response, i couldn't help but break out into tears as she squeezed his left toe and he pulled back his little leg, and his left hand, shrugging his head to the side. It was so amazing to see that he was there. my little brother, still there, still fighting, with us. I don't know what that all means, if it means he can feel the actual pain and is responding, or if it was just a natural reflex. but it was something. and i needed that something so badly. I couldn't help but smile and be so excited. The doctors moved some things around, and told us that the numbers are right where they should be at this point as far as they can tell, and GET THIS, he was doing a little bit of breathing on his own. so amazing. Tomorrow he is scheduled for an MRI around 3 or 4 am. This will tell the doctors a lot about what they have been doing, and if it has helped at all. So this is big. Please pray that it goes well and the results come back with good news.

I don't think i cried sad tears today. and you wanna know why? because how can i cry sad tears when he is only making progress. yes, it may be tiny, minuscule improvements, but those little improvements are a BIG deal. He still remains in critical condition, and in the state of an induced coma, but i cannot deny that what i witnessed today was anything short of little miracles. my brother is a tough cookie. probably a chocolate chip one cause that is his fav, but a tough one that is for sure.

I left the hospital tonight feeling so much peace and goodness. As we came into our town of santa clara, we saw a huge banner, #believeforbritton, and WE LOVE OUR SHIPP FAMILY. i turned to my mom and just cried, we drove down santa clara drive to see green ribbons hanging from all of the trees, and posts, my mom crying "who does this?" she says with so much love and gratitude in her heart. we turn the corner, to see cups in the fence spelling out believe 4 britton, and our house, lit up with green lights, and ribbon, and a banner hung. We were so overcome with emotion. This community is unlike any other. We want you to know how much we appreciate it all. Our family could never even begin to thank you all enough for what you have done. We draw so much strength from you. Britton is the luckiest boy in the world to have so many people believing in him and behind him every tiny miracle along the way.

we made it through another day. another day we got to spend with our sweet boy. how lucky are we?