Update from Nick's dad

THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006 04:23 PM, CDT
Another 24 hours is slowly passing by. We lose track of what day of the week it is. 'Living' on the ICU unit at Nick's bedside is a continual blurr -- minutes turn to hours, and hours to another day. The various things that Nick has been able to do thus far has been our daily encouragement. Our discouragement often has come from the reports/updates from the doctors. Thus was the case especially today.
The neourologist visited Nick this morning for a follow-up exam from two days ago. While Wendy & I have been encouraged by the small things we see Nick doing, the neurologist did not find these things very significant. He stated that the swelling of the brain is typically the worst 3-4 days after the trauma/surgery, and then any signs of recovery begin to happen. Thus, since it has been 13 days since Nick's brain surgery, he thinks the likelihood of further recovery is unlikely.
At 1:00 PM today, the doctors (Dr. Rubinitz, the neurologist, and the ICU doctor, and two others) conducted a meeting with us. They directed us to the ICU conference room. It was stated at the meeting that this conference room is almost always used for discussing bad news with patient families -- there was no exception to this today. Wendy & I did not hear anything new concerning Nick -- just discouraging reports, facts, discussion and prognosis. We were once again asked the question if we realized how serious Nick's condition is, since we have not been acting as upset as most families do under similiar circumstances. We were able to tell them that our hearts are broken over Nick's condition, and that we are crying many tears. However, we told them that God has reminded us that He is the one who gives life and the One who determines when our time on earth is complete. God was not surprised by any of the problems that Nick has had to battle so far, and only He knows when Nick's life on earth is done. We expressed to those in the room that therefore, we are at peace, trusting in the God who created Nick.
This obviously was not the first time we have heard such discouraging news from the medical personnel taking care of Nick, but it still causes us to be discouraged. Please pray for Wendy & I especially today, as the enemy tries to steal our peace. We know that God's peace surpasses all human understanding, and it is available to His children.
Although we are discouraged today, we have not lost hope. We will continue to remain at Nick's bedside, fighting for him in any way that we can. We will continue to pray for Nick's healing, in hope from God.
Nicholas Adam's heartbroken Dad