These are pics from the hospital while we were waiting for surgery and when they were taking Jacobs vitals. He wasn't nervous because he had no idea what was about to happen.
These pictures were from immediately following the procedure in recovery. He was in some pain and confused from the anesthesia. He had a hard time adjusting to the feeling of the stitches in his mouth. This was not something I was prepared for. I knew there would be a little pain, but Jacob refused to eat, drink, or swallow for 2 days because of the stitches. We had to use a syringe to force fluids in him to keep him hydrated. After the third day he was so hungry he finally started eating again.
This is the way he hung his tongue out for 2 full days. He was drooling all over himself like crazy. It was pretty funny. I am so thankful for a successful surgery and for the prayers from everyone. It has now been a few weeks since the surgery and we are surprised to see that he has started making new sounds such as the "g" sound and the "k" sound a few times. He seems to be babbling a lot more. I am so excited that the surgery was helpful. For those moms out there that are considering it, please take note that if your child has serious texture issues, this will likely cause a problem because of the stitches. If you can work through those issues, it'll be worth it most likely. It was well worth it for us.
While we were in the hospital we met another family who had come to Texas Children's Hospital all the way from Australia. The doctors came to speak with the family in front of everyone in the waiting room so I couldn't help but to overhear that the 6 year old girl, Morgan, had a large tumor in her chest. Her chemotherapy hadn't worked and this was the only doctor that would operate on her tumor due to the location of it near the spine. As they spoke, I grabbed my husbands hand and asked him to pray. He thought I was asking him to pray for Jacob so after he prayed I started praying for Morgan. As they came to take Morgan away she rushed back to her mom and grabbed her legs crying. Her strong mom held it together as her dad pulled her off and took her back with the surgeons. It was as if I was watching the most heart wrenching movie in the whole world, but it wasn't a movie. It was real. I was there experiencing the saddest thing I had ever seen. I fell apart crying. I asked the mom a few questions just to try to get her spirits up, but soon afterwards our doctor walked up to talk about Jacob. He was speaking softly and with hesitation as he went over all the risks of the surgery with me because he could see that I had been crying. I told him that I wasn't crying about Jacob's procedure, but for the family that had just sent their baby girl into a 12 hour surgery to remove a tumor. He changed his tone and reminded me that this is a time to count our blessings. It amazes me how God can speak to me through situations like this. Sometimes, especially right before a surgery, I can get so wrapped up in Jacob and autism that I fail to see the bigger picture. Don't we all get so wrapped up in our own bubbles sometimes that we have a hard time taking the focus off ourselves? Morgan's mom had walked off in the middle of our conversation with the doctor and immediately after we signed all the papers and were waiting for Jacob to be taken back Cret turned to me and said,"Allison, you didn't pray with her!" I was so emotional that I didn't stop to ask her if I could pray with her. She was all this way from home and all I did was just ask her a few questions. I kept thinking about them. I kept thinking about how if my child were in such a situation that the only possible peace that I could have through it all was in Jesus. I looked in the waiting room and they weren't there. I figured that I may not see them again because that surgery was all day and Jacob's was only 30 minutes. I told Cret that I needed to go get Morgan a gift and share my heart in a letter to her parents and find a way to get it to them. I knew if it were a packaged gift maybe one of the nurses would pass it on to them later that evening. While Jacob was in recovery I left him. Yes, I was the only parent to actually leave their child in recovery, granted Cret was there, but I am sure it still seemed odd for me to leave. I went back to waiting room where I had met them and a nurse took me to the waiting room where the parents were. I was so extremely happy to be able to see them in person and hug them and tell them that we were praying for them. I received an email a few days later from Claire, Morgans mom, stating that the surgery went well. It was 12 hours and they were able to remove 50 % of the tumor. I am so happy the Lord put us there to be able to pray for them. I feel like God was showing me that He is in control of every situation. I always pray for God to keep giving me the proper perspective. I say it over and over and am constantly in awe of how God does it. I am truly thankful that the Lord was showing me that these children belong to Him. All the worry I had for Jacob's surgery was for nothing. For one, I should have been thanking God for a hospital that is world renown right here in our backyard. Also, I was concerned about a little tongue clipping while another family was sending their daughter into surgery for a tumor. I am so thankful that both surgeries were a success. To God be all the glory. Please please continue to pray for Morgan and her family as she continues to recover.
