Jonathan Cooper Update

Thank you all so much for praying for us today. Jonathan has done pretty well today, although it has really wiped him out. He only threw up 2 times but he also has some diarrhea, although it is nothing major. His blood sugar was always in a normal range, not too high or too low, and his keytones have been negative. This is the first time he has been sick since being diagnosed with diabetes, but we were able to follow the instructions in our handbook and were in contact with the endocrinologists about what to feed him. He has kept down all liquids and ate some solid food which he has also kept down. Overall, it was a mild virus compared to what some people we know have experienced. The Lord was gracious again, and allowed our first sick experience not to be a serious one. We were able to handle it much better than I thought we would. God gave grace to deal with it without much panic or fear. We are all, however, pretty exhausted.
Jonathan has such a great day yesterday. He has been going to VBS this week with his sisters at another church that our neighbors go to. Elizabeth has been walking around with him since she is too old to participate. So far, Jonathan usually sits out during game time, but yesterday, she encouraged him to participate in the relay they were doing. He was the last person on his team and he had to jump down the line and run back. Elizabeth held on to his hands while he jumped down and she took his hand to walk him back. But instead of walking back, he took off running as fast as he could. All of the kids group were yelling his name and cheering him on. Elizabeth was so proud of him that she couldn't talk about anything else for the first half of the afternoon. Even though his team did not win, he was very proud and gained a lot of confidence just in participating. Elizabeth said he talked to everyone he passed and told everyone what he was able to do. He spent the rest of the day showing everyone how he could run. This church has been such a blessing to the kids and such an encouragement to Jonathan. They were so proud of his participation, they gave him a gift for the best sportsmanship before he left. Yesterday we also kept our friends' children and he was able to play with them and enjoyed having them around. Something I forgot to mention that he did in his therapy on Tuesday, was learning how to stand up without holding on to anything. His teacher showed him how to do it and he was able to practice it a couple of times and did it pretty well. While the other children were over yesterday, I showed Jonathan how baby Juliana was getting up without holding on, and that she was doing it just like Mrs. Dana showed him how to do it. Yesterday he seemed so steady and looked like he was picking his foot up and walking so well. I didn't notice nearly as much dragging in the right toes. I'm kind of bummed that such a great day ended the way it did. But God is still in control and He continues to take of us.
Please pray for Jonathan to get well and that this will not be a set back in any way for him. Pray for the rest of us to stay well. Thank you for checking on us and for praying. I knew we could count on your prayers. Obviously we had to cancel our new endocrine appointment today, so hopefully we will be able to reschedule it and get in to see them soon. Depending on how everyone does tonight will depend on whether we keep our appointments for tomorrow or not. Pray for rest and healing. I will update again tomorrow. God bless you for your faithfulness.
It is 2 am and I am writing for those of you who will check for an update in the morning. Jonathan started throwing up about 1 hour ago. This is the first time he has been sick with something other than a cold since he got sick last December. This brings back terrifying memories for all of us. So far he has only thrown up once, his ketones are negative and his blood sugar is 122. We will continue to monitor both blood sugar and ketones through the night. Some other members of our extended family have recently suffered a very sever stomach virus that is going around. Please pray that it will not be too sever for Jonathan and that we will be able to manage his diabetes with this effectively. He is very scared and we, of course, are very concerned. I know the girls will be very worried when they wake up and find out. Please pray for the health of Dad, Mom and the girls as well as for peace and trust in the Lord for all of us. Thank you for your prayers. I will update again in the morning.