Pray

I'm sure most of you that read my blog know April and Neal McKinney. If you don't I'll give you a little back story. We met them years ago but didn't really get to know them until about 6ish years ago when we started praying about starting a church in Alabama. We did indeed start a church called LifePoint and Neal was one of the pastors along side Q, Nick and Matt. When April got pregnant with her first child, our due dates were only a week apart.  I ended up having a miscarriage and I remember April being so thoughtful during that time and sending me flowers.  April and Neal had a baby girl named Raegan and I ended up getting pregnant shortly after.  Before Raegan turned 1 the Mckinney's moved to Oregon to help with another church plant.  We kept in touch with them through the years and eventually God called us out to Oregon also.  We always thought that since we were called to the same state that God had a plan in mind for us to work together in ministry again eventually.  Over the years of them being in Oregon and us in Alabama, we of course have 2 girls and they have added 2 boys to the family.  Now getting you caught up to date. 3 months ago they had the 2nd boy, 3rd child, Knox. Knox was born with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He has already had one surgery and is getting ready for surgery number 2. Here is April and Neal's latest FaceBook update:

We found out from Knox's cardiologist that after viewing the MRI of his chest that on a scale of 1-10...10 being high risk...he is a 10 and at high risk for the next surgery. His anatomy has compensated for some clotting in his arms we didn't know about by reversing circulation to a point that they don't think he can recover from the Glenn procedure unless they change the procedure which has never been done...so, we will hear more on Wednesday about a new strategy for him...right now he is a likely candidate for heart transplant...all of his blood transfusions put him at some risk for rejection of a heart because of the antibodies his body has produced. Today, he is stable and doing better with his Norwood recovery than most babies like him, they say. So, we are headed home. The one factor concerning his collateral veins and where they are returning blood is the obstacle. He is outgrowing his shunt and needs help within the next few months. We are backing out of the house we bought and may have to relocate temporarily for a transplant. Docs are consulting with other institutions for advice. We are tired.

I've got on here to blog several times in the past few days and have had a really hard time posting anything. We are an hour away from them and I feel so helpless. How can I blog about the good things going on in my life when my friends are hurting and going through such a hard time. I don't know what's next for baby Knox but please pray for him and his family. My heart just hurts for them now and if I can't do anything else I can ask for prayers for them.