Noah's Recovery - Update # 3 and Cards

Today has been another long day but I see lots of improvements in Noah from yesterday. And I got to hold him today! It felt a bit like holding my baby for the first time all over again. (haha) He pulled the IV out again so they decided just to leave it out and let him have whatever he wants to eat and drink so he has had some (cheese) crackers, tiger juice (orange Gatorade), and half of a PB&J sandwich. We also got a reclining wheelchair from physical therapy and he took a wheelchair ride. 

Thank you to all of you who sent cards thus far. Noah has looked at some of them and he has really enjoyed it. When he is being read different cards are some of the moments I notice cracks of smiles on his face. He has gotten so many different cards and many cards that have dogs, animals, etc on them. We have been tracking the states that the cards come from and he has ten states thus far. We've got a laminated map with happy face stickers in each state Noah's received a card from. We have been putting them up around the room and it sure is making the room a brighter, cheerier place! There are some on the wall right across from Noahie's bed and I have noticed him looking at them a couple of times.

He got one very special package from the folks at Clemson! It contained a football signed by the head coach and a tiger rag that was signed by the entire team along with a card with a tiger on it from the Athletics Director. Very cool stuff!  

Our church had all the kids in Sunday school make him a card so my parents brought back a milk crate full of cards. I have laughed many times reading some of the cute things the kids wrote on the cards. My favorite is one that has a picture of the Clemson football team with Noah as the quarterback. Super creative.

Please keep the cards coming! If you need the address or want a flyer check out the Card Drive Post.  Keep the prayers coming too!

Noah's Recovery -- Update # 2

So we are now on day number 2 after surgery. Noah had a rough night last night. His heart rate was elevated, his belly was extended, he pulled his IV out again, and he got little sleep. Today, has been much of the same. He is FINALLY resting right now. We have tried to slowly start elevating the bed today but that caused him to be in too much pain so we stopped. I think Noah is going to have to take things more slowly than other children who may have had this surgery and that is ok by me. I certainly don't want him to be pushed into things before he is ready. I will guide, encourage, and urge him but push him - no.

I can't really tell how straight his back is yet. The dressing is still on the incision so I haven't seen that yet either. I have seen his chest though and nearly cried tears of joy when I noticed that his rib doesn't poke out anymore! (It poked out because of how crooked his spine was.) I got teary eyed when I saw that the rib isn't poking out  anymore. Thank you Jesus! 

And yes, I am trying to take care of myself and rest too. J stayed with Noah last night and I went to my parents' house and slept for a few hours. I'm not sure which of us will be staying tonight. I am getting sick of hospital food though. Yucky! 

Noah's Recovery - Update # 1

It's the day after surgery and Noah is doing ok......

Surgery went well. They think he straightened up pretty nicely. He did lose more blood than expected and required all the blood we had (we prefer doing family directed donations) in reserve for him. (Which means that my brother has not stopped telling me how great Noah's blood now is. haha) 


We (he and I) hardly slept last night. He pulled out both IV's and then the art line just stopped working so they had to take it out. Then he pulled his oxygen off too. It was lovely. 

He was in the Pediatric ICU yesterday and although it was a bit rushed we are now in a regular room.

We showed him a couple of cards last night. He cracked a smidge of a smile at one of the cards. We have taped up some around the room to decorate and make it bright and cheery in here.

Keep the prayers and thoughts coming. Although surgery is over and went well, the hard part (a long recovery) has only just begun.

(The socks are on his hands in the photo so that he won't pull off the IV's.)

This Momma's Prayer

In just a little bit we will drive to the hospital for Noah's surgery. It's very scary and my heart just wants to hold my baby tight and never let another doctor touch him but my head knows that isn't what Noah needs so forward we go.

I am comforted constantly by my God and his promises. He made me for this. He will be with my Noah. 

This is my prayer for Noah today......

Heavenly Father,

Please watch over my precious son today,

You have always done this anyway.

All alone on the operating table he appears to be, 

But in my heart, I know there are angels human eyes can't see.

Please guide the doctors hands just right,

And never let them out of your sight.

If my baby's afraid, please keep him near,

With you in his heart, he will have no fear.

I anxiously pace the waiting room floor,

Waiting for the doctor to come through the door.

My faith is in You and I know everything will be just fine,

Because you are always with me and this child of mine.

Amen

You were Made For This Bracelet

I received this beautiful bracelet in the mail from a couple of friends. Engraved on the heart are the words, "You are made for this" which have become my mantra since writing the "I was made for this post" a couple of months back.

Thanks girls! I will be wearing this tomorrow to remind myself that He made me for this - he made me for Noah.

Prayers, Prayers, Prayers Please

Surgery is tomorrow! Ack!! I'm ready and I'm not ready all at the same time. Does that make sense? I hate that Noah has to go through this and it's scary and unchartered territory for all of us but I know in my heart it's the right thing to do, the best thing for Noah's health and well being and I know God will be protecting him during this surgery.

I'm a big believer in the power of prayer and find comfort in knowing that so many people are praying for my boy. I know some people like to get real specific with their prayer requests - my Mom is one of those people. She does a great job at articulating what specifics should be prayed for and she did this in an email to some of her family and friends earlier this week. Since she did such a great job of specifying what to pray for I am just going to share pieces of that email with you....



Please pray for Noah to emotionally do well through this. He has been told of the surgery now but I don't think it's really "clicked" and am not sure that it will till we are at the hospital Friday morning. 


Please pray for Noah's strength and stamina. Pray that God envelope him with love and comfort.


Please pray for those traveling to be with us for surgery.

Please pray for us, his family and loved ones, that we will be able to comfort him. Please pray for us to make it through the waiting process during the surgery. Pray that we hold on to God's peace and assurance through out the ordeal. Pray for our strenght both spirtually and physically. 


And pray for the surgeons- for them to be well rested and "sharp" on the day of the surgery. And let their skills triumph! 


Pray that the surgery will improve Noah's health status. And that the recovery goes well. Pray for all attending to his recovery. 


We realize God answers all prayers, just sometimes not as we requested. Pray that we be able to deal with the outcome, no matter what it is. For in the end we must pray for God's will.


So, dear readers, THAT is what you can pray for!

Photo: Orange ribbon Lani made. We'll be wearing orange tomorrow in honor of the No-No! 

Wordless Wednesday: Joe Cool

It's so cheesey but anytime I see a pic of him with shades on I wanna sing "His future's so bright, he's gotta wear shades." 

Noah's big surgery is Friday so if you are the praying kind then please keep my lil' man in your prayers and if your a new visitor please check out the card drive. 

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Moms, Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, and Wordless Wednesday Headquarters.

I Heart Faces Week 21: Yellow

The theme for this week's photo challenge at I Heart Faces is the color yellow. I chose to use this photograph of my niece Holly in her soft and fuzzy yellow sweater.

Check out more yellow photos at I Heart Faces. 

Quote of the Week: God's Promises Shine

"Let God's promises shine on your problems." 

~ Corrie Ten Boom

Sporting Orange for Noah

 

Some of our close friends and family have decided that on Friday, the day of Noah's surgery, we will all wear orange which is Noah's favorite color just as another way to show Noah how much he means to us through our love and support. 

So, if you have some orange in your closet, wear it on Friday too! Don't have orange but want to participate, wear an orange ribbon.

If you do wear something orange on Friday, please take a picture and send to me. I'd like to create a collage of all the orangeness in honor of Noahie. 

PS. I'm sure the doctors/nurses/hospital staff are going to think we are loopy when they see a group of people in the waiting room all sporting orange.

Wordless Wednesday: A Boy and His Pup

I know I've posted pictures of Noah and Paisley for Wordless Wednesday before but they are so darn cute together I can't help but post more pictures of them.

Disclaimer: No puppies were hurt in the taking of these photos.

I love his huge smile in the first photo. Love it so much I used it in the 2nd version of the Card Drive flyer. 

(If you are a first time visitor or have no clue what the Card Drive is all about, check out this post.)

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Moms, Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, and Wordless Wednesday Headquarters.

Quote of the Week:Happiness Depends on Disposition

"I am still determined to be cheerful in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or our misery depends upon our dispositions and not our circumstances." 

~ Margaret Washington

Noah's Card Drive

In 2002 Noah had surgery on his heel cords and hips. While it wasn't as long of a surgery, hospital stay, and recovery as this surgery will be, it was still difficult for all of us, mostly Noah though. My niece, Holly, came up with the idea of doing a "card drive" for Noah as a way to show him how much he is loved and cared for. Basically what the card drive consisted of was setting up a PO Box and spreading the word by asking people to send cards to that address for Noah.

When I was telling Holly about this surgery she suggested a card drive again and I agreed. Noah's older now and LOVES to receive mail so I think he will actually enjoy getting cards even more this time.

So once again we've set up a PO Box and are spreading the word about the card drive.

I know some of you will want to help spread the word so I've made an e-flyer and blog buttons (posted below) that you can post on your blog if you are a fellow blogger and want to do so and you can email the flyer to friends and family if you are not a fellow blogger. Feel free to link people to this post as well. 

(I also have a printable version of the flyer - if you'd like that email me or leave a comment with your email address in it.) 

Send cards for Noah to:

The Noah C. Card Drive

PO Box 1085

Inman, SC 29349.


E-Flyers 
You should be able to click on them and save them directly to your computer. If you have problems with that, let me know! There are two different versions - both totally the same but with different pictures at the top. 

Blog Buttons
(One with and one without my blog address. You can link them back to this post.)

PS.... If you post this on your blog, leave me a link so I can come say thanks. :)

ETA: Yes, you can begin sending cards NOW. You don't have to wait till the 28th. We won't show them to Noah until after his surgery when he is feeling up to it. 

Noah's Surgery - Some of your Questions Answered

I've gotten some questions lately about Noah's surgery so I thought I'd answer them here because chances are if one person has them - others might to.

Q: When is his surgery again?
A: Friday, May 28th

Q: What exactly are they going to do?
A: They will be inserting a steel rod in his spine to help straighten it. It is very curved now and while this won't straighten it completely it will hopefully help a lot.

Q: How long is the surgery?
A: About 7-8 hours

Q; How long will Noah be in the hospital?
A: It just varies on how well he does with everything but we are hoping for about two weeks. Could be as short as 10 days, could be as long as 1-2 months.

Q: Is there anything we can do?
A: Well, pray! We are also setting up a PO Box because so many internet friends are wanting to send cards. I will post all of that information for you tomorrow!

Q: How can we get information about Noah's condition during surgery and recovery?
A: Some have suggested I start a caring bridge page or a blog for Noah and while both of those are great ideas, I think I'll just stick with this blog so I don't have one more thing to keep up with. I will probably post quick updates on Facebook and then explain more here in the blog since this is also my way of journaling.

That's it for now but if you have more questions email or leave them in a comment and I'll get them answered soon! :)

Wordless Wednesday: More Rollercoasters Please

This photo was taken at Carowinds on Saturday and Noah is signing "please" more rollercoasters!

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Moms, Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, and Wordless Wednesday Headquarters

Rollercoaster Riding Recap

What an amazing weekend! On Saturday we ended up going to Carowinds, an amusement park that is about an hour away. Noah LOVES rollercoasters and with his upcoming surgery I really wanted us to do something fun and special. It will probably be awhile before feels up to riding a rollercoaster again and I knew he'd have a blast. And selfishly, I really needed some family time and some fresh happy memories going into this surgery. 


It was just what we all needed! Noah left that park one happy and content little boy and the rest of us left with full hearts from having watched him ride rollercoasters 22 times all the while with a gigantic smile.

Here's some of my favorite rollercoaster pictures:

Quote of the Week: Mothers Hold

"Mothers only hold their children's hands for a short while but they hold their hearts forever." 

~ Unknown

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! 

Wordless Wednesday: No No and Aunt LaLa

My BFF adores Noah and he adores her right back. Because we live in different states we don't get to see each other a whole lot but she was able to spend a few minutes with Noah on Sunday before we took her to the airport. Noah barely wanted anything to do with me and only wanted "Aunt LaLa." So sweet. 

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Moms, Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs, and Wordless Wednesday Headquarters

The Little Moments in Life

Here's a multi-lingual conversation I had with Noah tonight in a combination of Noahnese, ASL, and English. 

Noah: Momma, hold me tight. (This means put both arms around him and squeeze as tight as you can.) 

Momma: Ok, buddy. 

Noah: More hold me tight Momma.

Momma: Ok, Ok, I'm holding you as tight as I can. 

Noah: I love Clemson.

I love the Tigers.

I love orange.

Momma: What about me?

Noah: Shakes his head no all the while wearing a twirpy grin.

Momma: You don't love Momma?

Noah: Shakes his head Noah.

I love Clemson.

Momma: Well, Clemson loves ya too buddy.

Noah: Biggest. Laugh. Ever

Oh, I love that little guy more than words will ever explain. He makes me laugh, he makes me smile, he makes me cry, he makes me humble, and he makes me blessed -  all at the same time.


As each day passes we grow closer to "S day" I grow more and more leary of the thought of letting doctors cuts open my baby! But I know it is for the best. As we draw closer to the surgery date I find myself catching, remembering and journaling these little moments. We all should be soaking them in and letting them build up. Lise is too precious not too but then again I guess we get caught up with the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives.

That lil' convo was a gift to my heart. A blessing through this ordeal. I will contunie  too look for little blessings on this journey.

Quote of the Week: Kneel

"When life gets to 

hard to stand....
 kneel."
~ Anonymous