Mason Update from Hospital

We have settled in at All Children's and are learning the ropes. I have figured out how to use the computer and I'm so grateful that I can update you. Mason received his IV last night at midnight. He very much enjoyed that experience :). He slept pretty well for a new place. This morning they took him and did an esophogram (wrong spelling) on him. This to was a wonderful experience for Mason:). They placed a tube up his nose that drains into his lower intestines. This is how he is getting his food and he should be able to keep it down. So far so good! Tomorrow morning they will be performing a PH prob at 10:30. They will be putting him under for this procedure and it should take around two hours. They will be taking a camera down his throat and looking around to find where the acid is going. They will be leaving a prob inside him for 24 hours to monitor. Then on Tues we should receive the results back from those tests and make a decision about surgery. The surgery they are discussing is a Fundoplication. The positives of the surgery are that it will prevent food from going back up the esophagus. There is not alot of risk oi the initial surgery. The negatives are it is not permanent and will need to be repeated. Children with Neuro issues usually have more complications with this surgery. Like his shunt it will have revisions. They will also place a GTube in him. Not sure all the specifics on this but we will get more details next week. I'm so grateful that answers are happening. Kevin flies back tonight! He had to be away on business this week and he's ready to come home. We will continue to update throughout the week. Forgive me if this is confusing. We're going on about 2 hrs. of sleep. Thank you for your continued prayers. Love, Wendy

Mason's GI appt.

We met with Dr. Condino today. We brought her the video of Mason's recent throwing up episodes. We began discussing all the outpatient things we need need to do to prep for surgery. Surgery is not a definite but prob. inevitable. Anyway, during all the discussions my mom was feeding Mason. At the very end of the visit, Mason began throwing up, choking etc... She was able to see first hand. Tears came to her eyes and she said we're admitting him tonight to the hospital. I'm praising God that she was able to see first hand what we've been living with the past several months. We're heading there now and not sure what all is instore. Please keep the doctors in your prayers as we make decisions for Mason. The surgery is very serious and has many negative side effects. Please keep Kevin and I in your prayers as we make difficult decisions for Mason. Kevin is still in New Orleans on business. He is having a hard time being away from home at this time. I know this is quick but I wanted to give you a quick update.



Please keep my precious friend Katy in your prayers. You were so faithful to pray for her a couple of weeks ago when she was rushed to the hospital. Last night her father fell down the stairs and passed away. She and her family are now in N.C. Please pray for her during this difficult time.

Mason Update

Thank you for all the words of encouragement and advice. We greatly appreciate those of you that have shared your stories with us and given us things to ask the doctors. We have followed through with all the information we can get. Here is where we are with Mason. First, we went to Shriners last week to meet with Dr. Garcia the orthopedic surgeon. He was great and we were eager to hear what he had to say. He said that Mason will require surgery next year on his thumbs. (This was not a big surprise to us.) Our prayer is that the surgery will increase the mobility in Mason's hands. Mason is still not able to lift his head up and many of the things he is struggling with physically are the result of the limited use of his hands. He is having us put the hard braces on Mason all day. (We were a little bummed about that part) The hard braces go halfway up his arm and limit his ability for any discovery of his fingers. He loves sticking his hands in his mouth, rubbing his hair and eyes etc. We want to make sure his hands are as pliable as possible before the surgery. We will meet with him in another 3 months for another checkup.

Now, as far as his GI system goes we have some ups and downs. First the positive. Mason went 1 1/2 days without throwing up. Praise you Lord!!! Unfortunately he did not go #2 those days either. By 5 o'clock last night the throwing up came back with a vengeance. Kevin gave him an enema and we began the downward spiral. We were up with him all last night holding and praying with him as he cried trying to get everything out of his system. We spoke with the doctor again this morning and took her his recent diapers to test. She did not find blood in his stool which is a huge praise!!! Praise you Lord!!! We are switching a couple things around to see if they work. She did finally mention that a GTube may be inevitable. We had a feeling it may come to this but it is not a guarantee yet. Monday we go to All Children's for a OPMS (Swallow study) . They will take xrays of Mason eating to see if he is aspirating or what is going on when he tries to digest food. Wednesday we will meet with Dr. Condino again to go over the results of that study and further discuss the issue of the Gtube.

Kevin and I are both at the point that whatever it takes we want this roller coaster to end. It is a terrible quality of life for Mason. We need to be working with him on all his therapy but have to keep him laying there so much of the day so he won't throw up. He has to gain weight. So we feel like we're stuck. If you can pray that God will continue to give us wisdom beyond measure. We want to do what is best for him and we need peace to know what the right decision would be. Pray for our doctors that God will give them wisdom as they instruct us which road to take. Especially pray for Mason that he will continue to grow and develop into a healthy boy. He amazes me with his smile. At 4 o'clock, after he had the final push to get everything out of him. He just smiled a kicked his feet on the changing table. I praised God for giving us a child that can smile in the midst of pain and chaos. I've been listening to a Beth Moore study on Job in the car each day. The one thing Job did in the midst of everything going on was to cry out to Jesus. He knew that He would always be there. God's grace is so great and new everyday. I feel so blessed to call him my father. I've been watching many of the TV programs on the devastation in Haiti. I saw a baby (prob Mason's age)with burns all over his body. His mom was holding him tightly waiting for medical help. I burst into tears for that mother. I can't imagine not being able to pick up the phone and not get to a doctor to help my child. We have SO MUCH to be thankful for and I know I don't say it enough. My heart is broken for those people. I'm asking God to do a mighty work in that country. It helps me keep things in perspective when it seems like life is difficult. Praying that you have a blessed week, Wendy

Updates on Katy and Mason

Katy is doing better. She is praying that they will discharge her today. They still don't know what all is wrong with her. They have been able to rule out all the serious things. She will come home and take it easy for awhile. Thank you so much for praying for her. I've shared with her the comments on the blog and facebook.

Mason's day yesterday was a huge improvement. He still threw up several times but not as severe as the day before. He's still choking after he eats which causes him to throw up. We will check in with the doctor tomorrow. We are heading to Shriners today to meet with the orthopedic surgeon. He will be taking a look at Mason's hands to determine if a surgery is going to need to be scheduled. We will let you know how our appt. goes. Praying that you have a blessed day. Love, Wendy

Mason Update

The past 48 hours have not been going well with Mason's food intake. He has been throwing up nonstop and choking. Last night I think was my breaking point. When I laid him in bed, I got on my knees and begged God to heal his stomach. This pattern has been going on since September and we still do not have any answers. God reminded me that He is there walking this journey with us and we're not alone. As I was praying, I looked above Mason's bed at his verse we have for him. " Mason is fearfully and wonderfully made". I know God created Mason and He loves him so much. Again, I had to lay Mason at the foot of the cross and find peace that only God can give. We are working with the doctor and for the next 48 hours I'm going to stop nursing him and only give him his medicated formula. I'm going to be keeping a log of everything that I put in my mouth. We will monitor how many times he throws up and the quantity. Then we will decide then where we need to go. Thank you for your prayers. I know that everything will work out and we will figure this little guy out.

P.S. As I was typing I received a phone call from my precious friend Katy. I watch her baby Ava everyday. Katy is 14 weeks pregnant with Ella and was taken to the ER last night. They are testing her for a pulmonary embolism. I'm asking that you please pray for her and the baby. This could be life threatening. She is a precious sister in Christ and I'm praying and asking for God's healing on her body.

Happy New Year

I know I'm a few days late but Happy 2010!! We have been keeping busy with Christmas and now back to work. I wanted to give you some updates on Mason. Mason was doing great through Christmas Eve. We went for his regular pediatrician appt and he weighed in a 13.8 pounds. We were so happy. That was the first weight gain since September. Then over Christmas break it has been very up and down. He was throwing up quite a bit and still having issues with his poop. This past week, he has improved on his sleeping and he's been eating a variety of solid foods. Today we went to a different GI specialist to get a second opinion on several things. She came highly recommended to us and we felt very comfortable with her. Several things that came out of this appointment. First, Mason lost weight and she is very concerned with his numbers. I was actually happy that she was concerned. It seemed that his weight was not a major issue and we knew that he was very small and not growing. She has given us a 48 hour window to concentrate on his feeding. She is giving us several things to do and change. We are going to go ahead and get a swallow study done at All Children's. ( not sure on the date yet). We are still not convinced that he is not aspirating and we have to rule it out for good. We are changing up his meds and how often he eats. We're going to be collecting the next few diapers for her to take a look at and test his stool. We felt good leaving the appt. She said we are going to work closely to get this problem solved. How to pray: 1. Mason gains weight. 2. Keeps down food and goes to the bathroom. 3. That we can solve the problems w/o surgery required. Thank you for keeping Mason in your prayers. He is a tough little guy and we are so proud of all the things he's gone through and the smile that remains on his face. Have a blessed week. We'll be posting pics for the 1/2 marathon later this week. God Bless, Wendy

Christmas Morning

This is Mason after opening his first present!

Let me explain my medal. Kevin and I took 12 weeks worth of classes to have a natural child birth. Every told me I was crazy. Not like I get a medal for not having meds. I said oh yes I will. Here is my medal from Mason. We'll forget the nine hours of labor only to have him breech and an emergency c section. The point is I went nine hours no meds !! I don't know how girls do it for 24 hours. You all deserve a medal. Every mother deserves a medal. I'm sharing it with all of you. :)

Christmas Eve by Candlelight

Mason's first Candlelight Service! So precious
The boys, Kev, Matt and Bart
I love Miss Ashley!
This is my precious Ava. I get to watch her everyday with Mason. She looked like a beautiful princess on Christmas.

Mickey's Christmas Party

Get the Party started with Mickey and Minnie
Ash and I had lots of fun dancing with the Disney Characters. Ashley J and Lisa had fun making fun of us. Girls night out at Disney World!!

Birthday Party for Jesus

Happy Birthday Jesus!!!
Kevin and Tori with their annual icing picture
Jeremiah was an amazing wiseman!



My favorite memory growing up was our annual Birthday party for Jesus. Christmas night my parents would invite all of our friends over to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. Three years ago Kevin and I took over the tradition. It is so fun to see all that God is doing in the lives of our friends and family. We always read the Christmas story and in the past couple of years we've had amazing actors. :) Mason was able to be Baby Jesus this year. Emilee was Mary and Cameron was Joseph. Jeremiah was our wiseman. As all of our families grow we're hoping to add to our cast. Jesus is the Reason for the Season.