Please pray with me

Matt's cousin notified us recently about a terrible accident that happened to her friends' young son. I will just cut and paste the message she posted. There is a little here from Matt's cousin, and a message from the father of this little boy. Please pray with me that this boy will be healed. I can't imagine what these parents are going through. They will be waiting in the next few hours to find out if their son still has a chance at life.


****The rest of this is a message from H (Matt's cousin):

One of our very closest friends from **** has a 16 mo old son, Owen, who was involved in a terribly tragic accident this weekend. M*****, Owen's dad, was outside playing at his sister's home with his sons (Owen 16 mo and W**** 4 yrs.) and 3 nieces and nephews. His brother in law was outside with them as well. Little Owen was literally sitting right behind M***** playing with rocks, and M**** was turned toward his oldest son helping him with something else. M**** literally turned around and noticed Owen was gone. It took less than 1 minute for him to "disappear"...but unfortunately over 15 minutes to find him. He had walked around the corner of the house and fallen into a decorative yard pond...that was empty...but had accumulated 3 inches of rain water. They had run past it 20 times looking for him, but somehow didn't see him. When they found him, he was not breathing and totally unresponsive. The doctors told them that medically there is nothing to be done...that it will take a miracle for him to survive. I am asking you to pray for that miracle. Here is copy of an email I sent out to my friends and family this am....

I just wanted to ask you if you would be willing to pray for little Owen again today. Last night I traveled up to **** to be with my friends M**** and J** and visit with Owen. The family is in such need of prayers. Today will be a very critical day. From what I gathered from the doctor's explanation, around noon today will be what is typically considered "the maximum swell period" for Owen's brain. When a near drowning patient has gone without oxygen for as long as Owen did, it obviously deeply effects the brain. When the brain is actually working to heal itself, it tends to swell. Some swelling means things may be healing....too much healing pushed the brain into the skull. If this happens, the brain is signaled to start shutting down the body's organs. To this point, no one knows how much Owen's brain is swelling. The only way to find that out is through a CAT scan, which puts radiation on the brain.... and that radiation causes more swelling. So... needless to say, the doctors didn't want to do a scan until the perfect, critical moment. That will come at about noon today. I am asking that you pray with all your heart specifically for Owen's brain to heal without too much swelling. This is the hurdle to try and cross today. There were times yesterday when he tried to wake up, which could be a positive sign...however, it could be a negative sign as well. The doctor's goal at this point is to keep Owen completely sedated so that his brain does not have to do any "work" at all....because ANY kind of work, even if it seems to be progress, will cause additional swelling. Owen is such a beautiful boy. Looking at him last night, he just looked like he was peacefully taking a nap. Talk about putting my life into perspective....wow.

Please also pray for W****, Owen's 4 year old brother. Unbelievably, yesterday when he was playing outside he stepped on a bee's nest and was stung over 20 times. He is in much pain and very swollen. This family is dealing with so much, any prayers of protection and healing for them ALL would be so appreciated. I will do my best to keep you updated as to how Owen and his family are doing. Below is an email I got from M****, our close friend and Owen's father late last night after I got home. I hope that by sharing it with you, you may see how God is so good...even in hardships...and that He is in total control. Please keep praying that it is in God's will for Owen to recover. Words can not express how thankful I am for you to be praying for our friends. --H****

First, I want to let everyone know how much you mean to me and my family.
We have heard from people across the Country that state that they, their
church, or both are praying for Owen. Today, both J** and I felt a little
peace and hope that Owen was going to make it.

Tomorrow at 11:35 will be
72 hours from the accident. The Dr. and nurses have said that this is a
critical time because if the brain has swollen too much, Owen's organs could
start to deteriorate and things could go downhill quickly. He did wake up
several times today, which is hopeful, but we were told that this could also go
away very quickly. Nobody knows how much his brain is swelling. I
will try my best to update everyone. This is the best way to do it for me
or I would be on the phone for hours. Continue to pray for Owen and our
family.

I want to share something that happened to me today. I spent last
night with W**** as he was still hurting from over 20 bee stings. On the
way to the hospital today, I was thinking that nobody that we had talked to on
the phone or in the hospital knows exactly what we are going through.
Steven Curtis Chapman came to my mind because he lost his 5 year old daughter in
a accident in his driveway. I was wishing that I could talk to him or
someone that had been through this, but ultimately thought it wouldn't happen.
Several hours later, at the hospital, a nurse brought a note to me with a
man's name and telephone number on it. She told me that he called and had
been through a similar accident and would like to talk to me. Not 30
minutes later, another note with the same thing on it was delivered to me.
I put the notes down and had every intention of calling them when I had a
chance. Some time passed and the nurse came in and told me we had another
visitor and his name was D*****. I saw the man walk in, but hadn't a clue
who he was. I went out to greet him and he told me that God had told him
to come to the hospital and pray for Owen and our family. He had lost his
daughter in a drowning accident and was in the room next to ours. We
talked, I shared this story with him, and we prayed. I called the other
man later in the evening and talked to him for over 30 minutes. His story
was almost exactly like Owens and their Grandson survived and is doing well.
They were also in the room next to Owens.

I share this because I used to
look at this and say, it must be a coincidence, but I can honestly say that God
knew I needed these men to come and talk to me. It brought a peace over
me that I have not felt during this ordeal.

Please believe that a miracle will
happen. Please continue to pray for Owen and his recovery. Know
that you are giving us the strength to believe that a miracle WILL happen and
Owen will be back with us in the future.Keep Praying. M****