Thursday. A day full of peace and love

I want to start by telling you about Wyatt's surgery.

Today Wyatt underwent diaphragmic plication.  During his aortapexy surgery, the nerve to the left portion of Wyatt's diaphragm was injured.  Due to this injury, his diaphragm was not functioning properly.  Our doctor gave him time in hopes that it would rejuvenate itself and resume function.  Because it did not, the diaphragmic plication was necessary.  From what our surgeon explained today, he actually took out a small portion of the diaphragm, stretching it tight and suturing it down (so to speak).  This was to allow his lung to expand as it should to dispose of gasses. 

He went down about 7:10 a.m. for his 7:30 surgery.  Nurses attempted to give Wyatt another IV so that they could give him blood, but failed to get a vein while in the room.  Let me tell you why it is that Wyatt needed blood.  Apparently at a certain point in a baby's life their mothers blood begins to leave their bodies and they begin generating their own.  Apparently this time in a baby's life is right around Wyatt's current age.  So, this coupled with the blood loss during his last surgery, his CV-something-another was low.  If he had not needed surgery today, they would not have given him blood.  At any rate, surgery began right around 7:30.  We were originally told that surgery would take about 3 hours.

As soon as they took Wyatt down, Mike and I went into the waiting room.  I was starving, so I sent Mike to grab some breakfast for us.  My mom and dad met him in the cafeteria and came back to the waiting room with him.  I had my fried bologna (totally bad for you, I know, but totally what I needed this morning).  During this time, I had my laptop to help waste time.  Music has really gotten me through all of this waiting, so I had to have it with me.  Around 9:30 we got a call for an update.  It was the nurse letting us know that they were closing up, Wyatt did really well and that Dr. Lovvorn would be out to talk to us shortly.  HOLY COW!!!  That was much quicker than I imagined.

We were ushered into a consult room to wait on Dr. Lovvorn.  My mom and dad came with us so they could get the information, first hand.  Dr. Lovvorn came in and told us that everything went beautifully.  Somehow we got off topic.  First, my mom told him how so many people were praying for him.  He was so thankful to learn this.  He said that he was a very prayerful surgeon and that it meant so much to him to know that people were praying for him.  Then, as if we needed further proof that God chose him to be Wyatt's surgeon, he asked where mom and dad were from.  When we told him, he wasn't familiar with the name.  I told him that it was approximately 2 hours east of Lexington.  He then said, "I was at Jenny Wiley State Park once.  Is that close?"  Seriously?!?!?!?!  Confirmation.

So, they brought Wyatt back to his room and mama got a much needed nap.  My mom and dad called to see if we wanted to meet them for dinner.  So, we went to Logan's for dinner; a very nice change from Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Subway.  All day I've had a scratchy throat.  The kind of scratchy that I knew.  So, after dinner I went to the Minute Clinic at CVS.  I just wanted to see if I was ok to stay with my boy.  All in all, I don't have strep.  However, I do have a virus of some sort.  So, as we speak, here I set with a mask on my face.  However, I am still able to stay with my boy, which means the world to me.

Now to address the bigger topic at hand.  No one will ever know how full our hearts are today.  Starting at 6 a.m. this morning, the e-mails and Facebook posts started.  It seemed everyone I ever knew in my entire life, as well as many, many people I don't know, were praying for our angel.  Then, an hour into surgery I got on Facebook to check an e-mail.  It seemed that every profile picture I saw had been changed to my angel.  To know not only that people were praying for my angel, but would take the time to bring such awareness to his fight and to ask others for prayer, makes my heart feel as thought it could explode.  It is in a time such as this, I am so thankful to be from Eastern Kentucky.  There have been so many negative images associated with our home, that stories such as this never come into light.  It's community at its finest.  People spreading the word for the need of prayer for a child hundreds of miles away.  People we don't even know sending us heartfelt messages of hope and faith for the healing of our angel.  People lifting us all up in prayer and well wishes in a time where sometimes that's all we have to go on.  It fills my heart.  I am so proud to be Wyatt's mother.  To think that he has touched so many people's lives and that they take time, if just for a moment, out of their busy lives, to think about and to pray for him.  There have been times in my life when I have thought, "what does it matter to be a good person?"  I questioned why it was that good people finished last.  Why it was that I felt as though being a good person and doing the right thing never mattered.  And why it was that I always followed the golden rule of "do unto others" never mattered.  Today is proof of why.  Today proves that being a good person and treating others kindly, does come back to you.  And it's not just my Eastern Kentucky home.  It's our friends and family in Michigan, here in Tennessee and all over the world.  We will never be able to thank you enough.

By no means are we out of the woods.  Wyatt still has a struggle ahead of him, both long and short term.  Right now, he is still on the vent.  They are attempting to ween him from it, but right now, he is in pain and still needs the help.  Please, keep praying for our angel.  Pray for him to be able to breathe on his own.  It's still so scary not knowing.  Not knowing whether or not he will be able to breath on his own.  It's even harder knowing that when we came in, he was breathing on his own, and now, 40 days later, he has to be on a machine to be able to breathe.  To say that I'm not terrified would be a lie, because I am.  But, I must have faith.  I must have faith in knowing that God will heal my son.  To give it up to Him is hard, but I know it is necessary. 

So, here I sit, masked and drained both emotionally and physically.  Oh, did I tell you that I have suffocation issues?  Wearing this mask is giving me some serious anxiety.  But, it's so very minor compared to what my son is going through, so I think I will live.  I am emotionally drained because I have never in my entire life felt so much love from all over the world, that I feel at this very moment.  I want you all to know that I feel it.  I can feel the peace and love from you all.  I will never be able to express in words how much it means to us all.  Thank you, from the very core of my soul.

Things I am thankful for today.

Prayerful friends, both known and unknown, from all over the world.

Clint Brown praise and worship music.

Minute Clinics and no strep.

Blue Monday's from Wood's Grocery.  They make everything better.