Update - August 23rd at 9:45 a.m.

I just got off the phone with Travis, so I want to give you the latest update I have:

• Bennett's status is unchanged from last night when Travis left the hospital, which is a good thing. According to Travis, having Bennett maintain his current level is key. What doctors want to avoid is any digression in his status. Let's pray that Bennett will continue to respond to the treatment and maintain his current status.
• Bennett will remain on full assistance from the heart/lung bypass machine for 4 to 5 more days. The original estimate was 2 to 3 days, but doctors want to keep him on it a little longer. And for accuracy's sake, according to Travis, ECMO describes the procedure that was done whereas the machine is called a heart/lung bypass machine (not an ECMO machine).
• Kelly was able to walk around yesterday, which is a great thing. In fact, she walked all the way down to the NICU to see Bennett. Travis said that being able to walk was a real encouragement to her.
• Doctors and nurses are keeping a watch on Kelly's blood pressure. As Travis reported last night, Kelly's blood pressure spiked unexpectedly yesterday. It's back down now, so things seem to be normal again. Pray that it stays that way.
• If Kelly's blood pressure stays down, she should be released tomorrow as scheduled. Let's all pray that this happens.

In addition, I wanted to update you on visits to the hospital and the prayer pager.

First, Travis has requested that they have no visitors from now through Sunday unless you are assigned to take food or have received a specific request from Travis, Kelly, or the families. There are lots of people at the hospital now, as family members from both sides are there surrounding Travis and Kelly. Travis and Kelly need to spend their energy and time with Bennett, with each other, and with their families. They will have limited time with family members as it is, because most of them will then have to return to their respective homes on Sunday. If the families leave on Sunday, visits will likely be okay for next week, so I'll keep you posted. But, please hold off on visiting the hospital from now through Sunday.

Next, I asked Travis about prayer pages during the night. He wants to keep them coming. So for those of you that pray for Travis and Kelly throughout the night, please page them to let them know you're thinking about them. Of course, Travis, Kelly, and Bennett need prayers and pages during the day as well. For new visitors to the site or for those who need a reminder, the prayer pager instructions are in the right column.

Speaking of the prayer pager, I wanted to end on a very positive note. Travis said that the prayer pager has been an amazing source of strength and glory to God. If he's in with Bennett when they get a page, he tells little Bennett that someone just prayed for them. The prayer pages are literally sustaining Travis through each hour (his words, not mine). Even better, though, is that doctors and nurses have been asking Travis what the pager is. When he's explained to them that it's a prayer pager that goes off each time someone prays for them, they have been amazed and touched by such compassion. So, Travis wanted you all to know that the prayer pager and our use of it has brought glory to God in the Georgetown NICU.

That's all for now, but I'll post again with any new updates or when Travis posts any updates to Bennett's site.