Brain Surgery Journey

I must admit that I believe that my wife should be the one writing this because she is the one who is with Wyatt in the hospital 24/7 and sleeping on a pull-out couch without contact from home as much. We (Nick, Corri, and myself) went to visit on Friday and stayed until Saturday until we headed back home around three in the afternoon. I also must admit that the separation is more bearable with FaceTime. We can see each other and discuss the events of the day and how much Wyatt is improving. The hope is that he will improve enough that he'll be able to come home and continue his therapy outpatient.  But, for now it is lonely. I have Nick and Corri to keep me company and help with the everyday goings on but there is something missing. Today in church as the choir was singing I was half-expecting to hear a little voice call out "...mom... Cor...Dee-Das" and then see him help Pastor Mike conduct. He wasn't there. I fielded questions about "how is Wyatt doing?"

It is appropriate at this time to take time to publicly thank you for being a support group throughout the journey my family has been on. THANKS, you may never know how grateful myself and my family feels when we read comments on Facebook, see where you have either liked, loved or been moved to either laugh or cry along with us because of a photo, video, or update. You may also never know how grateful we are to receive food, gift cards, and other gifts to help us in not having to think of what to prepare during our multiple trips back and forth to Charlotte. As for an update on Wyatt, I almost can say if it wasn't for his scar on the top of his head I would not know he needed to be at the hospital. He is back somewhat to his old self. However, today begins a "INTENSE" bout of therapy in which they schedule for up to three weeks but shoot for less. Wyatt got a chance to show off for the physical therapist yesterday late afternoon. He was kind of pooped after that and he

There is an old saying that goes like this "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas everyday." With that said my wife had been told a pretty big "if" about Wyatt. If, he responds well to PT (physical therapy) and speech therapy he may go home earlier than expected. They talk about either later today or tomorrow. Now here comes the but, he only had BRAIN surgery on Monday! I am not doubting the doctors and I know that they do not make decisions based on one part of the multi-level equation, so I am sure they are seeing his vitals (which are really good) and giving us the best-case scenario. I know momma is nervous, so is dad who is going up and seeing him today after I get my blood-pressure and lab results from Friday (one good thing is that they didn't call me in to discuss them earlier, I am a proponent of the no news is good news  theory when it deals with medical procedures. I know my BP will be a bit high but my doctor knows I am currently

Wyatt's surgery went well according to the doctor. He has a scar across his head and was very tired when Jule and I finally got to see him. You guys rock along with a friend and two of our pastor's who came to see us through the day and pray there was an outpouring of love through my Facebook feed and e-mails plus texts that made the day ALMOST bearable. The best part of the day however was when my little man barely whispered "dad" and one of my biggest irrational fears was put to rest. When we first heard of this procedure one of the biggest fears and questions I had was "would he forget things?" The answer was/is NO. He is horse, tired, and possibly somewhat nauseated which is what the wonderful staff at Levine's will watch for. He tracked things with his eyes and had a light squeeze on my finger which were all good signs. His vitals were really good as a matter of fact his blood pressure was so good I wish I could use his for my check-up on Thursday

The day is finally here. I say finally like it snuck up on me, but it hasn't. I have a knack for counting down the days until Christmas, birthdays, and trips to Walt Disney World. However, this countdown was not the same. In the earlier countdown examples there is this sense of a reward coming, a prize sort of speak. With this there is a sense of unknown that began as a creep but as it is only a few hours away now getting louder and louder. Yesterday was supposed to be a celebration of mothers and to the rest of the world it was, but for me and my family it was a day to get through without crying too much, panicking, it was a day that we tried to be as normal as possible because we knew today would be different. By the way with a loving church family and Facebook messages from many sending prayers and the such it was hard to have a normal Sunday BUT, all of your encouragement and prayers and support has made the task ahead a bearable one. Now, I sign off and begin to get Wyatt re

We have certain traditions in our household and one of them is that I absolutely love is that I have a sleepover with Wyatt on Friday nights. The tradition is one of necessity and relief for Nick and Corri. When it became apparent that Wyatt was having nighttime seizures we needed extra monitoring for him and so we came up with a rotation of who stays with him each night between Nick and Corri every other night. I decided to take a night and made it Friday. Jule doesn't have a night because she does so much more with Wyatt throughout the day. I must backtrack and explain something. You might get this thought that dealing with Wyatt is a burden or a chore, NO, it is a labor of love. When you are a parent of a special needs child you understand that his needs come before other things. With Wyatt it stems from his seizures, they are so frequent and unpredictable that we are on constant watch out for them even when he is asleep so you understand our sleeping arrangement. Usually our s