A Full Day

This morning, Lawrence felt well enough to head to work which was good given all the time he's taken off or will be taking off for Judah's hospital visits. I took the boys to the pediatrician's office for Judah's pre-op. physical which went better than expected. Judah was cleared for surgery by our pediatrician, but I received a call from Dr. Carson's office later in the afternoon to let me know that they needed a blood test done to test Judah's coagulation (how fast his blood clots). God willing, Lawrence will be able to take Judah first thing tomorrow morning to have the blood test done, and the results will show Judah to be a good candidate for surgery.

Please pray Judah's blood has no trouble clotting on its own.

I found myself on the phone a lot with our dr's or their staff. Everyone involved has been very helpful in the midst of what can be a rather overwhelming situation. I have been reassured several times today that the surgery Judah will undergo is rather "routine", and having a world reknown surgeon to do it is even more reassuring. However, ultimately we trust God and His ability to employ whatever means He sees fit to bless and heal our son.

Lawrence and I are still deciding what "the plan" will be for Judah's time in the hospital. I was told today that typically this surgery lasts two hours and has a two day hospital stay. We heard from a few folks today offering to help in practical ways, and we are so very grateful to you. We will be sure to let you know if there is any practical way to help once we've put our heads together and devised the best course of action for serving our family through this time.

Please pray that Lawrence and I will seek wisdom from God, come to an agreement about how to proceed, and then humbly enlist whatever help we feel we need.

It seems Judah may still be having a hard time with his stomach. We heard quite a rumble from his tummy tonight and I changed some pretty yucky diapers today. When his stomach rumbled, my little man just looked up at us with wide eyes and patted his tummy as if to say, "did you hear that; I think it came from here." So sweet he is!

Please pray that Judah will be completely recovered from any stomach bug by Wednesday.

We also shaved both boys' heads tonight in preparation for Judah's surgery. At first it was a bit difficult to see my little man's shaved head as he resembled a cancer patient to me. Judah's head is so big and a bit misshaped; shaving it so close to the scalp allowed us to see just how much Port Wine Stain covers his head. I'm grateful his hair tends to grow quickly. I debated whether to shave Tucker's so closely, but Lawrence felt Tucker would opt to do it himself if he had the choice to show brotherly support. So, we have two bald, little men who are still the cutest things in the world to me. Wish I could post a picture, but we don't have digital! :)

I'm hoping apart from Judah's blood test early in the morning, the packing and other detailed arrangements I'll have to make, that we'll have a more normal day tomorrow.
Pray that Lawrence and I are wise about how we spend our time together and with the boys tomorrow to best prepare everyone for surgery on Wednesday.
Any suggestions? Feel free to comment.