January 16th, 2026

8:50pm

I keep saying this but Ruth is more swollen today than yesterday. Her eyes and ears are now sealed shut. I can’t imagine having ears so swollen they touch my shoulders….

Unfortunately, Ruth’s PICC line (the one we do IVs through) has stopped working. They’ve been pushing infant grade Drain-O up the line in an attempt to clear it, but without success. Tonight they will remove the line and insert another PICC line either down her neck or up her groin. With her level of swelling, IVs are extremely difficult to place with accuracy—because of this, her new PICC line will have to be guided into the correct vein using ultrasound imaging. If successful this will be a life saving procedure. Please pray that it goes smoothly.

Tomorrow morning, Ruth will have a test on a conventional ventilator. If she passes this, she will be approved for transport across the state to a hospital in Corpus Christi, where she will undergo a heart surgery to close her PDA valve. Please pray for smoothness surrounding this whole operation, from Ruth’s stable transport and effective procedure to safety as we move our family from El Paso to Corpus Christi for a week. This could occur as early as Monday depending on how tomorrow morning’s test goes.