Wednesday, August 8, 2012

The BIG Surgery

When we met Joshua in China, we talked with him (through a translator) about his back. We told him that he would have surgery that would make him straight and tall. I still remember his big smile. So this day had been long planned and anticipated.

We have had multiple meetings with the surgeon, so many x-rays, an MRI and CT, but finally the day had come for Joshua's BIG surgery.

We went to Denver on July 11th in the evening. My sister came and stayed with the other kids. Josh cried as we pulled away from the house and it was all I could do not to join him! We assured him that we would soon be home again and that all the other kids would be there waiting for him. Andy told him that this would be hard, but not as hard as some things that he has already been through. "You were all alone when you had to live at the orphanage, but now you have a Mom and Dad and we are going to stay with you all the time! We are all going to come back home together!" Makes me cry now just to remember Andy saying that to him as he put him in the car. He quickly calmed down and we tried to chat about the scenery and whatever else we could think of to keep the mood light.

We spent the night at the Ronald McDonald House, a wonderful place.  We arrived at the hospital bright and early on the morning of the 12th.  We were the first ones there. Joshua went into surgery about 8:00 and then began the longest day of our lives. My parents brought Kimberly and my niece, Sophia up to visit for awhile. Our pastor and assistant pastor also came and sat with us for a little while. I knew that people all around the world were praying for our boy. What a comfort that was. The nurse came out every two hours and assured us that things were going well, just slowly. Very slowly. She was awesome and we discovered that she was a nursing school classmate with my niece, Gentry. She always asked us how we were doing and encouraged us to eat and drink. She was such a comfort to us.

Dinner time came and went. All of the other families who were waiting were moved either to the patient rooms or sent home. The cleaning staff came and went. It was just us and security guards who  would walk by from time to time. Finally, at about 11:00 p.m. the doctor came out. He looked like he had been working out! He was sweaty and looked so very tired. But he was elated. He said that Joshua's spine was quite rigid and gave them quite a challenge. He was able to correct his spine from a 138 degrees to just 38. Truly incredible. There was someone monitoring his neurological responses throughout the entire surgery (we were able to meet her later and thank her). At that point, it was clear that his little body had handled all that it could, so they wrapped things up.

Josh went straight to the ICU where the sight of the blood and all of the hustle and bustle around him on top of the exhaustion was almost more than I could bear. I left fairly quickly to sleep at the Ronald McDonald house while Andy bravely stayed through the sleepless night. People were there constantly monitoring our precious boy. He looked pretty rough with his breathing tube still in, and tubes and wires everywhere.

poor baby! Hardly looks like himself under all of that.
In all, we spent eleven days in the hospital. (I think it was six nights in the PICU and five on the pediatric floor...honestly it's a little fuzzy now.) Many people who had been part of the surgery stopped by to say hello. He had made quite an impression on them all. Each day he made progress until he was disconnected from everything and sent home. He was still pretty fragile and made me nervous, but we were so glad to get home.

working with the physical therapist to sit on the edge of the bed. Oh the pain!
Standing up! With Dr. Bess and Audra Braun, his P.A.
This is John, a surgical nurse who refused to leave when his shift was over. He insisted on staying in the OR until Josh was all done. He visited with Joshua twice more while he was there and gave him a hat to match his (except with lizard on it!). 

We have been home two and a half weeks now and he is doing so well. He tires easily, but he is getting stronger each day. He looks amazing.

It is hard for him to remember to stand straight. It is as if his body has been crooked for so long, that it still wants to go that way, even though his spine is straight. He tends to cock his head to the side as well which is how it was before. We keep reminding him, "you're straight and tall now!" And then he will straighten up. He has been very brave and kept up a cheerful attitude most of the time. I think the recovery is wearing on him now as he would like to be able to do more.

Thank you so much to all who prayed for us, cared for our kids, brought us meals and encouraged us in so many ways. I especially remember one night when he was really uncomfortable in the hospital and I sent out a quick "please pray" message on Facebook. Immediately, many people responded that they were praying for him. I was so encouraged.

This little boy has a story to tell and we look forward to seeing all of the ways the Lord will use him. We were so impressed with all of the staff at Presbyterian St. Luke's and especially Dr. Bess and his staff. Glory to God for his great mercy and grace in our lives!



definitely making progress here. Look how comfy he looks just sitting there.




Here are before and after x rays from the front. See the tiny space that was left for his lung before the surgery? No wonder he got winded so easily. There was great concern that he would get pneumonia afterwards, but the respiratory therapists and doctors worked so hard with him and we avoided it. 

And from the side. 

Home at last. Is that how the walker is supposed to be used?

Noodles at home. Yes!


2 comments:

  1. AWESOME!!! What an amazine story!! Thanks for sharing this chapter with us!
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Those before and after pictures are amazing! So thankful all is progressing well. What a memorable summer you all are having!

    ReplyDelete