Baby Brennan Eckert

This blog is devoted to Brennan Charles Eckert, born November 16, 2007, to parents Kim and Jeff and big brother Tommy. On January 25, 2008, 10 week-old Brennan was admitted to T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital. He was severely dehydrated and eventually diagnosed with Slick Gut Syndrome. Brennan's doctors tell us he will be here about a month with a lengthy recovery at home as well. This blog is meant to update all those who are loving and supporting us and our sweet Brennan.

UPDATE: Brennan spent 21 days at TC Thompson and was discharged from the hospital on February 14, 2008. He began receiving food by mouth on February 18. His oral feeds were gradually increased as his tube feedings were decreased until he was shifted to 100% oral feeds on February 29. His feeding tube was removed on March 3, and his central line was removed on March 6. According to his doctor, Brennan is now a "normal baby with a recovering gut." He is home with us and doing great! 

Although we never could have prepared for this experience, we are more grateful than we ever could have been for the gift of our son. We have been so blessed by a community of folks who walked with us on this journey. Some were people we hardly knew, and others were lifelong loved ones, but we were given to abundantly at a time when our needs were great. And we are so thankful for how God met us in our need through the hands and feet and love of so many of his people.



"Let the Great Rabbi hold you silently against His heart. In learning who He is, you will find out who you are: Abba's child in Christ our Lord."
-Brennan Manning


Tuesday, April 8, 2008

doing better

thank you SO much for your thoughts and prayers. I've
been really touched by all the emails and calls today.
I was overwhelmed yet again with how much God uses us
as his hands and feet to encourage and love others.

Brennan is doing well. He has only had one bout of
diarrhea today and is basically acting like any sick
baby. He's not sleeping great, and he's pretty fussy,
but he's not vomiting and he's not having excessive
diarrhea. It's getting better instead of worse, which
is great. "normal" sick is ok, and we are feeling more
and more confident that he is going to be just fine
with this bug. even as he is fussing and crying, we
are thankful for his strong, fighting spirit - we know
it is part of what got him through all this in the
beginning and what is helping him now.

we will keep updates on here. thanks again for
your thoughts and prayers.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Please pray again!!!!

We are asking people to pray for Brennan again. We have had a great month, but last week I had a stomach bug. Brennan has caught it and is having consistent diarrhea again - just like before. His doctor says there is nothing we can do but hope and pray that his gut is healed up enough that he can tolerate the virus and not shut down again. This is the thing we have been hoping would not happen since he got sick, and so we are just hoping that it is a mild bug and that it will go away quickly. We are praying that Brennan's little body is healed up enough that he can fight this bug and just get through it. If he doesn't, he will end up back in the hospital and back on the feeding tubes. As you can imagine, this is something we really hope does not happen! We really believe Brennan is going to pull through this and be fine. He is clearly stronger and healthier than before, and his reserve is so much different now. But this all feels so familiar, and it is not a good feeling. So if you have a minute, would you pray for our sweet, strong boy?
blessings and grace,
Kim, Jeff, Tommy & Brennan