After being extubated yesterday morning and doing great for several hours, Hayden was transferred out of the PICU and to the surgery floor for continued monitoring. Once we arrived there, he was fine for an hour or two, but then he started to go downhill. It began with him being a little more agitated than he was earlier in the day and his breathing became very loud and sounded obstructed. Over a period of 5 hours, he was given pain medication, which did nothing for him. Finally, after feeling like the nurse and dr who checked on him several times weren't taking his conditions/symptoms seriously, Hayden's face started to swell up. At this point, "father knows best" came out in me and took it to the next level. I am not sure what his name was, or where he fit in on the "food chain." but he took one look at Hayden and said he agreed with me and told the nurse to call "rapid response." Rapid response is pretty much a call for help where doctors and nurses from several floors/specialties all respond.
We experienced this in April, the night of his hernia surgery, but it wasn't very rapid. Last night, it was rapid. Thankfully so as well.
His room quickly filled with 10-12 doctors and nurses who quickly assessed him. The surgeon ordered chest and abdomen x-rays while the Pediatric doctor prepared him to be transported back to the PICU. Kelsea was back sleeping in the room and I called her and as softly as I could, told her she needed to slowly wake up and head back to the 10th floor (surgery recovery floor). The pediatric doctor made dad VERY happy with the next decision. X-ray was coming into Hayden's room and the doctor knew he was struggling. He said x-rays could wait and said it was more important to get him back to the PICU. As soon as he got to the PICU, he needed to be intubated again. At the same time, he started to vomit and aspirated a little. They are monitoring that and will stay on top of that.
At 3:30, Kelsea and I got a little bit of sleep. I was back in his room again by 6:30 and Hayden was doing good and sleeping peacefully. About 7:30, after rounds, his heart rate dropped as well as his oxygen saturation. It brought the attention of MANY nurses and doctors again. They unhooked the vent and hooked up the "bag" to manually give him breaths. I can't say it enough about every single person involved in his care at Children's and how amazing they are. However, I have to give a shout out to Eugene (today) and Michelle (yesterday), the respiratory therapists who manually pumped the bag to give him his breaths for close to 15 minutes until his levels came back up to normal. It was a very emotional time and I am not sure if it was me being scared or me being grateful to see somebody single handedly keep your son breathing with their hands. Pretty powerful stuff, and every single person in his room, all 15 of them, took it in stride as if it was no big deal. I wanted to give each and every single one of them a high five and a bear hug. However, they probably didn't want a crying 34 year old to hang all over them!
Hayden is going to be kept on the vent and monitored and will be reevaluated tomorrow. He will also have a PICC line put back in so he can get his nutrients since he hasn't eaten in several days. So much for the little bit of hair that he grew back on the side of his head for the past 4 months! Oh well. I think there are more important things to worry about....or not worry about!
I know many people are following Hayden's progress and I will try to continue to update as much as possible. Kelsea and I are struggling, not going to lie, but we are doing good. It's a rough patch, something that we really haven't had to deal with Hayden. We are still blessed and it is still in God's hands.
Hayden was also extremely happy to see one of his favorite NICU nurses and LOVES the gift that she brought him.
's
We also felt very lucky to meet Alex and Joe DiFranco yesterday (Frank the Tank's parents) who have also documented their journey with Frankie's Omphalocele at Baby Frankie's Journey. His omphalocele closure surgery was just 24 hours after Hayden's and is now Hayden's neighbor.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
God and Lint (not Lent)
God is so good to us. It is so hard to comprehend how He can continuously show us love when I feel like it is much more than what I give in return. I can't remember if it is grace or mercy (Bob Cowman had an excellent definition/illustration a few months ago either on his blog or Facebook and maybe he can re post it!), but it is such an amazing feeling when you receive it from God. Hayden is doing so much better than we ever could have expected or dreamt and he is resting peacefully right next to me.
My mind is running a million miles a minute and I am not even sure where to start. Kelsea and I decided to drive down to St. Louis last night so we didn't have to fight traffic early this morning. The drive from Troy to Kingshighway was absolutely horrible. We had heavy, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning the entire way. We probably averages 40 mph the last 40 miles. I couldn't get over how much water was on the highway in so many different places. Cars continuously were hydroplaning and sliding all over the place due to water on the road. We made it and checked in to the hotel around 7:15. After getting checked-in and Hayden fed, we were hungry and decided to get food from the Applebee's that is in the hotel. Well, to make a long story short, for those of you who know what happens when we (particularly Kelsea) dine out, the curse continued! For those of you who don't know, Kelsea CANNOT eat/order food from a restaurant and expect to get the correct food delivered/placed in front of her!
After getting everything straightened out, we finally ate dinner around 9:30, got Hayden to sleep, and tried to go to bed ourselves. I'm not sure about Kelsea, but I know I struggled. My stomach was turning every way possible. I know I did get some sleep, but not certain how much. Kelsea probably had less than I did. He woke up at three and Kelsea fed him. At 4:30, I gave him a little more to eat as this was the cutoff time for feeding him.
While getting ready this morning, Hayden did awesome. He was hungry, but was still his happy self! Talking and playing with toys on the bed while we took turns showering and getting ready. It wasn't until right before they took him back to the OR that he started to fuss a little bit. In the pre-op room, we had the normal gamut of questions, repeated 7 times! Mandy Murphy and Fox 2 is doing a follow-up story on Hayden, so her film crew was in the room shooting a little footage of Kelsea, Hayden and myself. They were also in the operating room for his surgery. More on that at a later date. Dr. Warner met with us first and told us there were really three options and he didn't know yet which method he would use for Hayden until they were able to get in side and see how he responded to different situations. The first was full muscle closure which is what we were wanting. This would be a one time surgery and he would be able to stretch the muscle and skin together after putting all organs back inside. The second option was partial closure utilizing mesh. The mesh would be used to connect the muscle fascia and then the skin would be closed over this. The third would be a reduction in size of the omphalocele which would lead to another closure surgery at a later date.
As Dr. Warner said, "I can be the hero and get full closure today. However, this could compromise his ability to breathe and wouldn't help us achieve what we want." We were ok with Hayden dictating what his body could handle! We obviously wanted to have everything back inside and have full closure, but if he wasn't ready, then we were fine with that too.
Next came Hayden's ENT dr. that we met with last week. I have praised God so many times today for pushing us to meet with a GI doctor in St. Louis a week ago. It was His plan all along for the GI doctor (we met with her to look into his vomiting/feeding difficulties) to miraculously hear his wheezing while breathing and refer us to an ENT last Thursday. We also almost didn't keep the appointment last Thursday because I wasn't wanting to make another trip to St. Louis, plus we had another appointment in Quincy at the exact same time. Well, it was a true lifesaver we did. His ENT didn't find anything last week, but wanted to do a short procedure before his surgery this morning. She found out that Hayden has Tracheomalacia as well as Bronchomalacia which means his trachea and bronchus collapse when he breathes. We don't really understand this completely yet, and how it will play in to Hayden's recovery, but his ENT didn't seem too overly concerned at this point. She said most babies outgrow this by two years of age. I also think, from my quick research I did while he was still in surgery, that this is a fairly common associated "thing" with babies that have Omphaloceles. Why...who knows. What does that mean....who knows. She will follow in the background this next week and watch Hayden while he recovers.
About 2.5 hours after Hayden was taken back to the OR, which was one of the hardest things I have had to do......watch Kelsea hand him over to the nurse.....Dr. Warner came out. He was able to achieve full closure!!! We were floored. Kelsea and I thought there was no way that would happen. They almost didn't leave him on the ventilator either, but wanted to give him 24 hours to see how he does. Right now, he is on the ventilator, but breathing quite a bit on his own. The plan is to continue to wean him off tonight and if things continue the way they have, then they will look at extubating him tomorrow.
Hayden is currently resting peacefully and has a 1,000 tubes and wires hooked up again. I am doing better than what I thought I would be at this time. However, when Hayden is startled, he does "come to" somewhat and even though you can't hear him, you can see him "crying." This is infrequent and usually doesn't last long, however it still breaks our heart to see him looking at us, him attempting to cry, and his arms restrained. His abdomen looks absolutely amazing. Dr. Warner said it was flat, but we still planned on him having a bulging belly. Boy were we ever wrong. It's flat....as in flat! I'm still floored at what he was able to accomplish in the OR!
I napped this afternoon and am hanging out in the PICU with Hayden tonight. Kelsea stayed with him this afternoon and is back at the hotel getting some rest (hopefully). Our first goal right now is to get Hayden off of the ventilator. Our second goal is for him to increase his urine output. So far, he has had very little output and they have increased his IV fluid intake. Hopefully that will help shortly. As Dr. Warner said after the surgery, we are not out of the woods yet. He has come a long ways, but we still have huge hurdles to cross. We are asking for prayers for Hayden's continued success with breathing as well as getting fluids to pass through his body. The next request is for his GI tract. Since his organs grew in different shapes and sizes outside of his body, when they are put back inside, things are necessarily in the right place so babies with Omphaloceles potentially have continued feeding issues. The surgical team will be looking at that some time later in the week.
Kelsea and I so blessed. WE feel like little kids on Christmas morning. The tears of fear after hearing from his ENT after her procedure this morning quickly turned in to tears of joy. They have been on and off all day, yet we know God is still on our side as we start this next leg of our journey. It is scary figuring out the PICU life (especially if you have a nurse who is great at what she does, but not so great at explaining what she does), but we know he has absolutely the best care possible as well as the biggest cheering/praying section available to him!
We are also asking that you say a quick prayer for Frankie and his family. He is another baby, from St. Louis, who is having his closure surgery tomorrow morning. They have had a long journey to get to this point and we are so excited for them. They could possibly be on the same floor, and it just hit me....considering we are the only room in the PICU that is a "double" room (every other room is single) is it in the cards that Hayden and Frankie will be bunkmates??? How crazy would that be!!! Either way, we are sending love, prayers, and good vibes to Frankie, his parents Alex and Joe, and his sister. We know, as Hayden was, Frankie is in good hands with the surgeons, nurses, and doctors at St. Louis Children's.
Oh yeah...almost forgot...if you read yesterday's post (6.23)....God gave the thumbs up on Hayden collecting belly button lint!!
My mind is running a million miles a minute and I am not even sure where to start. Kelsea and I decided to drive down to St. Louis last night so we didn't have to fight traffic early this morning. The drive from Troy to Kingshighway was absolutely horrible. We had heavy, heavy rain, thunder, and lightning the entire way. We probably averages 40 mph the last 40 miles. I couldn't get over how much water was on the highway in so many different places. Cars continuously were hydroplaning and sliding all over the place due to water on the road. We made it and checked in to the hotel around 7:15. After getting checked-in and Hayden fed, we were hungry and decided to get food from the Applebee's that is in the hotel. Well, to make a long story short, for those of you who know what happens when we (particularly Kelsea) dine out, the curse continued! For those of you who don't know, Kelsea CANNOT eat/order food from a restaurant and expect to get the correct food delivered/placed in front of her!
After getting everything straightened out, we finally ate dinner around 9:30, got Hayden to sleep, and tried to go to bed ourselves. I'm not sure about Kelsea, but I know I struggled. My stomach was turning every way possible. I know I did get some sleep, but not certain how much. Kelsea probably had less than I did. He woke up at three and Kelsea fed him. At 4:30, I gave him a little more to eat as this was the cutoff time for feeding him. 
While getting ready this morning, Hayden did awesome. He was hungry, but was still his happy self! Talking and playing with toys on the bed while we took turns showering and getting ready. It wasn't until right before they took him back to the OR that he started to fuss a little bit. In the pre-op room, we had the normal gamut of questions, repeated 7 times! Mandy Murphy and Fox 2 is doing a follow-up story on Hayden, so her film crew was in the room shooting a little footage of Kelsea, Hayden and myself. They were also in the operating room for his surgery. More on that at a later date. Dr. Warner met with us first and told us there were really three options and he didn't know yet which method he would use for Hayden until they were able to get in side and see how he responded to different situations. The first was full muscle closure which is what we were wanting. This would be a one time surgery and he would be able to stretch the muscle and skin together after putting all organs back inside. The second option was partial closure utilizing mesh. The mesh would be used to connect the muscle fascia and then the skin would be closed over this. The third would be a reduction in size of the omphalocele which would lead to another closure surgery at a later date. As Dr. Warner said, "I can be the hero and get full closure today. However, this could compromise his ability to breathe and wouldn't help us achieve what we want." We were ok with Hayden dictating what his body could handle! We obviously wanted to have everything back inside and have full closure, but if he wasn't ready, then we were fine with that too.
Next came Hayden's ENT dr. that we met with last week. I have praised God so many times today for pushing us to meet with a GI doctor in St. Louis a week ago. It was His plan all along for the GI doctor (we met with her to look into his vomiting/feeding difficulties) to miraculously hear his wheezing while breathing and refer us to an ENT last Thursday. We also almost didn't keep the appointment last Thursday because I wasn't wanting to make another trip to St. Louis, plus we had another appointment in Quincy at the exact same time. Well, it was a true lifesaver we did. His ENT didn't find anything last week, but wanted to do a short procedure before his surgery this morning. She found out that Hayden has Tracheomalacia as well as Bronchomalacia which means his trachea and bronchus collapse when he breathes. We don't really understand this completely yet, and how it will play in to Hayden's recovery, but his ENT didn't seem too overly concerned at this point. She said most babies outgrow this by two years of age. I also think, from my quick research I did while he was still in surgery, that this is a fairly common associated "thing" with babies that have Omphaloceles. Why...who knows. What does that mean....who knows. She will follow in the background this next week and watch Hayden while he recovers.
About 2.5 hours after Hayden was taken back to the OR, which was one of the hardest things I have had to do......watch Kelsea hand him over to the nurse.....Dr. Warner came out. He was able to achieve full closure!!! We were floored. Kelsea and I thought there was no way that would happen. They almost didn't leave him on the ventilator either, but wanted to give him 24 hours to see how he does. Right now, he is on the ventilator, but breathing quite a bit on his own. The plan is to continue to wean him off tonight and if things continue the way they have, then they will look at extubating him tomorrow.
Hayden is currently resting peacefully and has a 1,000 tubes and wires hooked up again. I am doing better than what I thought I would be at this time. However, when Hayden is startled, he does "come to" somewhat and even though you can't hear him, you can see him "crying." This is infrequent and usually doesn't last long, however it still breaks our heart to see him looking at us, him attempting to cry, and his arms restrained. His abdomen looks absolutely amazing. Dr. Warner said it was flat, but we still planned on him having a bulging belly. Boy were we ever wrong. It's flat....as in flat! I'm still floored at what he was able to accomplish in the OR!
I napped this afternoon and am hanging out in the PICU with Hayden tonight. Kelsea stayed with him this afternoon and is back at the hotel getting some rest (hopefully). Our first goal right now is to get Hayden off of the ventilator. Our second goal is for him to increase his urine output. So far, he has had very little output and they have increased his IV fluid intake. Hopefully that will help shortly. As Dr. Warner said after the surgery, we are not out of the woods yet. He has come a long ways, but we still have huge hurdles to cross. We are asking for prayers for Hayden's continued success with breathing as well as getting fluids to pass through his body. The next request is for his GI tract. Since his organs grew in different shapes and sizes outside of his body, when they are put back inside, things are necessarily in the right place so babies with Omphaloceles potentially have continued feeding issues. The surgical team will be looking at that some time later in the week.
Kelsea and I so blessed. WE feel like little kids on Christmas morning. The tears of fear after hearing from his ENT after her procedure this morning quickly turned in to tears of joy. They have been on and off all day, yet we know God is still on our side as we start this next leg of our journey. It is scary figuring out the PICU life (especially if you have a nurse who is great at what she does, but not so great at explaining what she does), but we know he has absolutely the best care possible as well as the biggest cheering/praying section available to him!
We are also asking that you say a quick prayer for Frankie and his family. He is another baby, from St. Louis, who is having his closure surgery tomorrow morning. They have had a long journey to get to this point and we are so excited for them. They could possibly be on the same floor, and it just hit me....considering we are the only room in the PICU that is a "double" room (every other room is single) is it in the cards that Hayden and Frankie will be bunkmates??? How crazy would that be!!! Either way, we are sending love, prayers, and good vibes to Frankie, his parents Alex and Joe, and his sister. We know, as Hayden was, Frankie is in good hands with the surgeons, nurses, and doctors at St. Louis Children's.
Oh yeah...almost forgot...if you read yesterday's post (6.23)....God gave the thumbs up on Hayden collecting belly button lint!!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Belly Buttons
This time tomorrow, Hayden will possibly have a belly button! Just Sayin! If he doesn't, then we will take what the good Lord said he needed....or didn't need!
Last bottle at 4:30. Check-in at 8:30. Surgery scheduled at 10:00 (depending on Dr. Warner's surgeries before Hayden's). Estimated to last 3.5 hours. Will update as we know. Thank you for your prayers. God has heard them and answered every single one!
Friday, June 21, 2013
It's the Little Things
277 days ago, at this very moment, I was looking at pictures that I had never seen before. I was reading hospital websites and scholarly journals about a medical term I couldn't pronounce. I was completely overwhelmed trying to grasp the new knowledge I was ascertaining regarding something I didn't realize people could survive. 277 days ago, the path Kelsea and I thought we were following took a turn. 277 days ago, we were lost. 277 days ago, we experienced what we thought was the worst feeling somebody could ever feel. 277 days ago, all of the important things, weren't so important.
154 days ago, at this very moment, I was looking at my son for the second time. 154 days ago, we experienced what I know as one of the best feelings a person could ever experience on earth. 154 days ago, the path that Kelsea and I were following took a turn. 154 days ago, all of the important things, weren't so important.
3 days from now, at this very moment, I will be looking at my son in a whole new light. 3 days from now, I am afraid we are going to experience a very troubling and emotionally draining experience. 3 days from now, the path that Kelsea, and Hayden, and I have been on will take another turn. 3 days from now, all of the important things won't be so important.
As the hours pass and Hayden's closure surgery draws near, a flood of emotions continue to rage through my body and my head. We are ready. We are nervous. We are scared. And we are excited. We are blessed.
At originally was thought to be something that would take place around one year of age, Hayden's surgery will take place at 10:30 Monday morning, just 5 short months and 6 days after his birth. I am scared of what we are going to experience because it will be several days before we get to see Hayden's beautiful eyes and smile. It will be several days before we get to hear his comforting sounds. And it will be several days before we get to hold him. However, as much as I am scared of the unknown, I am also grateful for the love God has shown. God has made this possible and He has told us that His son is ready for this next step. We are putting our faith in Him because it is out of our hands. God has led us to this and He WILL lead us through it.
We are so thankful for the prayers, the love, and the support that hundreds and hundreds of people have given us. We are so blessed to have the family we have and for everything they have done, and will continue to do for us. We are also VERY excited that Hayden will get to meet several of his family members tomorrow and Sunday as Kelsea's extended family is travelling to Quincy tomorrow for a quick visit.
It really is amazing how our lives change at the blink of an eye. The past few months, trying at times, have passed by just that quick. The ups and downs, even though we know there are still quite a few more we will encounter over the next few days, weeks, and months, don't seem like the mountains they once looked like. Looking back, in the rear view mirror, the farther we move away, the smaller they seem....just as Hayden's "O" has gotten smaller.
There is so much more I have been thinking about that I wanted to say, but I will leave it at this. God is great and even though our sins have been forgiven, it is hard to not feel like we are forever in debt for every person, event, and trial He has placed in our lives.
Below is a 2:12 video of pictures of Hayden's O and its progression over the past 277 days. They are not for everybody, which is why I haven't posted many on here. However, to see God at work, there are roughly 32 pictures that show just what He has done in our lives!
154 days ago, at this very moment, I was looking at my son for the second time. 154 days ago, we experienced what I know as one of the best feelings a person could ever experience on earth. 154 days ago, the path that Kelsea and I were following took a turn. 154 days ago, all of the important things, weren't so important.
3 days from now, at this very moment, I will be looking at my son in a whole new light. 3 days from now, I am afraid we are going to experience a very troubling and emotionally draining experience. 3 days from now, the path that Kelsea, and Hayden, and I have been on will take another turn. 3 days from now, all of the important things won't be so important.
As the hours pass and Hayden's closure surgery draws near, a flood of emotions continue to rage through my body and my head. We are ready. We are nervous. We are scared. And we are excited. We are blessed.
At originally was thought to be something that would take place around one year of age, Hayden's surgery will take place at 10:30 Monday morning, just 5 short months and 6 days after his birth. I am scared of what we are going to experience because it will be several days before we get to see Hayden's beautiful eyes and smile. It will be several days before we get to hear his comforting sounds. And it will be several days before we get to hold him. However, as much as I am scared of the unknown, I am also grateful for the love God has shown. God has made this possible and He has told us that His son is ready for this next step. We are putting our faith in Him because it is out of our hands. God has led us to this and He WILL lead us through it.
We are so thankful for the prayers, the love, and the support that hundreds and hundreds of people have given us. We are so blessed to have the family we have and for everything they have done, and will continue to do for us. We are also VERY excited that Hayden will get to meet several of his family members tomorrow and Sunday as Kelsea's extended family is travelling to Quincy tomorrow for a quick visit.
It really is amazing how our lives change at the blink of an eye. The past few months, trying at times, have passed by just that quick. The ups and downs, even though we know there are still quite a few more we will encounter over the next few days, weeks, and months, don't seem like the mountains they once looked like. Looking back, in the rear view mirror, the farther we move away, the smaller they seem....just as Hayden's "O" has gotten smaller.
There is so much more I have been thinking about that I wanted to say, but I will leave it at this. God is great and even though our sins have been forgiven, it is hard to not feel like we are forever in debt for every person, event, and trial He has placed in our lives.
Below is a 2:12 video of pictures of Hayden's O and its progression over the past 277 days. They are not for everybody, which is why I haven't posted many on here. However, to see God at work, there are roughly 32 pictures that show just what He has done in our lives!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Insight
Emotions are on a roller coaster tonight. I was able to make it out to one of the Summer 25 for Blue Devil Soccer and it felt good to be out there and watch a little scrimmage. Even though I am officially not on the coaching staff, I have a feeling I will be hanging around and giving my two cents worth whenever it is allowed!
After talking to Eric at Flinn tonight, I got to thinking a little more about what we/Hayden will possibly be experiencing over the next few weeks and months. Well, I turned to our "old" friend Kelly Davis from Texas. If you would like a little insight in to what could be in store for us, Kelly, as always, has a great blog detailing what she, her husband, and their son when through with his closure surgery 15 months ago.
Before surgery - http://obabydavis.blogspot.com/2012/01/farewell-to-big-o.html
Post surgery - http://obabydavis.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html
Nothing funny or witty to post tonight. Just some reading material for those of you who are so inclined!
After talking to Eric at Flinn tonight, I got to thinking a little more about what we/Hayden will possibly be experiencing over the next few weeks and months. Well, I turned to our "old" friend Kelly Davis from Texas. If you would like a little insight in to what could be in store for us, Kelly, as always, has a great blog detailing what she, her husband, and their son when through with his closure surgery 15 months ago.
Before surgery - http://obabydavis.blogspot.com/2012/01/farewell-to-big-o.html
Post surgery - http://obabydavis.blogspot.com/2012_01_01_archive.html
Nothing funny or witty to post tonight. Just some reading material for those of you who are so inclined!
Closure
 |
I wasn't expecting you so soon! |
If the shoe fits |
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He wasn't too happy with these glasses... |
 |
Couldn't pick a better ending to the day |
Well, it happened. We got the green light! More of that later shortly!
We stoped at Babies R Us on our way through St. Louis yesterday and had some fun. Hayden didn't care for the glasses too much, but I promise you this, he will have several pairs of those Puma shoes once his feet get a little bigger! Those things were sweet!
Dr. Brittany, one of Hayden's neonatologists in the NICU, met us a Dr. Warner's office and got some snuggling time in with Hayden! She was always Hayden's favorite!!! This was the first trip that Kelsea made to St. Louis where Hayden was not throwing up, in pain, or in the back of an ambulance!
Dr. Warner was very happy with Hayden's progression. After taking a quick look at things, pushing here and there, he asked us what we thought and if we felt he was ready! We kind of joked and put it back on him! I don't think we are qualified to make that decision! However, as they have always done at SLCH, the parents play a major part in the decision making. We both felt he is ready, and Dr. Warner agreed. In our casual conversation discussing the surgery, our 7,000 questions were mostly answered before we even had a chance to go through my list!
There are a lot of unknowns at this time regarding the actual surgery itself and what method specifically will be used. It is called component separation and the goal is to cut the muscles that are on the side of the omphalocele and pull them together. Sometimes this can be done naturally, sometimes mesh is needed to bridge the gap (just like a hernia surgery sometimes) because it would be too tight without. He doesn't know what path he will take until he actually gets in there and checks things out. The procedure will take somewhere around 3 hours, give or take depending on what he encounters once Hayden is put under.
Post surgery is where I am worried right now. There are so many thoughts going through my head. Due to the pressure of Hayden being closed up, he will possibly have breathing and feeding difficulties. He will probably be heavily sedated and intubated for oxygen, as well as having a feeding tube inserted. This is where I am struggling. Yes, he will be in some pain and I don't want him to be in pain. However, the selfish part of me knows I am going to struggle not hearing his sounds and his laughs and every other little noise he makes. Even though I know this is the road to Hayden getting healthier and stronger, I feel as though we will be going backwards for a few days (hopefully just a few days) because we won't see or hear the things we have grown accustomed to.
Kelsea and I have been trying to prepare ourselves the past few weeks and keep turning towards God and prayer. Once again, as the title says, I know God is taking us here because He is ready AND He will lead us through this, just like He has with everything else. This is a very exciting time in our lives because we are moving forward, but these next two weeks are also going to be hectic and nerve racking! Hayden is a fighter and has pushed through everything God has presented so far so I have no doubt that even though he will struggle a little the first days, he will prevail and He will prevail.
We are also excited that several members from Kelsea's side of the family will get to meet Hayden for the first time, the weekend before his surgery. We are very excited for Hayden to meet another set of great grandparents and his Aunt Kim, Uncle Gabe and cousins Mia and Benjamin.
We know this story is not coming to an end, and we know that there will be more trials and tribulations, but we also know that on June 24th, which is two weeks from Monday, this story will have at the very least, a little "closure."
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Checks
50 questions printed. Check
Prayers sent. Check
Good night's rest. TBD!!
Well, it seems like it has been 6 months, but we head back for our follow up with Dr. Warner tomorrow. We are so excited for him to see Hayden and we're pretty certain he will be very pleased with Hayden's progress.
According to Dr. Warner at our last appt, tomorrow is the day we will schedule Hayden's surgery. We are praying that Hayden is ready for this next step. As the possibility of his surgery nears, I get a little more nervous. I know the good that will come from this, but I am also scared of the bad Hayden could experience to get there.
However, I also know God wouldn't take us down this path if He knew we couldn't handle it. We will know a lot more this time tomorrow and I will try to update this weekend. 
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