Post-Op

It was a good thing Allison decided to get up early this morning at 5:30 to get the day going and finally get her long awaited shower.  At about 6:20, the nurse down in the NICU called and said that Liam's surgery had been moved up and he would be the first one of the day.  They gave us about 15 minutes to get down to him before they took him out.  We "rushed" down there (Allison wanted to walk and that took a little while), but we were able to see him.  Luckily, the surgeons took their time to get him so we were able to spend a little more time with him.  He was not very happy this morning and couldn't decide if he wanted to yawn and sleep or cry; he decided to do both which got his breathing off and he wasn't a happy camper. We were able to get our first family portrait done.

The neurosurgeon came in about 10:00 to tell us his surgery went really well and he gave us some encouraging news as well.  He was happy that Liam's feet didn't show signs of clubbing and that he had movement in his legs.  He did say that a lot of movement for babies this young is mainly reflexive and not conscious movement.  It may be a couple of months before any paralysis is evident.  He did say that the defect was lower on the spine than the initial ultrasounds and MRI showed, and that hopefully he should retain movement of his knees and hips, but he may have issues from the ankles down.  This was a better diagnosis that we initially prepared ourselves for so we were thrilled to hear this.  Only time will tell exactly what long-term problems he'll have, but right now things are looking a lot better than we thought.

Liam is now stable and recovering from his surgery.  They're trying to slowly get him off the respirator that he had to have for surgery and they've administered some medications to get his lungs a little more active to get him off the CPAP.

Liam's journey to this point has truly been the result of answered prayers.  God is great and we feel like all of Botetourt and beyond are behind him and we couldn't be more blessed.  You have no idea what all your prayers have accomplished.  We are especially grateful for JR Graybill, the youth pastor at Mill Creek Baptist Church, who made the journey all the way to Philly to be there with us this morning while we waited on word of Liam's surgery.  His kind words, calming presence, and prayers really meant a lot to us and our family.  We know Ian's dad was happy to have found a kindred spirit to discuss all things hunting while JR was here.

Meredith and Eric Hansen, Allison's sister and brother-in-law, along with Carter, their son, have been a tremendous help while they were here.  Allison has really appreciated the emotional support only a sister can provide and they've been great errand runners so we haven't had to leave the hospital to get all the things we've left at home.  Carter has been so well behaved and we were happy he got to see Liam before they took him to the NICU (only people over 14 are allowed in NICU).  We really appreciate all they have done for us; words can't express what their presence has meant to us.

Both of our parents were able to make it up here to be here after he was born and to wait for us while Liam had his surgery.  It was a real blessing to have a full hospital room full of love and support while there was so much uncertainty.  But it was also kind of nice when everyone left and we had a chance to rest and have some quiet.  It's not easy delivering so far from home and it was truly nice to have our family here with us.  Allison's parents are going to stay the week; they brought their camper up and are staying just outside Philly.  Ian's parents went home today after we got word that Liam's surgery went well and he was recovering ok.  They and Ian's sister, Brittney, are going to make sure the house is taken care of while we're away.  Brittney has volunteered to clean the house to make sure it is clean when we finally bring Liam home.  We are especially grateful for her volunteering to clean out our fridge to make sure we don't come home to any "science experiments".  We didn't even want to tackle that one.