Jonathan Cooper Update

I know that I don’t normally update except for once a week, but I wanted to share what we learned today at Jonathan’s endocrine appointment. This was our first time at the Lewisville Cook’s Specialty Center. Jonathan did very well and we got a pretty good report overall. We seem to be doing everything right and his blood sugar logs show a significant improvement since the last appointment. He weighed in at 111, which is just a couple of pounds above what we have been weighing at home. We usually weigh first thing on Sunday morning, with no clothes on before we eat anything (we take all the help we can get!). So at least we were pretty close to their scale reading. We didn’t see the doctor, but we visited with a diabetes educator and a nurse practioner, both of whom were very nice. The NP said that the amount of insulin he is getting in relation to his weight is pretty high for his age, indicating that his body may not be absorbing the insulin like it should. She suggested we take a medication twice a day that regulates the insulin of a Type 2 diabetic. This causes the body to absorb the insulin more effectively, and hopefully we will be able to decrease the amount of insulin that he gets overall. This will help him not become insulin resistant. So we have a prescription to start taking that twice a day and it should take about 3-6 weeks to begin to work. We also talked about the weight gain issue. The educator told me that we should keep working on it, but try to maintain his weight and let his body grow into it. We looked at his height/weight percentile on the chart. He is about 25% on the height, and over the top on the weight. I asked what he should weigh at this age and was told he should weight 58-65 pounds. We are an awful long way from that. She checked his BMI (body mass index) which should be less than 80%. His is over 95%. The NP added some lab work to the list to check his thyroid and his pituitary gland to see how they are functioning. Because he has had a brain trauma, it is possible that his pituitary glad has been damaged which means the growth hormone is not acting like it should, which can result in the weight gain. Neither of these things is correctable; they can only be replaced with medication. If the thyroid isn’t working right, he will have to take thyroid medicine for the rest of his life. If the pituitary gland in damaged, he will have to get another injection every night before bedtime to help with that. So that is what we found out from our visit. After the office visit, we had to go across the street to get blood taken. Jonathan is such a brave little boy and once again, the Lord gave him the grace to handle the blood work. This time was not as easy as the first time. It took them several tries to find the vein, and then it wouldn’t flow very quickly, so it seemed to take forever to get the viles filled up. He cried once, but then he was able to watch once they found the vein and he didn’t seem bothered by it. I was so very proud of him. He may only be 9 years old, but he is my hero.
Needless to say, I was thankful for the good report, but a little discouraged by the possibilities that are yet to be determined. Several things have been filling my mind that I wanted to share with you. One of the most amazing things, to me, about Jonathan’s experience is how healthy he was throughout his hospital stay. There were no infections, to medication then or now except his insulin, and no holes or scars from anything that they told us was necessary for him to live. That alone is an incredible miracle. On January 30, while we were still at Children’s Medical Center, Lamar and I received a promise from the Lord: Mark 11:24 "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you." Two days later, Jonathan was anointed with oil and prayed over by our pastor, several godly men in our church, and Jonathan’s grandpas. These were defining moments in this journey that changed our lives. We prayed for a complete healing for Jonathan. We began to live, and think, and talk, and believe that God had healed Jonathan, although we had no idea when that healing would actually happen. Each day we see God’s promise fulfilled as He manifests His healing in Jonathan a little at a time. Although the journey is not complete, and there is much healing that remains, we continue to stand on the promise God gave to us. I am ashamed to admit that already I have had to fight the urge to worry about the results of the additional lab tests being done. And I know myself well enough to know that I will battle this many times over the next week.
John 14:13-14 which says "And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." So I am writing to ask you to pray specifically with us over this next week about Jonathan’s thyroid and pituitary gland. Please pray specifically, in Jesus name, that both of those issues are healed and working as they should be. Pray specifically, in Jesus name, that whatever is causing the weight gain will be healed and that we will have wisdom and all the information to help Jonathan through this process. Please pray specifically, in Jesus name, that Jonathan will be healed of his diabetes. When we asked for a complete healing, we asked for everything. I don’t know that I have ever heard of anyone being healed of diabetes, nor do I have any idea how it can happen. What I do know and stand firmly upon is this promise: Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Finally, I ask that you pray for our family – me especially – that we continue to stand firm, believing in the faithful promises of God and in His power to heal and deliver Jonathan. Thank you for letting me share. It strengthens my faith to share with you, knowing that you will lift us up in prayer, just as you have so faithfully done this entire journey. I know we have shared these promises with you before, but I want to share it again: "These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day." says the Lord. ~ Habakkuk 2:3 May God abundantly bless each of you.