This was Isaac about 10 days ago, after getting his haircut. This past Tuesday evening he started vomiting. After determining he did not have a stomach bug, we got in touch with his gastro doctor.
We changed some medication dosages, gave carrot juice (rather than Pedialyte) and watched him for about 36 hours. That was when the gastro doctor suggested a trip to the ER. We called his neurosurgeon before he and Doug headed out.
Isaac has a VP Shunt (link here), and it was determined after many x-rays, and MRI and an ultrasound that the tubing that goes from the shunt to the abdomen needed to be replaced.
The surgery went well. The tubing had become brittle and blocked, and had to be replaced in its entirety. There were some difficulties and some concerns about future surgeries of this kind for Isaac. But those are tomorrow's troubles and we won't borrow from them today!
Naturally, my mind was elsewhere before his surgery, and so I have no pictures. We do however have plenty of pics from afterward.
Isaac giving me the "I-cant-believe-you're-taking-pictures-now" glare, as Mojo the monkey looks on.
Telling Mommy it was time for a lemon swab. His mouth was very dry after surgery.
Sleeping in a hospital is never a great experience. The first night, Doug had the fold out chair, but when I got there, he turned that over to me. I took a walk through the halls for the linens we would need, and I spotted a recliner. I asked if it was being used, was told no, but to give them time to wipe it down, then they would bring it to us.
When I laid down at midnight – no chair. I prayed myself to sleep, asking the Lord for a chair for my tired hubby.
At 1 a.m., no chair. At 2 a.m. At 3 a.m., the nurse came in for check vitals, saw that Doug was sitting straight up in a chair, sound asleep, and decided he needed a recliner. In about 10 minutes, he was ensconced in this little beauty.
Answers to prayer are sometimes delayed, but when they come at last, they are very sweet!
If I had to title the following pic, it would be "The Princess and the Pea"! Only with 7 blankets, a sheet and two pillows did I manage to catch a few winks on this medieval torture device!
I know this pic is very grainy, but it was too cute to leave out. Isaac woke up at 4 a.m. as bright as a new penny. Here he is grinning with that little smirk, and seemed to be feeling so much better.
When you have neurosurgery, you follow up with lots of hair washing. It helps get rid of any germs that might hide there. You can see he thoroughly enjoyed the process and the attention!
Then it was time to go. Daddy got Isaac dressed in his own clothes.
Then he got him comfortably settled into his own personal chariot, and away we went! (After the valet parking finally found our car that they somehow misplaced!!!)
I usually don't include pictures of Isaac drooling, because I like to maintain his dignity as much as I can. But this picture just had to be included!!! He was so delighted to be on his way home!
And how's this one for some beautiful eye contact?!!! It's such a delight to his eyes open and bright!
This is Mommy taking a picture of Daddy taking a picture of Isaac.
I can't imagine why he seems a little more spoiled than usual when we get home from the hospital!!! 🙂
Today (Sunday) he seems to be feeling the aftereffects of the surgery. He is not quite so perky, and had a total meltdown while we washed his hair and applied medications to his surgery sites. That's to be expected, but it nearly kills both of us to upset him. Cleanliness is vital, though, to avoid infection; so we will aggravate him only when necessary for that process.
We have been abundantly blessed. This wonderful outcome was by no means guaranteed, and so we are counting our blessings to be home today.
Thank you for your prayers, your sweet notes of encouragement and blessing. I was overwhelmed by the response here and on FaceBook. We feel very loved and very blessed.
Our God has done exceedingly abundantly above all that we could have asked. He is so good to us!
May He bless you richly,
Alesha
Obtaining Mercy 