Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Bapa of Three, Maker of Pee

What a day! Becky started having contractions early this morning and at four o'clock this afternoon, dad became the proud Bapa of Michael Joseph Bohrman, a beautiful 8 lb. 7 oz. baby boy that joins brother Cole and sister Paige. Mike was able to share the news with Pops via speaker phone moments after the delivery, and as soon as Mike said, "Bapa, you have another grandson", dad just started to cry. Tears of joy, of course, and it was the sweetest silent sobbing I've ever seen. As dad took his power chair for a lap around the floor, his nurses and therapists who had been waiting for news all day came to congratulate him on the new grandbaby. He is one proud Bapa. Becky's doing great and little Michael is super cute and looks a lot like big brother Cole. Mikey and Bapa will officially meet on Thursday, so we'll be sure to get a picture...

To add to the excitement, Pops had some news of his own to share with me when I walked in the room. "I'm making pee!", he exclaimed/mouthed with pure joy. And what's not joyful about making pee! It turns out he did not have dialysis today because his kidneys kicked in and for the most part are doing their job! Amazing! He still may need dialysis in the near future, and it's too soon to tell if his kidneys are functioning at 100%, but for today, his kidneys work, and urine has never been so exciting. My jaw dropped when I saw his left arm today, with absolutely no swelling whatsoever. Unbelievable. Praise God.

The only down side to today was that he continues to have a huge amount of secretions, which is all the mucus and yucky stuff that is getting coughed up from his pneumonia. Because he lacks the strength to cough it up, it just sits in his throat until a nurse can suction him by sticking a tube down his throat through the trach. Sounds gross and totally painful because...well, it is. Although it's necessary to get all that gunk out, it is annoying and very uncomfortable for him to have to be forcefully gagged every 30 minutes. So it was an exhausting day for him in every sense. His body is still in survival mode, so every ounce of his energy is needed for healing.

What a day! When I left the hospital tonight, Pops had fallen asleep with a smile on his face. I couldn't help but think of our prayer last night for energy and hope. God gave dad renewed energy through kidneys that are suddenly making pee...yahoo! And God gave us all hope through the birth of a beautiful, healthy baby boy, little Mikey. Today is a day we stand in awe of the God of the universe, who in the midst of struggle and pain, gave us a glimpse of his power, his love, and his never-ending goodness. After a day like today, how can we do anything but praise God for loving us, for choosing us, for giving us more than we could ask or imagine.

Thank you God for new life, for new hope, and for pure, clean urine. You are so, so good to us.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!!! It's Tom and Valerie Adams here and we just found out about Pat's terrible accident. I spent the last two days reading all the blogs from the beginning, and now you all are constantly on my mind and being lifted up in prayer. I was awake alot in the night and spent the time praying for Pat. What a great report to hear of kidneys working and swelling going down!!

Please pass our love and concern on to Pat and Jean. We are committed to daily prayer for Pat's recovery and sustinence for all of you, as you care for and encourage him. Pat's gentle spirit and warm heart have always brought a smile to us when remembering our time in Wisconsin. Our fondest memories are of him loving on our little one.

Know that we are keeping the prayers going through the wee hours, on Pacific Time, in California! God Bless,

Tom, Valerie and the Adams boys

Anonymous said...

congrats on all the good news!!! stearns, i know the new baby is your wonderful 'diversion'/gift at this point; so when you go to see that beautiful boy, give him a special hug from gramma arch. and of course, the name michael is special to all of us who have michaels of our own!!! i am praying as hard as i was in december...probably harder!!! oh yeah, give yourself and bapa a hug from me,too. and as you said last night, get yourself and meier to pa. for a reunion......i'm laughing already!!!! i already have places picked for us!! :) we may be in our 50's, but thank heavens we haven't grown up yet! again, many congrats and love to all the bohrs!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

May God continue to Bless all of the Bohrman's with his beautiful work.

Anonymous said...

The miracle of new life with a new little Mike is certainly great news & hopefully provides a "shot in the arm" for Bohr and Jeannie and the entire Bohrman family... Praise God from whom all blessings flow! And Lord, please clear up those secretions and allow Pat's lungs to clear so he can continue to have effective rehab. "HE will stand and shepherd them in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. They will live securely, for at that time His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth" Micah 5:4 So today Lord, I pray you will continue to uphold the Bohrman family securely and a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Becky and Mike at the birth of their new Mikey. Amen
Love<><
Jenny & Jake

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Mike and Becky on your beautiful new baby son. Years ago, Mike babysat for our 3 children, so I know he's very good at this:) Amy, you are doing such a fine job at keeping us all posted on your dad's recovery and your mom's pure love. I think I want to nominate you to "best writer" wherever that may be. We also pray for your dad every day and lift all of you to Our Lord. I just want Patrick to have a miracle and be back to his old self. Mary and Judy told me about his wonderful presence in Oconomowoc.........the parades, the bible studies, his family of course and all of the other things that they shared about him since our moving away 16 years ago. Pat, you and Jeannie have lots and lots and lots of wonderful Bohr memories ahead. You should be ever so proud of your family. Terry and I are praying for a wonderful happily ever after for all of you. In Jesus's name, please hear our prayer!

Anonymous said...

A brand new bouncing baby blessing of a Bohrman for Bapa! Congratulations! Brings back memories of when you were born, Mike. Much love. O.K.