Crawling to Surgery

For the third time in four and a half months we are back in Dallas for Nathan to have surgery.  This time however, the doctors cleared Nathan to fly and let me tell you - it was AMAZING.  Flying for three hours with two kids is a breeze compared to two days of driving!

 

All of Nathan's pre-op appointments were Wednesday and we enjoyed Thanksgiving with my dad and youngest brother yesterday.  

Surgery starts at 7:45am CT on Monday morning.  As we've said before, this surgery is super intense.  Simply stated, they will make an incision across Nathan's head from ear to ear.  From there, they will remove his skin, take off his skull, reshape it, put it back on, sew his skin up and give him back to us (via the ICU, of course ;) )

Seeing as how that's the simple version, it probably won't surprise anyone reading this to hear that I cried my eyes out last night as we were going to bed.

How thankful we are that surgery is here in Dallas where we are with part of our family.  Who but family can ride out the emotional roller coaster with you of pre-op appointments, seeing The Mocking Jay, playing in the yard with your two currently healthy kids and letting you be tense and emotional without warning when you suddenly remember that while you are here for Thanksgiving, that's not really why you are here this year?

Speaking of family.... Jonny's mom is actually flying in to Dallas on Saturday to be here with us during the surgery and recovery days as well.  (So thankful.)  My mom has been in NC since August as her dad has been in the final stages of lung cancer...  He is in Hospice housing now and the doctors are giving him days, possibly a couple weeks.  So, my mom finds herself in an incredibly unique and impossibly difficult situation as a daughter, mother and grandmom.  At this point she plans to fly back to Dallas on Sunday to be with us - please keep her especially (along with my grandmom and uncles) in your thoughts and prayers during all this as well.  

Finally, here is a short video from last week!  You-know-who is an army crawling machine!! :)  

 












Comments

  1. Soul's PantingNovember 29, 2014 at 8:00 PM

    Standing with you, as a part of your church family, in love and prayers. ❤️

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownDecember 1, 2014 at 9:06 AM

    I watched this video over and over again. I am so happy to see him crawling and smiling. He is such a cutey. My prayers are with you all as you and your family go through these difficult times. Thinking of you always. Hugs and kisses.
    From Maria Fortunato (Amy's Mom)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Surgery in T-Minus 5 Weeks

Image
I’m not exactly sure what it is about me, but I just have not been able to bring myself to write this update.  It’s almost like a subconscious rebellion…  We’ve known this day would come since we were in the NICU in Ohio…  We thought it would come last year… And yet, the fact that it is finally time for the MOST major surgery/medical procedure in a series of major medical procedures is just a bit surreal.   As of this moment, May 7th is Go Day.   Just a dude and his dog :) This post will be pretty factual as I am still processing a lot of my own emotions.  At the same time, I am humbled and thankful to my core for the army of people who have and continue to love and pray for Nathan and our family.  There is only one path ahead for my son, for my heart, for our family.   In light of that, we want to share and ask for your prayers. On May 7th, Nay will have a RED device installed into/onto his face.  RED stands for Rigid External Distraction - You can click here to get a bunch of images
Read more

It's Been a Decade

Image
Some memories are sharper than others… February 9th, 2014 was my 29th birthday and Nathan was in the middle of a 7 consecutive week run in the ICU, for most of which he was intubated.  About 80% of his 4 months had been spent in hospitals and he had already undergone several surgeries of increasing intensity.   This stay was, quite literally, a fight for his life and the questions about quality of life were (understandably and appropriately) met by Dr’s with vague answers, no promises and even uncomfortable and compassionate murmurs of “IF he makes it past 2….”     That year, my birthday fell on a snowy Sunday.   I remember waking that morning and staring blankly out of the ICU window into the thick, cold, grey, relentless snow of an Ohio February.   The only thing more bleak was my heart as I called Jonny, cried and then let him go so that he could take care of Madison (not yet two) and then get to church…. It was, after all, a Sunday.   I’m not sure how much time passed, but it could
Read more

You Are Loved and You Were Wanted

Image
Little One, You are loved and you were wanted .  Let’s start there.  Your dad and I talked about you for quite a long time, actually.  After the first year/year and a half of your brother’s life and the intensity of fighting for both his life and quality of life it took more time, more conversations, more prayer to be sure that we were ready for a third child in our family.  Then, in ways that are more easily felt than articulated we both sensed a confident assurance that yes indeed, we were ready.  And so when a little plastic stick told us of your existence, we were ecstatic! The first time we saw you on a little screen we marveled and our vision blurred with rejoicing as we saw your little, tiny heart beating fast.  We knew how deeply we love your big sister and brother and instantly our hearts expanded as they filled with that same love for you.  Telling your 3 year old sister you were coming was pure joy!  She was so excited!  In fact, she would tell everyone (cashiers, stra
Read more