Easter Weekend

On Easter weekend Brandon had surgery for his kidney.
It was a weekend I will always remember. So symbolic of the real Easter.
When as a parent, I watched my child suffer, and there is nothing I could really do.
It needed to be done. (Just as Heavenly Father watched, his son, Jesus Christ suffer on the cross.)

Here is a a photo of Brandon a few minutes before he was taken to surgery.
(I had too much blush on, in an attempt to look awake so early in the a.m.)

He looked great in his hospital gown, and was in a good mood considering he was hungry.

I couldn't feed him for 4 hours before surgery. That is tough to do for a little 4 mon. baby.

He hardly even cried at the hospital while we waited for his surgery to begin.

I tried not to cry too.

It was a long restless week for me leading up to the surgery.

I was concerned and imagining all the terrible things that could go terribly wrong in surgery.

We had been promised by the dr's that all would go just fine,

but I know there is never a 100% guarantee.

The morning driving him to surgery, I found myself feeling very calm, optimistic,
and confident that all would be well.  Those feelings were very, very strong.
I had never had a life experience like that before.
Such an overwhelming feeling of others lifting my burdens through prayers and thoughts.

It was a great blessing to feel and experience.

I knew it was your thoughts and prayers for Brandon and our family.

Thank you again, we appreciated it all so very much.

Here is Brandon hours after surgery.  The surgery lasted close to 4 hours. A long time.
He was not well, which was expected.
That was hard, very hard.
During that time all the doubts come back.
You wonder if you will see your baby's personality, the way he was before the surgery.
Will they be the same person?

He was breathing on his own and didn't have any complications,
I was able to nurse him after surgery and throughout his hospital stay.
But, he was not himself at all.
He was hooked up to machines and lots of wires to monitor his heart, oxygen, and blood pressure.
He was also on an iv. There were so many wires it was hard to hold him and comfort him.
He mainly just slept. Brandon and I stayed overnight in the hospital together.

It was a bad night for me.  I was worried, of course.
There were so many beeping machines, nurses in and out,
very loud cleaning crews cleaning up the room next door,
and a horribly, hard couch - that was not a bed.
It was worse than trying to sleep after you have a newborn.

The next morning we were ok'd to take him home.
I was relieved, another miracle. Being able to take him home in 24 hours.
Chris and I drove him home, he was quiet on the way home.
I knew he wasn't himself because he didn't cry scream (like he usually does) in a car ride.
He slept all day and I was able to sleep too.
Then about 4 p.m., in less than 48 hours, after surgery he perked up.
He began acting like himself. Wide eyed, awake, curious, eating well, etc.
It was incredible, just miraculous to see and witness.
(Another great lesson I learned about Easter.
How very real and exciting the Resurrection was and will be!)

Each day since, he has been just great. Recovering so well.
We are very, very grateful.

He has a bit of a scar where the incision was.
Maybe 3-4 inches.  It should begin to become more invisible over time.
This photo taken days after surgery shows the special tape they used to seal the incision.
The tape fell off naturally. Now there is a thin red line, where the scar remains.

His bad kidney was in better shape than originally thought from the ultrasounds.
More structure to it. It should have a good chance of repairing and working better.
This is all good news. He had a stint placed inside, it will be removed in June.
Another trip to the hospital. But the removal should only take about 20 min.
The worst is over.

While Chris and I were at home tending to Brandon, the other kids were at Grandma's enjoying Easter activities. I was sad that I missed out on all the Holiday fun, AGAIN.
(Remember? I missed Christmas too.)
We are so grateful for all of Grandma Dianne's help for Easter and others of you who helped with kids, meals, and prayers.

Chris managed a couple Easter pictures and Aunt Sara helped take some photos too.

 Sadie 

 More Sadie

Tate

Kyle

Lindy, with her cousin Taeya