Three weeks from today my little guy should finally be here.
So this is how it is supposed to go: Cody is scheduled to be delivered by c-section on January 19, 2010, at 9:30am. We will get to see him for a minute or two before the doctors take him to be evaluated. Sometime in the first 2-24 hours he will have 2 surgeries: the first to repair the defect and the second to place the shunt. Then he will be in the NICU for a week or so, while he recovers. We won’t be able to hold him while he is in the NICU, but he will be in an open-air bassinet, so we should be able to touch him. Visitors are welcome J (as long as they are not sick). From there he will go to the Intermediate Care nursery, to work on eating on his own (without a gastric tube) and other issues. There are rooms in the Intermediate Care nursery where we will stay the last couple of nights for a “trial run.” We will take care of Cody in our room, as if we were at home, but still within easy reach of any help.
Then we will take him home. He will have to go home in a special car-seat in which he can lay down, as he will still not be ready to be placed on his back. From there we will begin physical therapy and dealing with strong possibility of shunt malfunctions and infections, especially in the first two months. In those cases the shunts will have to be replaced. Any time Cody has a fever, is lethargic or sleeping more than usual or more irritable than usual he will have to go the hospital so that they can evaluate his shunt. And all this is just the first 8 weeks of his life. Whew – so much to think about, and so nearly impossible to keep from thinking about it!
Jess...I simply cannot imagine walking in your shoes right now. There are no words to say. Please know that I am praying for you. There's a song that I love, "love them like Jesus Carry them to Him, His yoke is easy his burden is light. We don't have the answers to all of life's questions. Just know that He loves them and says by their side..." That's what I can do is carry you to Him and trust Him.
ReplyDeleteMy dad is still struggling with cancer and that's all I can do for him too...just carry him to Jesus and trust that God...one day at a time.
I do know from working with Special Needs children for many years that there are beautiful moments right in the midst of the hard ones. Times that we laugh and smile at the beauty of the children, even while we cry tears of grief at the struggles they (and we) face.
I don't pretend to have a lot of experience with them so I'm not going to say anything stupid here! Just wanting you to know that I'm truly praying for you. Carrying you to Jesus so that He can take care of you, your baby boy, hubby and the boys.
Love you,
Jess LeValley
Thank you, Jess. I know that what you have been going through with your dad is tough too - please give him my love, and I will keep praying for him. I appreciate everything you said, and I am encouraged. Love, Jessica
ReplyDeleteTry not to anticipate Jessica, easier said than done I'm sure. I liked your thoughts on only taking in what information had to be taken in for the moment. Sometimes, we just need to know what we need to know right now. Looking at the big picture is just too, well, big ya know? When they first told me about the MS, I completely and I mean COMPLETELY freaked out. I had only information about people suffering from the worst manifestations of MS floating through my brain. Even though I had a lot of knowledge because of my work, I tried really, really hard to limit any other knowledge I let in. It was just too much to take in, absorb and not obsess on for me. I have pretty much tried to keep it to a need to know for me and my brain to cope with the daily ins and outs, without getting to much into the what if's about the progression. I can't let go of that once I start pondering on it and it gets very very dark and scary in my head. So, I've gone with borderline denial as my coping mechanism :O) whatever works for you guys is what you need to do. Yes, God will provide every single thing you need before you even know you need it. Yes, you will be on your knees in many ways during this walk. All of that is true. Everything everyone automatically wants to say to you to try to help you feel better in the now is likely true too. It still doesn't stop the 90-to-the-dozen racing thoughts from scaring the tar out of yourself. So, you figure out what works best for you to keep it down to a dull roar and go from there. This doesn't have to work for anyone but you and Andrew. Everyone else can have their opinions, advice, etc, and while I'm sure you appreciate the support, they aren't living it, so go with you, Andrew and Jesus and find whatever coping mechanisms you need. I, however, do not suggest scads of chocolate LOLOL - the caffeine is no good for you :o) love you Jessica, you all and mr trashcan are heavy on my mind and prayers these days. Not much longer until the grand debut of newest of God's princes! love, love, love, and long distance hugs, hang in there, Kimberly
ReplyDeleteThanks Kimberly - good advice. I have pretty much had my fingers in me ears singing "la la la" whenever information came my way up to this point, but I am having to learn what I need to know to prepare for the first little bit. Any info past 2 months, I just set aside for later.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been really scary when you learned about the MS. I know what you mean about knowing about the worst-case scenarios. That has been the hardest thing about this - there is an unbelievably wide range of outcomes.