Surgery Day

First of all, I want to thank all of you who have kept us close to your hearts today and lifted us in prayer. While this has been a traumatic thing to go through and yes, our nerves were a wreck, we have felt God's presence and peace with us. As I read my Bible in the waiting room, I came across this verse- "Let them give thanks to the Lord for His love and for the miracles He does for people." Psalm 107:8 I can say that our hearts are filled with thanksgiving to our wonderful Lord- thankful that each step of Landon's surgery went smoothly with no complications, thankful for the AMAZING team of doctors and nurses he has, thankful to be with our little man here in his room, thankful for how well he is doing, thankful that Nathan is here with me and that Mom and Ariana are doing well at home...thankful that this surgery is now behind us. God's goodness is abundantly evident in our lives right now and I can only rejoice at the outcome of this day.

Last night was hard. I did not feel strong enough to go through this. I laid on the bed with my baby and sobbed my heart out- wishing that I could clutch him close to me and just run away from it all. Denial does not work...which totally sucks. Nathan and I both slept really well- right through the alarm this morning. :) We reported here to the hospital at 0600 and we woke up at 0540- it was a mad dash to get dressed and out the door. Thankfully, the Ronald McDonald house is right here at the hospital so we were able to walk here this morning. About 0700, they called us back and started the process, getting his vitals, meeting nurses, etc...They took him from us just before 0800. One of the hardest things I have ever done was let them take my baby- knowing what they were going to do and all the risks that are involved. I couldn't even handle thinking about the "what if's" I had Nathan sign the consent forms and read over the risks- I figured, I would deal with it if I had to, but I didn't need to give my mind any more fuel for worry.

They kept us informed and busy during the surgery so the morning actually passed more quickly than what I thought it would. We met his nurse- yup, our little man has his own private nurse- no sharing here! Got a tour of his room here in the ICU and everything was explained of what to expect to see on him when he got here. He is in the Nemo room :) The hardest part of the whole wait might have been after they told us everything was done and that we would be able to see him as they wheeled him from the OR to his room. Every door opening/closing, footsteps in the hall, etc. had us peering out the doorway...it was soooo disappointing to have it be just a janitor's cart but FINALLY, our little man did come. He was still sedated(and still is) and has a "jillion" wires, tubes and monitors but we were able to kiss the top of his head and whisper our love before they got him settled into his room. We met with the surgeons at that point. Surgery went well- no complications or bad surprises. He did need a bit of blood but other than that nothing major. He is currently on some medication to keep his blood pressure down- basically, his heart is pumping faster so not as much is filling his heart at a time, so that keeps the stretching to a minimum and all the stitches in place. He is on a respirator, which hopefully, he will be weaned off of tomorrow. He isn't too swollen but they say he might swell some overnight and tomorrow. He is doing exactly what he should be at this point.

His room is Grand Central Station right now- lots of nurses and doctors popping in and out but everything looks good. The goal tonight is to keep him sedated and quiet- to let his body rest and for initial healing to start taking place. At this point, if everything stays as it is now and heals- he should not need surgery again down the road. So that is our prayer, but we know that we will have the strength to face it if we have to at a later date.

Nathan and I are pretty emotionally and physically drained. (He is sleepig on the couch in here as I write) We will probably sleep at the Ronald McDonald house tonight since we really need some good sleep. He is sedated and there will be lots of in and out here, so I think we will all fare the best if we sleep there. But I know I will be so anxious to run over here first thing after I wake up!

So here we are towards the end of a very dreaded day...we are battle weary but rejoicing. Thank you for all the support you are. Your prayers and comments have touched, encouraged, comforted and strengthened our hearts. We are so blessed to have had you all here at our side through this!

-Summer