Jack is Wonderfully Made.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb.

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Marvelous are Your works,

And that my soul knows very well.
Psalm 139:13-14

Before the foundations of the world were created, God knew that Jack Riggs would be born. He also knew that he would have cerebral palsy. Today, Josephine and I met with the doctor to review Jack's MRI from last week. She confirmed that scar tissue was present on both sides of the brain but more on the left side. This would explain the weakness of his right side. So, it is clear that he has mild to moderate cerebral palsy. The extent is not known. As he grows and matures, we will see how well he speaks. This will determine how severe the palsy is.

A few months ago I studied the story of a paralyzed man that Jesus forgave and healed (Luke 5:18). During my preparation, I examined the word for paralyzed. That word means palsy in the original language. At that moment the Lord gave me a peace about Jack as if to say -- If he has cerebral palsy it is ok.

So, today is just a confirmation of what we have suspected for a few months. The Lord confirmed the diagnosis during this week of Thanksgiving for a reason. So our prayer is for a constant attitude of thanksgiving. We give thanks that God has deemed us worthy to care for four wonderful boys including a child with cerebral palsy. But we also thank Him for His mercy towards Jack. At the end of Josephine's pregnancy the doctor was concerned that Jack might be dying. By God's mercy he lived and he is perfect because God knit him together in Josephine's womb.

So as Jack continues to grow and mature, we know that God will use him to help us grow and mature too. That is something we are very thankful for.

Potato, Potahto, Inguinal, Iguana

Jack has a hernia. I always thought this type of injury was common to older men lifting objects such as cars, heavy boxes, or large bags of marshmallows. We can't prove it but we think Jack has been working out in his room by lifting his crib, doing push ups or climbing on the mobile. This might explain why he is bigger than Jedidiah.

Actually, the type of hernia he has is called an inguinal hernia and has nothing to do with lifting anything. It occurs when part of the abdominal wall doesn't close. This is not uncommon with premature babies. After meeting with the pediatric surgeon we have confirmation - Jack will need surgery to repair the opening.

I'm sure if Jack could choose he would want an iguana instead. But we explained to him that some pets take more responsibility than others. If he takes good care of the inguinal then maybe, just maybe, we'll think about getting him an iguana.