An Update.

After 31 hours of testing, they released Ryder from the hospital Thursday night. The fast induced a vomiting episode and they were confident the blood draws they made over the course of the study would give them quite a bit to go from. At one point his blood sugar had dropped to 27 (Randy has no idea how he was even conscious).

Ryder looked at Randy after 20 hours with no food and said: "Dad, if I were you and you were me, I would give you some food." Totally broke his heart. He was ready to call the whole thing off and give the kid whatever he wanted, but knew they were so close to what they needed.

The clinical diagnosis so far is Ketogenetic Hypoglycemia and deficiency of growth hormone. From what I've read about the hypoglycemia, it is more than likely something he will just grow out of and will require frequent healthful snacks and meals in the meantime (thank you Lord!). The growth hormone is something we will discuss with the Endocrinologist next week and whether or not another underlying issue could be the cause that again, could be controlled by diet.

When we left the hospital Thursday night, he was in good condition and the vomiting had stopped. Unfortunately, he woke up early Friday morning and it had resumed. We took him to our family doctor who has always been so wonderful in monitoring Ryder and she was able to get the vomiting to stop once again. He still has not eaten much of anything and has been in and out of sleep ever since. Apparently the downward spiral that was created in the "controlled setting" has not taken well to his system and if we can't get more into him they will want us to bring him back in for some iv fluids.

The rest of the family is doing great and continue to pray for his energy levels to pick back up. He has been so sweet through all of this and hasn't asked for a thing or event tried to get any special treatment (though we keep trying to give it :-)!).

We know that God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is still the same God today as yesterday and can make provisions for all of Ryder's needs. Let me be the mother in Matthew 15:28 'Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted". And her daughter was healed from that very hour.'

Thanks for your support and all of your kind words!

Pray for Ryder.

Since Ryder was about eighteen months old, he has had these episodes every three to four months of waking up and vomiting stomach bile. It lasts for the entire day and as soon as I can get his stomach to hold water and a little food (dry toast) it stops. Last year I put the connection together that as long as he had something in his stomach shortly before bed time (a good protein and complex carb) he would not have an episode. You guys know me and my lack of fondness for the medical industry, so I was content with knowing he just needed a snack before bed and everything would be fine. Randy was not exactly happy with this "band aid treatment" and I promised him if he had another problem I would take him in to a specialist.

He had another episode last September (Randy was actually watching the boys and put Ryder to bed forgetting his snack need), so in to the GI clinic we went. They were wonderful with Ryder and determined he had a possible metabolic disorder. Unfortunately, there are thousands of disorders and it is difficult to pinpoint one without extensive testing. The doctors and Randy and I decided to have him hospitalized overnight and have Ryder "fast" to see what his body is doing.

Last night we checked him in at the children's hospital where he will be monitored/tested until 6:00 tonight. They are drawing blood every two hours and running a mile long list of tests to see what they can diagnose. The good news came when the doctor told me most metabolic disorders can be controlled through diet (yay!) and rarely with medicine (yay!). Since healthy eating is already a priority to me for my family, I would be grateful to treat him with that action. If medication is comes in to play, we will cross that bridge when we get there.

We would appreciate your prayers for his continued safety and growth. We would also pray for amazing wisdom for the doctors who are handling the situation. That they would be gracious, compassionate and thoughtful in their diagnosis. We also pray that it would be clear what/if the problem is and Ryder would not have to endure months or years of testing for the unknown. We know the Lord is faithful to those who are faithful to Him and His promise is to be with us through it all. We have every confidence in that and are trusting for a quick resolution.

We'll be sure to keep you updated as all of this continues to unfold, thanks again for your prayers!!