***6 years ago today, Scar was flown to Cardinal Glennon.***
We left Springfield with about $35 in our pockets. Mr. Dad owned his own business and was needing to finish a job to get paid. But God had other plans for that too.
We drove. I cried. Mom cried. Mr. Dad tried not to cry. Skipper kept asking about 'Baby Toocer'.
My father-in -law got a speeding ticket before he even got out of Springfiled. The cop was kind enough to let him off when he found out what was going on.
We drove north. All the while wondering what was Scar doing? Was he hurting? Did he need me? Was he alone? Every St. Louis sign we passed on the way make my stomach turn. Was I really ready for what might be waiting for me?
When we arrived we made a mad dash into the hospital up to the NICU. They had Scar in a small isolation room. He was alive and at that moment, that was all that mattered to us. The nurse that we met was named Anita. She was an older nurse and I am confident that she was hand picked by God to be Scar's nurse. She greeted and us gave us the run down as to what was going on, what had been done and what we were going to do. Anita took Mr. Dad by the arm and said, "You owe your wife a steak dinner, she saved your baby's life."
Soon after, a small little man walked in and introduced himself to us. He was the doctor in charge of Scar's case. The surgeon followed soon after. They then explained to us that we were not dealing with esophageal atresia, but duodenal atresia. Scarr's intestines never open up. The intestines are a solid mass until about 6 weeks after conception, then by the grace of God, they begin to form the tube shape we all know. Well, for what ever reason that never happened with Scar. He was able to take the food in, but it never passed through his stomach, into his intestines to be absorbed into his body. They also stress just how close we came to losing Scar...they said we were down to a few hours. The doctor explained the surgery and said that it was an 'easier' surgery than the other, but recovery time was longer. They would also pull all of his little baby intestines out of his little body and look through them to make sure there was not another blockage. The surgeon informed us that he had done a couple of theses surgeries the last being in June of that year. Surgery was originally scheduled for that evening, but was postponed until the next morning, October 17.
When we got back to the waiting room to give the grandparents a run down on what was going on, we were so blessed to see 5 of our closest friends there, and 2 more were on their way from Dallas to be there.
The girls and I went down to the courtyard to have a few minutes alone and they asked what we needed. I said we needed money. I hated to say that out loud, but we had $35. We prayed and cried together. We finally found a hotel for all of us and went out for dinner. We found a TGI Fridays down town to eat at. God was about to show himself again. After we ordered, Cary handed Mr. Dad an envelope with $1000-cash in it. As soon as our church family heard what was going on, they gave money...knowing that we were self employed and now out of town for an uncertain amount time. Everyone cried-again. God was there and holding us up and providing way more than we needed.
After dinner we found a small little room near the NICU and all gathered inside. We took turns praying and acknowledging ways that we had already seen God work and things that we were thankful for. It was wonderful and Tracy was sweet enough to write all of it down. (I still have that notebook, it is a very treasured possession.)
Everyone woke the next morning and was ready for surgery. We got to say one last good bye as they wheeled Scar off. He looked incredibly small on that huge gurney. He had lost down to 5 pounds the day of surgery. Once I again, I stood and watched strangers take my baby away. After those doors closed behind him, I stood and wondered what to do next. We returned to the waiting room for what I can only describe as a typical yet unbelievably weird presentation by my dearest friends.
Jayma, Tracy, Crystal and Robin had been shopping. They had come up with a postpartum-your baby 's in surgery song and dance number(if you could call it that)...while wearing dresses that were about 2 sizes too small. They did their thing.It was to the tune of the "12 days of Christmas". I got a small little gift with ever verse! Mr. Dad just shook his head. He was used to crazy things like this from them.
Later, we noticed a small camera in the corner of the waiting room that we hadn't seen before. Squeals of disbelief were shrieked. The girls ran down to find the security guards and see just what could be seen. Sure enough, you could see the WHOLE room from that little camera. The security guards just laughed and asked if they wanted to buy a copy of the tape.
Scar came through surgery fine. He was laid out on morphine for the next few days. The surgeon told us afterwards that Scar was indeed a miracle because upon closer inspection of Scar's intestines, they found a tiny, tiny little hole. They were sure that it was that small little hole that kept him alive those 5 days. The doctor also asked me about the failure to thrive thing. He wanted to know if any medical person ever mentioned that to me. I said," No, it was just a voice I kept hearing." He said that it had to be God trying to save this baby's life!
Mr. Dad had to leave St. Louis after surgery to get home to work. My sweet friends never left my side. There was always one of them there with me and mom to help take care of Skipper.
The nurses were a God send and made sure we didn't spend too much time in the hospital. They were concerned about Skipper too. They told us the best places to take a 2 year old. They got us a room at the Ronald McDonald House. They took pictures of Scar for Skipper and gave him a bag of goodies, filled with all the things they were using on/with Scar. Skipper was not allowed back and didn't get to see anything but pictures of Scar the whole time.
Scar continued to do well and they took his breathing tube out on 10-19. On 10-21 he was taken off of the supplemental oxygen. On October 22, I was able to hold him for the first time in 6 days. On the 23, they took him off the wall vacuum that was used to keep his stomach empty He also has his first bowel movement. Which as weird as it sound was a huge answer to prayers! See..he never had a real bowel movement before...and this was what made recovery so slow with this surgery. But we hit that milestone and sailed on. I was also able to nurse him as well.
Anita and Eve, our nurses were a the best. They were so sweet to all of us. Anita pulled me aside one evening and put something small in my hand. It was an angel pin. She said that God had worked in big ways to save Scar's life. She laughed and said.."When Skipper and Scar are 13 and 15, you can look at this little pin and know that God saved Scar for a reason and fight the urge to strangle them!!"
Anita is the one that decided it was time for me to hold Scar. She asked the doctor to write it in the orders, since it was already done.
On 10-24, they took the final tube out of Scar and on October 26, 2002...we packed our little miracle and headed home. We got home to a spotless house..the girls had "broken in" and clean everything !!
God showed himself in so many way during that time. I really can not try to recount for you the number of times we clearly saw Him working. The biggest blessing is that Scar is doing great. Aside from his Celiac Disease...which we feel like was triggered by the doctors handling his intestines....there have been no complications since the surgery. We also had to have him undergo genetic screening for Downs syndrome while in the hopsital. It is unusual to have duodenal atresia with out Downs. But once again we were blessed and everything is fine.
Every year...the 3 weeks after Scar's birthday is a steady reminder of the power of God. We like to remind Scar that the large scar on his tummy is a daily reminder that God worked a true miracle with him!
*****
I know this was long and drawn out. But I have not recored this yet for Scar and I want him to know how mighty his God is. So thanks for hanging in there with me while I got this done!!
