We're Home!!!

We are very happy to be home after our hospital stay. Connor had a very difficult night last night keeping his oxygen levels appropriate. There was a pretty big scare between 1-3am, but after he got some really good coughs out, he was able to breathe a lot better! The ICU staff and doctors were considering transferring us to the floor in the middle of the night and then the oxygen problem happened...that kept us on the unit through morning rounds. I really had to fight hard to get him released to home, but I finally convinced them that he would be much better off at home recovering than being vulnerable in the hospital to secondary illness.

I have to say, we are exhausted and are in need of sleep. You never get a good nights rest in the hospital, and last night was no exception. Please agree with us in prayer that Connor's pain would be minimal. He is such a trooper!!!! He is taking Tylenol every 4 hours and rotating Tylenol w/Codine every other dose. Since we have been home he has been playing so good with little agitation. We thank the Lord that he is doing much better than we anticipated and we trust that this will continue!!!

I will update again in a couple of days and let you all know how he is recovering.
We are all hoping for a good night of rest tonight!!!!

Lovebug Hugs,
Lori

Successful Surgery!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are so happy to report that Connor is out of surgery and it was a great success!!! We arrived at the hospital at 10:30 and we waited and waited to be called back. Finally we were in the pre-surgery screening area and we were told that Connor's surgery might not happen. Apparently the hospital is so full of patients right now that they did not have an ICU bed available for him to be in, so they put the surgery on hold. By 2:00pm we were told that a room became available and the surgery was a GO!!!! They administered some "happy" medication to Connor to settle him down a bit and then he got the giggles like you can't believe!!! It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Here he was, getting ready for a big surgery and he was giggling like a silly school girl!!! I guess there really are hidden blessings behind every obstacle!!!


Before they took him in to the operating room, one of the nurses came back and told us that our prayers must really have been answered for this surgery to take place. There were 8 surgeries on hold and Connor was one of two that actually happened. Praise the Lord for that!!! We don't know why Connor was chosen, but we are thankful that he was and that we didn't have to turn around and go home.


About 2:30pm they took Connor from us and headed down that long, ominous hallway to the operating room. We, of course, had prepared Connor best we could to make that long walk without us. We assured him with our prayers as well as the little white treasure box we always send with him into the Operating Room. It contains 2 silver hearts that represent Daddy & Mommy's hearts going with him into the unknown and it also contains a small coin with his name on it and a picture of a Guardian Angel that promises to always be at his side. We have sent that box with him on far too many occassions, but it somehow gives us comfort to send it with him. Before he left us, I once again told Connor the story of his little guardian angel, Herman (that many of you remember that have read the blog from the very beginning). I reminded him that Herman would be there waiting for him when he entered the big white room and he would be doing loopty loops in the corners to make him giggle. We also told him that Herman would sing his favorite songs and whisper in his ears how much we loved him, but that Jesus always loves him more. It is always fun to remind Connor how much he is loved, even if it is in a silly manner.

After Connor was on his way, we headed down to the cafeteria to get a bowl of soup. We sat in our, all too familiar spot, in front of the large fish tank. We remembered vividly all the moments we had sat at that table in tears pleading with the Lord to spare our little boys life. Today, was different story. We thanked the Lord for His faithfulness to Connor over these 3 1/2 years and thanked him for the many miracles that He has preformed for Connor. We asked the Lord to spare him, this time, from pain. Our prayer is that he would have minimal pain as he recovers and that this surgery would accomplish what we sincerely hope it will......better health & an increased immune system for Connor.

Well, it wasn't more than about an hour and we received the page. We called up and sure enough, they were done with the surgery and the surgeon was waiting to talk with us. We knew that everything must have been a great success since it was such a short surgery. There was a spring in our step as we headed down the long hallways here at the hospital. When Dr. Sie greeted us she had a big smile on her face and said that Connor did GREAT. His tonsils were removed as they were the size of unshelled almonds on each side. Comparitively speaking, that is huge compared to the size of Connor's throat (well, to anyone's throat for that matter!). His adenoids looked very good and were quite small so she left those in and she felt that was the best decision. We trust her fully with Connor, so we are grateful that he didn't have to have them out as well. His airway was in perfect condition and looked completely normal and his ear tubes we in proper size and location for his growth over the next year. All things considered, this was a great outcome. Since the tonsils were the only thing to be surgically removed, his recovery should not be as difficult as we anticipated. It will still be rough, but probably only a couple of weeks.

The surgeon helped us better understand that Connor may actually have a better time of recovery not eating by mouth than he would if he were eating. We were surprised, because we were sure this would be the other way around. Actually, with the g-tube, we can make sure that he has proper nutrition and hydration without having to activate the throat muscles, which will be better on Connor for the long run of the recovery. Praise the Lord for answered prayer on this issue.

We are with Connor in the ICU right now and he is struggling to keep his oxygen levels up on his own and is requiring oxygen to supplement his breathing!!! Please pray that he would be able to do this on his own so that we can go home tomorrow.

We appreciate all of your prayers and I will update again later.

Lovebug Hugs,
Lori

Surgery Tomorrow...Nov. 3rd 2009

We are once again heading into the operating room. Tomorrow, Connor will go into the OR at Children's Hospital for his Tonsil & Adenoid Removal Surgery. We check in at 10am and the surgery is scheduled for 11:45am. We will be posting updates just as soon as we have information both here and on Facebook. Thank you in advance for your prayers for Connor. This is going to be a rough surgery for him. The recovery will be more difficult for Connor than the typical child because he is still exclusively on the g-tube for his nutrition. Typically, children would enjoy milkshakes and popsicles to soothe the pain and swelling post surgery, but Connor will not be able to do those things. We are quite sure that they will give him some pretty strong pain medication for that very reason, but time will quickly tell what he will need.

Randy is home so he will be with us at the hospital which I am very grateful for. My mom will be here with the little munchkins and we anticipate a couple of days in the ICU and then hopefully we will be able to bring him home.

Time to get some sleep before the big day tomorrow. We covet your faithful prayers and encouragement.

Lovebug Hugs,
Lori