God's Plans

Whoa! Have you missed us? It's been quite a while and many of you know why. I think I have several posts leading up to this one about how sick my little Tater had been. Well after five (yes, five) long weeks of ear infections, stomach bugs and diarrhea, (lots of it), my little Tater proved to us once more how much of a trooper and fighter he is.

During week four of his sickness, Tater started really acting strange. It all started with a screaming fit to which had me calling my mom in a panic because I couldn't get him calmed down. Then just like that it was over and he napped. This went on for the next few days and a after a trip to the doctor we decided a stool culture was needed. Then Thursday of that week, I picked him up from school and was told he really wasn't acting himself, so back to the doctor we went. By this time, it was our 8th trip in 2 weeks, I truly think they were starting to think I was a little crazy, but I knew something was "up" with him. Boy was I right. The next morning (Good Friday) he was in pain, it was very obvious. Every 30 min. or so, he would scream and claw at us and then literally pass out in our arms. This went on throughout the morning and I called the doctor...again. As I was waiting for a call back I noticed a strange something in his diaper and when the doctor called back, that was all the confirmation they needed to kick things in high gear and send us to the hospital.

We notified our family that Tater was going to have a radiology procedure because the doctor suspected a condition called Intussusception. A calm came over me. Instead of worrying about how he was going to handle the procedure, I just prayed. I called everyone we knew to pray too. Throughout the next few hours, it would become very evident who was really in control in this situation.

I really didn't think they would find anything. I also didn't think the test would be that bad, but I was wrong. It was awful. Awful for Tater and awful as a mother. All I could do was sing to him, over and over "You are My Sunshine" and "Jesus Loves Me." I'm sure the radiology staff enjoyed my singing :) but I didn't care. The test confirmed it was Intussusception. This is when their intestines telescopes in on itself and Taters was telescoped pretty far. They attempted to reduce it with the Barium Enema, but it didn't work, Tater needed surgery. At this point, we weren't so calm.

This was one of those moments, being parents was put to the test. David and I had a really difficult time making the decision about where and who would do the surgery. It was Easter weekend, so of course the only Pediatric Surgeon in the whole town was on a plane. Our pediatrician was ready to helicopter Tater to Columbia only to find out the two pediatric surgeons there were not on call that weekend either. We didn't have much time and I felt like there was so much riding on this one decision. What if we made the wrong one? Of course our biggest fear was an adult surgeon operating on our tiny little 9 month old. This is where we were really reminded that there is a God whom loves Tater even more than we do. The series of events that followed made that so clear.

It became evident we would need to stay put. We found out the surgeon would be one we were actually familiar with (he removed our best friends colon just last year) and our minds and hearts eased a little. By this time, we had a room full of family and friends to support us. Our pastor and our very special friend Miss Brenda from church (whom totally adores my son) were right by our side. God worked through Dennis (our pastor) all night. When the surgeon who we thought was doing the surgery came in to tell us he wasn't, my heart dropped. "Are you kidding me?" might have been my words. He explained that there was another surgeon who was more experienced. Well of course, I started second guessing our decision immediately, only to be comforted by our pastor that this surgeon actually performed hernia surgery on his one month old daughter (10 yrs. ago). I was instantly comforted. Every turn we took and every nurse, doctor or anesthesiologist we met had some connection to either Dennis or someone we knew. It always make you feel better to have a connection, especially in this situation. God was with us, he cradled Tater in his arms the whole night. As parents we asked all the right questions and made all the right decisions.

So as were ready for surgery, only David, I and Tater could go wait in the surgery area, but they decided to let Dennis back with us too, so we were more relaxed. I was allowed to carry Tater into the operating room and lay him on the table. He was so brave and he wasn't scared at all. He was mesmerized by all the stuff in the operating room and the anesthesiologist (whom we found out had three children of his own and David knows his wife) talked to Tater in silly voices. Then they all recited the story "Good Night Moon" (which I read to Tater every night) and he drifted off to sleep. I left him and never prayed harder in my whole life. Not a fun moment, but I knew he was safe.

I came across a saying right after this experience that seemed so fitting, "If God leads you to it, he'll help bring you through it." So true.

We spent four long days in the hospital, but now my little Tater is back. I sure missed him. So in nine short months of life, my little man has overcome two HUGE things, this and his traumatic birth. More than I've dealt with in my almost 31 yrs. of life. I admire Tater, he is strong and a fighter. As parents, we have passed another test, he is a gift and I've been telling God, I get that, I don't need anymore big reminders. I am certain God has HUGE plans for him. Now we need to come up with a good story for him to share about where is scar came from, any ideas? :-)