Out of Surgery

Paton had surgery this morning to close up his back. We praise the Lord and thank you all for your prayers and comments. They really mean a lot to us. Everything went well, and he is resting in recovery. The plastic surgeons did not have to get involved, and they were able to use the skin to cover everything up. They are going to keep an eye on him for infection. At this point, he goes back to NICU for a while. The next big thing they'll watch for is the build-up of cerebrospinal fluid on the brain (called hydrocephalus). 80-90% of spina bifida kids develop hydrocephalus, usually after the spine is closed up. If that happens, they'll do another surgery to implant a shunt in his head which will allow the fluid to drain through a small tube inserted under his skin. The tube will end in his abdominal cavity, where the fluid will be absorbed by the body. So, we wait and see. I guess a lot of his life will be waiting to see. Isn't that true for all of us? Wait on the Lord.

Paton John

Paton's New Digs

Here you can get a better idea of the clubbing of the left leg. They will do casting and bracing over time to correct these things as much as they can.

First Contact - What Joy!

Hurry up and Wait

More waiting. I'm sitting here right now in the NICU next to my handsome sleeping boy. He's had a rough morning. First the neonatologists, then the plastic surgeons, then the nurses -- all "messing with him." And he hasn't even had surgery yet! We're waiting for anesthesiology to get here. They said last night that they'd probably be prepping him around 6:45, but it's now 8. O, well. Paton seems comfortable right now. I see his little chest moving gently with every breath. His little legs are tucked up under him and he looks pretty cozy. I may post a few more pictures here in a bit, if I can figure it out. Then I'll give an update after surgery. We had problems with the wireless network here (they gave us the wrong access code), and then our internet filter was keeping us off the system. But I think we're all set now.

Paton's Here!

5:59 P.M. 6 lbs. 10 ozs. Hooay! We are so happy to finally meet our little fella. Jen is feeling ... well ... beat. And hoping she can eat before too, too long! : ) Paton will be having surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30 to close the hole in his spine. So ... an early morning. There is some pretty bad "clubbing" of his left leg, but we really don't know any effects yet. The opening in his back is quite large, so plastic surgeons will be on hand tomorrow as well if they are needed. God's been good. We look forward to some sleep.