Prayers are a powerful thing! Hudson had an amazing night which I did not expect. He was so miserable last night that I figured I would end up holding him all night. He fell asleep in my arms about 11 pm and I was able to lay him down on a fold out bed in his room. There was plenty of room for both of us. He slept the entire night, only stirring enough to reach out for me to make sure I was there. He woke up for a short time this morning to drink some liquids, take his medicine and he was out again till about 8:30.
We were relased before noon and once home he perked up and played for a few hours. He dosen't appear to have much pain (although we are staying on top of it with pain meds). He has asked to eat but tolerated the liquids we have to give him and seems satisfied.
He continues to have quite a bit of swelling and can't give us a smile. He has not worn the no-no's at all. They never put them on in the hospital as he dosen't mess with his stiches or mouth. They told us to just watch him close and leave them off unless he starts messing with things.
We still are getting used to his new look. It is so strange to see him with a nose!! The cleaning of the stiches has been the hardest thing. He bled a lot and has a lot of dried blood on them so we will be working on that over the next few days. He stays on an all liquid diet for 10 days. Stiches come out Monday.
I know I say this often but we continue to give Him the glory as things are going better than we expected. Hudson is a tough little guy and we know the Lord has given him (and us) incredible grace.
Funny story....we were walking around the hospital this morning waiting for Mark when what I suspect was a surgeon walked past us in full scrubs. Hudson waved at him, then looked at me and pointed to his nose/lip as if to say "I know what that guy does!" Still a sense of humor!!
7.29.2008
7.28.2008
Surgery update
Well, surgery got started at 8 am this morning and we have just now settled into our room at 4 pm. Hudson is now doing well but we had a few scary hours after surgery.
When we talked with the surgeon this morning he told us along with his palate repair he planned to "lift" his nose and tuck-in his nostrils. That wasn't expected but he knows best. The surgeon expected to be in the OR about 2 hours. After 2 1/2 hours they called and told us it would be another 45 minutes or so. At about 11:15 he came and met with us and told us once he got in to lift his nose he discovered a muscle had been left unattached which he went ahead and attached. When he did this it made his lip revisions scars "pucker" which was a good thing (his words) because he was unhappy with how tight the revision was and this gave him the opportunity to bring in those scars and loosen up that lip. So...aside from his palate repair, he had a rhinotip-plasty and lip revision. He has no new scars as he opened up the old ones so they are re-stiched. He expected us to join him in recovery in about 10 minutes. Well, over an hour later we were still waiting when they finally called us. They let me go in first and I was NOT prepared for what I saw. When the nurse starts with "I'm not saying this to alarm you but..." you know it's not going to be good. Hudson was having a very difficult time breathing. His whole body was heaving trying to get in oxygen. They were having a difficult time getting him to wake up and were anticipating ICU. Wow! I was dreading that moment of him waking up but this was way worse. A total helpless feeling and I have to admit I was scared. What was worse is only one of us could be in at a time and I didn't want to be alone to watch it all. They kept suctioning him out, had oxygen on him and would have to pull on his "tongue stitch" when his tongue would obstruct his airway, at one point they taped it to his chin. The nurse said "I know this looks barbaric" and she was right!
I finally sneaked away long enough to talk with Mark, send out a couple texts and phone calls to my mom and Pam and I think heaven was flooded with prayers. It was a short time later when he started doing much better. They re-evaluated him and decided he was holding his own enough to avoid ICU!
He still hasn't woken up much and they are still having to suction him but he seems to be resting comfortably for the time being. His stats also go down quite a bit when he drinks which is due to the swelling in his throat and his tongue but he gets them up quick.
I have attached a couple pictures. He is pretty swollen but he has a nose! We had loved his sweet flat nose and were not prepared for such a change in his look but his nose looks beautiful. He has plugs in and stiches all over but we can't wait to see what his face will be like when the swelling goes down.
Thanks again for the many prayers. We still need them. I don't think the pain has set in yet and I am prepared for a long night but the scary time is over. I sure think about his surgery in China and what that was like for him. The nurses were so impressed with how he searched for us when we weren't there and immediately calmed down when I came in. Thank you Jesus!!!
When we talked with the surgeon this morning he told us along with his palate repair he planned to "lift" his nose and tuck-in his nostrils. That wasn't expected but he knows best. The surgeon expected to be in the OR about 2 hours. After 2 1/2 hours they called and told us it would be another 45 minutes or so. At about 11:15 he came and met with us and told us once he got in to lift his nose he discovered a muscle had been left unattached which he went ahead and attached. When he did this it made his lip revisions scars "pucker" which was a good thing (his words) because he was unhappy with how tight the revision was and this gave him the opportunity to bring in those scars and loosen up that lip. So...aside from his palate repair, he had a rhinotip-plasty and lip revision. He has no new scars as he opened up the old ones so they are re-stiched. He expected us to join him in recovery in about 10 minutes. Well, over an hour later we were still waiting when they finally called us. They let me go in first and I was NOT prepared for what I saw. When the nurse starts with "I'm not saying this to alarm you but..." you know it's not going to be good. Hudson was having a very difficult time breathing. His whole body was heaving trying to get in oxygen. They were having a difficult time getting him to wake up and were anticipating ICU. Wow! I was dreading that moment of him waking up but this was way worse. A total helpless feeling and I have to admit I was scared. What was worse is only one of us could be in at a time and I didn't want to be alone to watch it all. They kept suctioning him out, had oxygen on him and would have to pull on his "tongue stitch" when his tongue would obstruct his airway, at one point they taped it to his chin. The nurse said "I know this looks barbaric" and she was right!
I finally sneaked away long enough to talk with Mark, send out a couple texts and phone calls to my mom and Pam and I think heaven was flooded with prayers. It was a short time later when he started doing much better. They re-evaluated him and decided he was holding his own enough to avoid ICU!
He still hasn't woken up much and they are still having to suction him but he seems to be resting comfortably for the time being. His stats also go down quite a bit when he drinks which is due to the swelling in his throat and his tongue but he gets them up quick.
I have attached a couple pictures. He is pretty swollen but he has a nose! We had loved his sweet flat nose and were not prepared for such a change in his look but his nose looks beautiful. He has plugs in and stiches all over but we can't wait to see what his face will be like when the swelling goes down.
Thanks again for the many prayers. We still need them. I don't think the pain has set in yet and I am prepared for a long night but the scary time is over. I sure think about his surgery in China and what that was like for him. The nurses were so impressed with how he searched for us when we weren't there and immediately calmed down when I came in. Thank you Jesus!!!
7.27.2008
Surgery tomorrow
Well, tomorrow is the day we have look forwarded to and dreaded. Hudson will have surgery to repair his palate. He is scheduled to be in the OR at 7:30 am. He, of course, is clueless as to what the next few days will bring and we hate that for him. Surgery is taking place at Childrens in Dallas. The surgeon will take a good look at his lip repair done in China and see what revisions he feels need to be made in the future (we know his top lip has no movement). We are not sure when this will be done but because it is still healing from surgery last Sept he doesn't want to touch it now. He will also have tubes put in. I know many of your will be praying for him (and us)...thank you!! We know it is the prayers of many that have made the last four months go better than we ever expected. (Tomorrow is four months to the day we boarded the plane bound for China!) He is such a sweet boy and we pray we see no regression from what will be a painful recovery for him. I hope to update tomorrow afternoon or evening.
7.23.2008
Sweet Minnesota days......
We have been home a week from vacation and I have been very busy working every day catching up and getting ready to be out again for Hudson's surgery next week. Even though our Minnesota trips are uneventful they are so special as they are spent re-living my childhood days. We spend the days doing the things I did growing up and thankfully my kids enjoy those trips as much as I do. It was fun to introduce Hudson to all the things we love and watch it through his eyes. Thanks mom and dad! We miss you always!
7.05.2008
Where Does My Help Come From?
I have to give details of the pictures below. I couldn't post it before due to our signal...
The Leggs and our family (except Hudson and I obviously) took a rafting trip. The river is the hightest it has been in 12 years and it was much more "adventurous" than was expected. The raft with Mark and Jordan ended up "dumping" after a drop and all but Haley were thrown in the water (including the guide who ended up quite cut up from his spill). I am so glad I didn't see it happen as I am sure I would have been crying as Connie was once she realized Tanner was alive....and the rest of them. The raft with the little girls didn't tip and Madi rode that the rest of the trip.
I had read Psalms 121 that morning as I am studying it in my Beth Moore study. She wanted us to read HCSB version which said. "I raise my eyes toward the MOUNTAINS. Where will my help come from?" It goes on to talk about God being the Maker of heaven and earth, not letting our foot slip, being our Protector, and our Shelter.
I am so grateful that The Lord protected them from all harm. He protected their lives" vs. 7
They did have a blast though and LOVE they have a story to tell!!
The Leggs and our family (except Hudson and I obviously) took a rafting trip. The river is the hightest it has been in 12 years and it was much more "adventurous" than was expected. The raft with Mark and Jordan ended up "dumping" after a drop and all but Haley were thrown in the water (including the guide who ended up quite cut up from his spill). I am so glad I didn't see it happen as I am sure I would have been crying as Connie was once she realized Tanner was alive....and the rest of them. The raft with the little girls didn't tip and Madi rode that the rest of the trip.
I had read Psalms 121 that morning as I am studying it in my Beth Moore study. She wanted us to read HCSB version which said. "I raise my eyes toward the MOUNTAINS. Where will my help come from?" It goes on to talk about God being the Maker of heaven and earth, not letting our foot slip, being our Protector, and our Shelter.
I am so grateful that The Lord protected them from all harm. He protected their lives" vs. 7
They did have a blast though and LOVE they have a story to tell!!
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