Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Amazing

Today has been the longest day. I have so much empathy for those who spend days, weeks, months and longer in hospitals with their children. There are children where we were who actually attend school in the hospital because they can never leave. Cancer patients, who should be energetic toddlers, flood the hallways and McDonalds… they are amazing, as are their parents. After just one day, I am exhausted. It is so emotionally draining.

Thanks to many prayers, Mr. T stayed healthy and we arrived early this morning for his surgery. There was no wait and we were pushed along so quickly that the surgery began earlier than expected. We were told 3-4 hours, and right before we hit the 2 hour mark, our surgeon was before us delivering amazing news. Not only had the surgery gone well, they were able to do more than ever expected. For those of you who don’t know, Mr. T has Trevor’s disease and this surgery was to remove a large “extra” bone in his right ankle area. Because it is so close to the growth plate, the plan was to simply shave it down as much as possible on both ends, and most likely we would be in there several times in his childhood to continue to do so. Our surgeon was amazed to announce that he was able to basically remove the whole bone – admitting that it may grow back, but still, we were not expecting this and it is truly amazing.

Soon we were admitted to the recovery room to see our sweet little boy. I’m a proud pessimist and from experience after his first surgery when he was two, I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised. He was dead to the world and snoring when we first entered, but soon after awaking was droggily thrilled to open a present and his first words were, “I want some clothes on and I don’t want to be here anymore!” Who does?!

The first six hours were wonderful. He had no pain except for a sore throat and was joking around and really being himself. We quite enjoyed him, and even his doctor expressed amazement at his recovery. Then his “epidural” (coddle they called it, but not sure how to spell it) wore off and he had a pretty rough afternoon. He is anxious to return home and we are hoping that tomorrow will be our last day at the hospital.

Mr. Man is having a sleepover with him tonight, and I returned home because only one parent and no nursing babies are allowed. Baby J did wonderfully all day, especially thanks to a doting grandma who came to spend the day at the hospital with us.

We cannot thank all of you enough for thinking of and praying for our family. We can truly feel of your care and concern and feel very much strengthened and upheld by the Lord. When I stop to think about our day, tears come and emotions flood my chest, but overall I feel such calm and peace and gratitude for how amazing this day has been.


Before the surgery, in his fancy hospital pjs and holding his bear... though I think Daddy is his true comfort object... too bad they wouldn't let him take him into surgery.


Waiting...

In recovery...
Happy with his "present", and still drowsy. When we told him they got the whole bone out and he wouldn't need his brace anymore, his eyes got real big and he said, "Does that mean I can wear velcro shoes too?" Yes. And sandals, and crocs...!
Playing with the buttons on the coolest bed ever.
He has to keep his leg up on a pillow, and while still giddy on painkillers, he demonstrated that the pillow wasn't needed and Mr. Tough Guy was strong enough to lift the heavy cast up!
Enjoying a first meal and stealing Daddy's drink! (He told me after this picture, "I wasn't really drinking Mommy, I was just pretending so you could get a good picture." - my poor kids!)
Struggling a bit, and Grandma trying to help him forget the pain.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful medium your blog is to help us appreciate and share in Tyler's expereince. Prayers have been answered.

Love, Dad aka Granddaddy

Kendra said...

So glad you posted this. I forgot to ask your brother the latest when I saw him and have been dying to know. We've been thinking of him all day and so glad it went so well. He is so sweet.

Camie said...

We were thinking of you all day also. It has been a hard day to anticipate for a long time, and I'm happy it went so well. I'm sure Tyler will recover beautifully--especially with a camouflage cast! And I agree that the children's hospital is a very hard place to be--it made me grateful for the challenges I had, because there are so many sad ones there.

Jenny said...

Dear Renee, it brought tears to my eyes reading about your day! I prayed for Big T and it is so wonderful to hear all the prayers for him were answered and then some. My heart aches for all those families in the hospital and they will be in my prayers.

Anonymous said...

This is so great! I'm so glad that it is turning out better than you had expected. We'll keep praying for his speedy recovery!

Anne Marie said...

I am so glad things went so well during his surgery. You and your sweet Mr.T were definitely in our prayers yesterday. Hope everything goes well during his recovery. Star Wars Legos are definitely the perfect pick me up for any 5-year-old boy. Those pics of him and his dad are so sweet.

Camille said...

Thank you for the update. I wish I could be there for you in some shape or form, but prayer is all I have to offer at this time. I look forward to the next possible visit. Tell Mr. T that he is very brave and proved to be a hero to many today.

Stephanie said...

Glad everything went well...even better than expected. We're thinking of you and your family!

Marci said...

Thank you for letting us know. We are so happy that things went well and that prayers were answered. You have one strong boy you've raised. Kudos to you and everyone else involved. We love you.

Jennifer said...

Such great pictures and I am so glad everything went better than expected.

That is so hard to be in the hospital especially for mom's with their kids. We have done our share of that at our house.

I always got great perspective when I was in the hospital with my kids. Seeind what other families were dealing with helped me to be grateful.

Hope the recovery goes well!!

Shauna said...

What great news for your little guy. I am so glad the surgery went well. I hope his recovery continues to go smooth.

Jodie said...

I am so happy that things went so well! I had been wondering how he was doing as well. What great news! We pray that the rest of his recovery is speedy and he's back to his popular self before too long. :)

Shawny said...

There is nothing better than hearing a story about miracles. Let me know if you need anything!

singin'mama said...

So glad to hear! I just sent you an email asking how it went. Should have checked here first! I'm so grateful for modern medicine. Wishing him luck on a great recovery!

Net said...

We are so glad it went well and hope for a speedy recovery.

Lori said...

Glad everything went so well.

Laurie said...

sending your little ones in for surgery is always a rough time for the parents. I'm so glad that it all went so well! He's such a cute boy!

Kristy said...

Oh, I'm so happy things went well for T and the family, too.

Dana and ohana said...

glad to hear everything went so well. I ALWAYS turn into a complete cazy mom the day of surgery. Way to be calm, cool and collected!

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