Update on Timothy

Timothy had his first surgery to repair his spinal cord yesterday. The surgery went well. We had expected anywhere from 2 to 6 hours for the procedure. It was done in 3 hours. The neurosurgeon has been wonderful to work with. Timothy is currently in the Pediatric ICU, but may be moved to a progressive care unit today and possibly to the regular pediatrics ward tomorrow. If all goes well, he should be released on Saturday to come home. He is required to lay flat on his back for three days and then can get up and move about with pain as his guide. We are praying for a speedy recovery and complete healing. At this point, we are not sure about him having a second surgery. The spinal cord does split into two cords in the thoracic area, but there is no bone separating the two halves. This thrills the surgeon, who is weighing the risks of further surgery with the benefits. He would like to do another MRI while Tim is at the hospital, but that is proving difficult to schedule with anesthesiology. Timothy is in moderate pain that seems to be controlled well with the pain medications. He wants to be held and he wants to go home, neither of which are happening things right now.

We will keep you up to date as much as possible from home or the hospital.

Pictures 3/5

These pictures were taken for our 6 month post placement visit happening this week.

Stressful Times

Hello y'all! The last month or so has been a whirlwind of activity. Not only is raising four children crazy enough, but homeschooling has added a whole new level of insanity to our house. Brodie is doing well with his lessons, but I wish I had more hours in the day to spend with him and with the three little ones.

We have had some hard days lately. On February 21, my mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. It has spread to other organs and glands as well. She had her first round of chemo last week and was able to get out of the hospital today. My sister Liz and I have been spending as much time with her as we can. Thankfully, Mom's sister Dottie has come to stay for a while and can give complete attention to Mom's care. Please pray for my mother's healing and comfort as she comes to your mind.

The day is quickly approaching for Timothy's surgery to fix one area where his spinal cord is tethered. In many ways we are looking forward to it, knowing that we have caught it early enough that he has no irreversible nerve damage at this point. Of course we are not looking forward to the pain he will have to endure, nor three days of keeping him from moving. I sure hope the hospital has stocked lots of sedatives! (Some for me would be nice.) :)

Charlie is busy, busy, busy at work. He will be gone a couple of days this week for work related fun and games. He is not thrilled, to say the least.

Brodie and I are going on a trip after Timothy's surgery if all goes well. I will post pictures from our scenic location. Brodie does not yet know all the details, so I must be vague here. I am so excited! I do feel bad about leaving Charlie with the three little ones for another week. He was so sweet to stay home with all the kids while I stayed in the hospital with my mother for a week.

I will post more on all of these things as I can.