It's 6pm and we're finally back from the hospital - got there at 10am.  It's been a looooooong day but I'm happy to say Cody had a successful surgery with no complications.  He's currently taking a nap snuggled up in daddy's arms. 

It seems like years ago that this picture was taken.  But it was actually at 2:30 this morning.  We woke Cody up to have his final meal since he wouldn't be able to eat until after noon.  I took this photo of his little chest "before" - knowing it would never look the same again.  His little chest would never again be smooth...scar-free....flat.   

We put him back to bed after his bowl of oatmeal and banana....and then it was off to the hospital!  We were nervous Cody would be a wild animal having had no food - his meds make him voracious and the second he wakes up in the morning he goes to his high chair and starts screaming for food.  Luckily this morning he was very mellow - and even at the hospital during the long wait before surgery - just snuggled with us and was very calm.  Sometimes I wonder if children like him have a 6th sense -- about what's going to happen.  We were blessed that he was so easy rather than the screaming sad little boy we'd anticipated in the waiting room!

It's amazing what you go through when you know your son is about to be "cut" with a surgeon's knife.  Your awareness of his skin, his hands, his feet becomes so acute.  You memorize every little thing because horrifyingly - your child's sacred body is about to be invaded by a stranger's knife.  It is so counter intuitive - so evil feeling.  Such an oxymoron knowing that he will be cut open - yet it is for his "good."  We took lots of close ups of his little body - soaking him in. 

Then the Dr. came in and allowed me to give Cody the sedating medicine.  I squirted it in his mouth (again - SO counter intuitive.  "here honey, drink this so they can take you away from me and slice your body open....")  But I did it and Cody slowly drifted away on my lap.

The surgery took 2 hours.  Then he was in recovery about an hour.  The Dr. came in and said everything went well - no problems.  They explained how to care for his 3 wound sites.  Then he was brought back to us - still groggy.  He didn't handle awakening from the anesthesia very well - turned into a wild animal for about 15 minutes.  But after than (and since then) he's been groggy, lazy, and pretty peaceful.  I don't detect one bit of pain.  We're giving him a strong pain medicine every 4 hours for a few days.

 Here are his two wound sites immediately after surgery.  Not very gory - very clean and tidy.

And here's his leg where they did the muscle biopsy.  They will test it for tons of mitochondrial disorders - one last attempt at trying to discover what causes his seizures. 

All the pin pricks around it are from local anesthetic.  So that was our day.  Grueling, but successful.  We go back in 1 week for a wound check with the neurosurgeon.  Then a week after that for another wound check.  Then every 2 weeks to slowly turn on the device and ramp it up.  We are exhausted so I won't write more today.  I got so many lovely text messages, phone messages and email messages saying you were praying for Cody.  THANK YOU.  It was so heart warming to get a text right at 11:30 saying "thinking of Cody right now - praying for you all!"  We count ourselves the luckiest people on the planet for all the love our son inspires.  A church friend is bringing dinner over as I write this.  Another is bringing a meal later this weekend.  So much love sent our way. We are grateful for so much tonight.  cody is alive and well.  We have the support of saints.  And we have a Great Physician who knows far more than those Dr's do about Cody's future.  And once again, although we solicit modern medicine to do all it can for our son, we put our ultimate hope and faith in the One True Healer.  We pray this VNS liberates Cody from the prison of seizures.  Let it be so!

with love,

Shawna