First Surgery

On Saturday night, Sara and I went home from the hospital and left little Connor in the competent hands of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  We were sad to leave Connor at the hospital, but we were glad to be able to sleep in a real bed for more than an hour without a nurse interrupting.  At least, that's what we were hoping for.  What a horrible feeling to be woken up at 5:30 in the morning with a call from the NICU. 

They told us that they noticed Connor's stomach bloating.  So they had done an x-ray.  It showed a gas leak in his tummy.  They would have to cut into his abdomen and find the holes in his small intestine that were releasing toxins into his tummy and causing infection.  At this point, we were very scared.  We rallied the troops (called the grandparents) and set off to the hospital.  We got there as they were prepping for surgery. 

The specialist Doctor Uitvlugt (who only operates on babies and small children) explained the process to us.  They would cut out the area of small intestine that had holes in it and they would leave the end sticking out of the abdomen until Connor was big enough to survive the reattachment to the rest of the small intestine and large intestine.  For two weeks he will be unable to eat while his infections heal.  He will have to be fed throuh an IV and arterial line.  Once he has healed he will be able to try food again.  However it will only be able to pass through the small intestine up to where it was cut (the first hole) so he will not be able to absorb very much.  There is a chance of fatality with any infant surgery.  We were very concerned and upset.

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? - Luke 12:25-26

The surgery was expected to take 1 to 2 hours, so we started praying.  Within half an hour the surgeon came back and told us that Connor was just great.  The surgery was a huge success.  Thank God!  Not only was Connor a strong little guy with steady breathing and a consistent heart rate, but the problem with him was the smallest possible and had the best possible outcome.  The hole was at the very end of his small intestine, right where it connects to the large intestine.  This means that when he has recovered from infection and starts to eat, he will be able to absorb as much food as if he didn't have a hole.  What a blessing.  We plan on still bringing him home around his due date of December 4, 2009.

Please pray for our family.  Pray for strength and development of Connor.  Pray for grace and peace for his parents and grandparents.  Pray for faith and hope for all of us.

Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! - Luke 12:27-28