We are on the road!

Hey everyone! 

We are beyond excited to let you all know that we are headed home!!!! We are so surprised! We did not expect to be home on day 6 after surgery, but we will sure take it! Nolan has been doing so well and he has been so sweet. He has gone with the flow and let everyone do what they needed to do to get him well. We couldn't be prouder of our tough little guy. Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Karen removed his staples and drains this morning and that was not fun for any of us. A few minutes later, Nolan was fine and loved both of them just as much as before that experience. That is God's mercy on all of us. We are so thankful for that. We are eternally grateful for each and every one of you at Batson. Honestly, Nolan did not show that much excitement about going home. He loves it there thanks to all of you who love on him. We will see you next week!

Thank you so much for all the prayers. This is all possible through our Lord. Thank you to all of our family and friends who have sent cards, gifts, and come to visit Nolan. We feel very loved. We are headed home to love on our boy and help him recover! 

Joshua 1:9

Nolan needed a minute to himself outside on Monday. 

Cruising the halls with his buddy, Ethan. 

He thought we were silly washing his hair like this. 

He needed a familiar snack like he has with Ms Pam at home 

Mr. Chris helped get him to drink yesterday. He was not wanting to eat or drink anything, but he did for Mr.Chris and later for daddy. 

Mrs. Melanie snapped this cute face 

Shopping the halls with Raphael

He loved playing with his Kimmie! She told him to get discharged because she was his only night nurse on the floor. He obviously listens to her. 

He likes to show off his bobo

Thanks Andi and Cooper for playing with Nolan while we did the discharge. 

We HAD to go to the Jackson before we could go home. So of course we took him by there ❤️

Leaps and Bounds

Hey Everyone, 

This is my third time to start writing this post. I have been very occupied and when Nolan is asleep I am asleep. Nolan is doing so great. We couldn't ask for better. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a happy Father's Day. All the days have kind of run together to me. I will do my best to recap the last three days. 

Saturday was our last day in the PICU. Just 2 days out from surgery. So amazing. He was excited about his wagon ride. He did not want to get out of the bed to get in there though. He was very sore at that time.

Waiting to go to the floor. 

He was able to smile after the move 

The first night on the floor he did very well. Nolan slept very good. His heart rate was kind of all over the place. It still is when he sleeps. We are praying it resolves on its own. He also does not want to take any medicine by mouth. We have been able to work it out the best we can.  All of the nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapist have been so sweet to all of us. Nolan told his nurse yesterday, "thank you for my present (she didn't give him one 😂) and thank you for my Tylenol." He asks everyone that listens to his chest to listen to his back too. He wants very thorough assessments. This boy is something. 

Yesterday, we let Nolan get out of the bed. It has been on since then! I figured it would take more than 3 days before he could really walk. He does not want to stay in his room at all. We have been in the play room, walking the halls, watching the elevators, and outside! Isn't God's work amazing? Nolan is feeling better every hour. Here are some pictures from the last two days. 

Coloring in bed yesterday. We can't keep him in bed now. 

Getting out of bed the first time. Nolan did not suck his fingers the first two days after surgery. We thought he forgot about them. He found them!

He calls this strolling. He says he has to stroll 2 miles like nene does at home.

He can see "the Jackson" from the Windows by the playroom. ( the Cabot Lodge)

Playing hungry hungry hippos

Painting was fun ❤️

Making music. I wish I could share videos. He plays a violent version of old McDonald. 

We enjoyed the fresh air today. Nolan got to see a helicopter take off of the roof. 

We are back in the room watching Frozen again. I've never seen one movie this many times. Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers. We are so thankful. We are not sure how much longer we will be in the hospital, but we are sure you can't keep a good man down. 

Joshua 1:9

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Psalm 105:1 

A chocolate milk kind of day

Hey everyone, 

Nolan has done wonderful today. Or I guess I should say yesterday. It is all running together. He slept a long stretch Friday morning from 5-9 am. When he woke up he was sort of out of it and still in a little pain. Throughout the day we removed his Foley catheter and his central line. That allowed him to be more comfortable. Around lunch time he woke up from another nap talking and acting way more like himself! It has been so much better. He got his cockit milk! He tolerated it very well. 

He had fun making and receiving videos and pictures Friday afternoon. We have watched Frozen on repeat. He is feeling so much better. We removed his arterial line this morning (around 3 am). So now he is pretty much a free man! He has 3 chest tubes and 2 ivs. He is comfortable and happy for the most part. When he is good, we are good. 

We will be leaving the PICU and going to the floor this morning! He will love that because we will have lots of fun things to do and more of our things from home. 

Thank you thank you thank you for all the prayers!!!! Nolan is doing amazing and we give all the glory to the lord. Thank you to my mom for letting me get some sleep earlier! She is the best!

Joshua 1:9

Fontan ✅

Hey everyone, 

Mom is with Nolan right now so I wanted to update on his day really quick. So many prayers have been answered from the time we woke up this morning until now. I'll start from the beginning and hopefully make sense. We woke Nolan up around 5. He woke up happy. 

He did not ask for any chocolate milk ( or cockit milk as he says it) That was a prayer answered, because I really figured he would want it. It's part of his routine. He gets up every day and drinks his cockit milk. We met with Brother Will in the lobby. Have I mentioned how great our pastor is. He prayed over Nolan in the lobby at 5:15 am. He deserves that best pastor in Bolivar county award x10. He never left our side today. Hannah and Brent,they met us in the lobby for that early prayer too. We have some sweet friends and family for sure. 

When we arrived at the hospital, and Nolan was still in good spirits. I began to cry as usual. Brent and Nolan told me to get it together mom! I know prayers were being said because some how I did get it together. Better than usual. We went up to the preop floor and Nolan played and was just as happy as he could be. He loved his gown. 

We went to the 7th floor to meet with surgeon and anesthesia and do the dredded handoff. Nolan played with everyone and gave us all stickers. He put his key from his friend Sadie in his pocket(he stuck it down in his diaper) and he was set. The key from Sadie has been in the OR with Nolan 3 times since she gave it to him. It is a reminder that Jesus is the key. Nolan loved the sweet surgery staff. Some of which have been with Nolan for every surgery. That is so comforting to us parents. They are as good as gold. The handoff went very well. Nolan was fine and I did not cry until he was out of site. Well I had some tears, but I didn't ugly cry in front of him. 

The surgery went as planned. Everyone was very pleased. They took him back at 7 and he was rolling to the Picu around one. He was taken off the ventilator at 3:20 pm. He tolerated that like a champ. He was ready to take himself off of the vent whether anyone else was ready or not. He looks great. I do want to ask  you to pray for his pain control. He is hurting. He also REALLY wants his cockit milk now. He is begging for it. I want to give it to him so bad. We have to give his tummy time to wake up and he needs to tolerate clear liquids for a while. Which mom just text and said he got a few sips just now and he is good. So please pray he can tolerate that and get his cockit milk soon. I am about to rest an hour or two and go back for the night. Thank you so much for praying for us. God is so Good! 

Joshua 1:9

Nolan and his cousin Andi dabbing last night. He had a blast at "Jackson" with his family and friends 

Surgery tomorrow (6/16/16 @ 7am)

Hey Everyone, 

We are headed to Jackson right now. Nolan fell asleep the first ten minutes into the drive. He slept until ten o'clock this morning! He is going to be well rested for his big adventure. Nolan calls the Cabot lodge Jackson. He LOVES Jackson! He will be so happy about hanging out there tonight. 

We are not worried today. We have handed it over to The Lord. We know that God wants us to tell him our burdens and let him carry them for us. That is what we will do. We are sad because we do not want Nolan to go through this. That is where the tears start for me, but I know God is going to take the best care of Nolan. Because he loves Nolan and he loves his family and his friends.  

We have covered Nolan in prayer. On Sunday, Brother Will led our whole church family in prayer for Nolan. He has been to our house to pray with us. We went to the church yesterday with close family and friends to pray over Nolan. When we got into the sanctuary, Nolan pointed to the alter and told Brother Will,"that is where you go talk to us."  He is so funny. Nolan sure loves his pastor. We are very thankful for him. We are so thankful for everyone that is lifting us up in prayer. We can certainly feel the comfort. 

Tomorrow morning, we will get to the hospital at 5:30 am and the surgery should begin around 7 am. Surgery will last several hours. I will try to update tomorrow after the surgery is finished. I am not sure how this is going to go.  I may not have much time, but I will definitely post something. 

Thank you again for the prayers. They mean everything. 

Joshua 1:9 

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you 1 Peter 5:7

Cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken Psalm 55:22

He is tough, has no fear, and he is ready

Pre-op is in the books

Hey everyone! 

We had Nolans pre-op appointment this morning. He was so good. He is such a big boy these days. Today,he had a chest x-ray, EKG, and lab work. That is a lot for a two year old. And let me tell you, he handles it like a champ! We were so fortunate to have the picc team there to draw his blood. He did not wimper or even flinch! I had tears in my eyes while he is over there singing "drunk on your love" to the picc team nurses. He is so much tougher than I am. He was as happy as he could be. Ms Stacy hooked him up with some ninja toys and he was set. 

 He thinks EKG stickers are hilarious 

There has been a small change in plans. Nolan's surgery is now scheduled for June 16th instead of the 14th. He will have the Fontan procedure. In this surgery, they will be detaching his inferior vena cava (the vein that drains blood from the lower half of the body back to the heart) and attaching it to his pulmonary artery. This means that his blood from the bottom half of his body will now flow passively back to his lungs to be oxygenated. The blood from the top half of his blood already does this because of the surgery he had in June 2014. Therefore, this will be his completion. We are praying for a smooth procedure and a smooth recovery. From what I have been told, he will be ready to play a few days after the surgery. We will be in the hospital until his chest tubes stop draining. So, we are planning on taking coloring books and such for him to stay entertained. Nolan is full of energy and a busy body already! They say he will feel even better after he recovers. We are going to have our hands full for sure. We wouldn't have it any other way!

Please keep Nolan in your prayers. We have complete faith that he is going to be fine. We know he will be back at home throwing rocks in no time. Please pray for Nolan emotionally as well as the physical aspect. One of my fears is seeing him scared or in pain. Pray for us emotionally as well. It is hard to watch your baby go through anything painful. Even little bobos hurt us as parents. Like I said, Nolan is much tougher than I am. He is probably going to show us how this is done!

As always, thank you for keeping up with us and praying. 

Joshua 1:9

He loves to go inside at McDonalds. Brent and I do not typically go eat McDonalds but we try to do the little things for Nolan. We get there and we eat, but he doesn't ha ha. Oh well! He was happy to be there. 

In case anyone missed this one. This is Nolan on his first day of the school year in August on the left.  Nolan on his last day of the school year on the right. He has really grown up on us!