Carter's Journey: September 2011

He never ceases to amaze me...

Today was a great day for Carter! Last night around 2:30 he had output. He was able to have his nasogastric tube removed this morning and he is now on clear liquids! He is doing great! He feels so much better! He even sat up for a few minutes this morning and wanted to play with his toys AND gave me a big smile! I have to admit the past few days Brandon and I have been a bit nervous. It is never easy to see Carter when he is so sick. He is usually a fighter. This time he was too exhausted to fight. He had a dressing change and I.V. inserted with only a mere cry. Anyone that knows Carter knows this is uncharacteristic of him. He is a fighter and screamer if he feels the need. As a mom (and nurse) I knew something was not right with Carter. We are so fortunate that God bestowed the need for another surgery for Carter on our surgeons heart. Brandon and I both felt so much peace after Carter's surgery yesterday. I honestly believe this was in part all of the prayers that were lifted up for our little family. We are honestly grateful for all of your faithful prayers. We have been asked by so many if there was anything that could be done for us. We do not want anyone to ever feel sorry for us or to think we are asking for pity. We are blessed beyond all measures, we get to watch God work first hand in our child each and everyday. We are truly blessed and would have our lives no other way! The only thing we want and need is prayer! Please continue to pray for output, Carter's intestinal tract to heal and absorb as it should. Please continue to pray for peace, healing and strength.

Melts my heart!

Our God is so awesome! It was only yesterday that Carter was hardly able to hold his head up off of his pillow and today he sat up! He never ceases to amaze me! I am so blessed to witness his works first hand.

Playing with hot wheels that a few of the teachers at BES got him!

CHEESE!!!

Playing with the elephant and balloons his girlfriend, Lilly Ford got him!

Ready to eat some candy! :)
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

Surgery update 9/29/11

Carter had another tough night last night. Around midnight he pulled his ng tube out. His nurse and I fought him to get another one inserted only for him to pull it out again. He was restless and miserable all night. His stomach grew larger by this morning and he was extremely pale. When our surgeon came around, he took one look at Carter and said he needed to go to surgery today. I called Brandon at work and he hurried to the hospital. Carter went to surgery and as of right now I feel it was a success. Carter had a stricture towards the end of his intestines. Carter's tummy has already gone down and he looks so much better! He was finally able to rest this afternoon. We are so thankful to God for placing the need for another surgery in our surgeons heart. We have an AWESOME surgeon! We are waiting for Carter to have output and then we will start clear liquids. Once he is tolerating his feedings we will be able to go home. Let's pray for output! The poor baby has not been able to eat since Sunday at lunch. Thank you all so much for your relentless prayer!

The toughest boy I know!

The toughest boy I know!!!

There have not been many changes with Carter today. His heart rate has stayed down and his temperature is still fluctuating, although it has not been too high today. He is so strong, he did not even cry with his dressing change today. His nasogastric tube has continued to drain, although his abdomen is still distended. We are still waiting on him to have some output before he can have anything to eat or drink. Our surgeon is going to give him until Friday to have output before putting him through another surgery. We are praying for output! Carter slept most of the day and for the most part seemed peaceful. We are extremely grateful for this! We are so thankful God has brought Carter this far, to Him be the Glory!

Carter decided to wake up for a few minutes and watch a little TV.

Our home away from home...

Sleeping so well with Larry the Cucumber :)

I thank each and every one of you for your prayers and continued prayers. We are more than blessed to have such great followers of our little gift Carter.

Today was another tough day for Carter. The anesthesia began to wear off last night and Carter was extremely uncomftorable. His abdomen became distended around lunch time, requiring him to need a naso-gastric tube. His abdomen is still distended, we are praying it will go down soon. Our surgeon was also worried about a possible infection, due to the abdominal distention and fever. They have started him on more antibiotics and we will continue to monitor him closely.

We thank each and every one of you for your words of encouragement and prayers. We know that God will continue to bless Carter in everything he does and through your prayers.

Surgery 9/26/2011

Today Carter had another surgery on his intestine. It was a more intense surgery than we had once expected, although we were very happy with the news we received. Carter had an EXTRA 15cm of colon! When he was born he only had 15cm. Our surgeon had to make two large incisions and we are praying they can remain infection free. Carter is currently in a room in the PICU Step-Down Unit. His heart rate continues to be very elevated, his fever remains high, and he is requiring oxygen at this time. Carter is having trouble getting comfortable and he is very restless. This is definitely the worst we have seen him since his NICU stay at birth. The doctors believe it will be several days before he is able to eat and they will continue to monitor him closely. Your continued prayers are much needed and most certainly appreciated.

13 months...

Who is 13 months old today?

Me!

Cheese!

Today Carter is 13 months! We had an appointment with our general surgeon at Batson today. Carter is scheduled for surgery Monday the 26th. He has continued to have tummy trouble and we have decided it is time to do something about it. Unfortunately, it is going to be a more intense surgery than we had originally thought. Our Dr. will use some of Carter's intestine that is not currently being used. He will attach it to part of Carter's intestine that he is currently using. It's a little confusing and hard to explain. We are just praying it will work. We will be staying at Batson for atleast a week. I have to say i'm not looking forward to another hospital stay, but I am ready to have all of this fixed! To all of our prayer warriors out there, keep the prayers coming! Please pray for Carter to have little pain and an uneventful surgery and hospital stay.

Look at my teeth! I have two on the bottom and I am working on my top two front teeth!

God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He wanted.1 Corinthians 12:18

A year ago yesterday Brandon and I were able to bring our little gift home from the hospital. It was 5 months earlier than we had anticipated. We hurried to get everything ready and were beyond thrilled to take him home. I sometimes think taking him home was better than his birthday, it felt like he was finally ours! Here are a few pictures from our very special day!

Ready to go!

This is tough work!

On the way out! Can you see me?

On the way home! :)

Home!

YAY! I'm home!

Sacked out!

Here he is 10lbs. heavier on Saturday. We took him on a wagon ride at the park. He LOVED it!

Cool dude!

Sweet Feet!

A few days after Carter turned one he decided to start WALKING behind his walker!! This is now his favorite thing to do! He didn't go very far but we are very proud of him!