As many of our praying friends have heard, our three-year-old grandson, Chandler, was taken by ambulance on Sunday night to the emergency room with pneumonia and breathing difficulty.
The pneumonia was so severe that he was transferred by ambulance to Kaiser Sunset in Hollywood on Monday. Our daughter, Danielle, rode in the back of the ambulance with him, and Terrie drove behind.
This has been a week of tremendous pain for little Chandler and tears for all of our family as we’ve watched, waited, and prayed.
Chandler has been on morphine and oxygen most of the week. On Tuesday, he had surgery on his lung (which had collapsed), and a chest tube was also inserted. Peter and Danielle have slept at the hospital with him five straight nights so far.
We’re so thankful for the medical professionals who have helped Chandler and patiently explained the needs and served our family during this time. I’m grateful for the technology available and the surgeons who operated on his little body.
But mostly, we’re thankful for God’s grace and the way we have sensed the outpouring of it through love, prayers, visits, and texts.
This trial fell on the same week as our Spiritual Leadership Conference at Lancaster Baptist. During the conference, I did much driving back and forth from Lancaster to the hospital in Hollywood. One of those trips was Monday night after I preached at the conference. I’ll never forget, not so long after I arrived back at the hospital, seeing two of our deacons come into the room there in the early hours of Tuesday morning just to pray with us and love us. Their care and ministry to us as part of their church family touched us so deeply. Many others have cared and visited, and every expression of love has meant so much.
Terrie (whose mom is still in hospice care) and I are sleeping a few hours a day at a nearby hotel. Chandler’s five-year-old brother, Camden, stayed with us last night. I have been so blessed watching Peter and Danielle love and care for Chandler 24/7 through these difficult days.
(Top Left: My brother, Steve, visiting and praying for Chandler | Top Middle: Transfer to Kaiser Sunset in Hollywood | Bottom Left: Terrie giving juice | Right: The blue crane brought a smile.)
We so praise the Lord for progress and bringing Chandler out of PICU, but we need prayer for his lungs to clear and his breathing to normalize. We’re also praying for pain relief and that he will need no more morphine. His infection is extreme, and he will need antibiotics for many weeks.
In the midst of this time, it blessed and amazed me to sense great anointing by God on the Spiritual Leadership Conference. Somehow, He allowed me to speak three times. We focused on the theme “Continue” from 2 Timothy 3:14, and the love and common heart of God’s people to continue was amazingly refreshing.
I’d ask that you pray for us as we continue today waiting on the Lord, praying for Chandler, and trusting God to use these days for His glory.
