Home at last

Praise God.  Friday afternoon we rec'd the OK from our ortho to travel North.  We arrived home here in Virgina last night (Sunday).  We were welcomed by a gaggle of children in our driveway, all happy to see Sam.  And extrovert Sam was oh so happy to see them.  So now we wait for Sam's back to heal so that we can have hip surgery.. We've said it so many times before, and it continues to be true; we couldn't do this without the prayers of you Saints..THANK YOU!!!!  K

ER and Ortho visit

Swe are still fighting this UTI, but a late night visit the ER resolved some very painful tummy issues so Sam is eating, drinking, and overall feeling much better. We did recieve some frustrating news at our ortho visit yesterday; Sam's back is not healing as well as we had hoped. The Dr recommends a back brace and warned that we will likely need to wait longer than three months for hip surgery. (Sam's back must be healed before we can have hip surgery.) To bring you up to date, Sam will require hip surgery in order to sit upright again because now his back and hips are both straight. He's like a little board which is uncomfortable and frustrating, but as we keep reminding ourselves (and him), this is only a temporary (4-5 months) situation. Prayers always appreciated..K

UTI..

Although Sam's back is doing better, he is now fighting a nasty urinary track infection (MRSA) that he can't seem to kick. He is taking heavy antibiotics and feels pretty yucky. He has spiked a temp a couple of times, but so far we have been able to get it down and avoid the ER. Chip leaves today for DC. We are still in Columbus, with my parents. Prayers appreciated...

Home--sort of...

Sam was discharged from the hospital late Tuesday afternoon. He contracted a urinary track infection for which he is receiving antibiotics, but we still thought he would do better at home. So far, we were right. We are at my parents home (in Columbus) and my mother (Super Gmother that she is) is thrilled to cook anything Sam thinks he might consider eating. The threat of another IV has kept Sam drinking enough to stay hydrated. (Compared the trauma his body has endured, an IV is minor, but it still packs a punch to his psyche.) So all and all, we are rocking along. Maybe not rocking..

Ironically and sadly, Dr Devito, the gifted doctor who performed Sam's surgery, was in a cycling accident and broke his neck a few days ago. According to his office, he is expected to make a full recovery but he wont be practicing anytime soon. Please remember him in your prayers.

Many of you have asked how Isa is doing with all of this turmoil. She has been staying with my sister and her two teenage cousins. She has spent a good bit of time with them over the past year so it was a very comfortable setting for her. Our family was reunited yesterday. Although not overly concerned about Sam, Isa seemed genuinely happy to see me and Chip. Don't get me wrong, Isa doesn't bear Sam any ill will, but she doesn't comprehend/believe the magnitude his surgery. As she put it (describing a wealthy family in Colombia), "Fancy doctors tell reech (rich) people stuff so dey (they) have drama like tv." Isa is not (usually) into drama. She has a grit-your-teeth-and-bear-it-kind of philosophy and she respects mental and physical toughness. considering her background, this isn't surprising. So as you pray for Sam, please remember Isa. Her scars are not so visible, but they are still just as disabling...

Thank you for all the emails of encouragement and, as always, we thank you for your prayers. We couldn't walk this path without you.

blessings, K

Day 6

Sam is doing better, but he's still in a funk. We're going to leave the hospital even though Sam is still not eating or drinking. We're hoping his spirits and intake improve with a change of scenery. Pain is manageable, but of course moving him is still not pleasant. We have rented a reclining wheelchair, so even though Sam can't sit upright, he will be more mobile.

Though we have a long road ahead (another surgery in a few months and the aggravation of not being able to sit until then) this surgery was still a success; Sam's back is straight. He's almost a foot taller. It's incredible.

Thank you so much for the emails and especially the prayers. Good night...K

Day Four Back Surgery

Sam had a better day in terms of pain, but he is becoming more withdrawn and depressed. The docs tell us that this is very normal, but we've never seen Sam like this, even with his other surgeries. Pray. K

Day three --back surgery

Today started off rough. Sam began having muscle spasms in his back, which were very painful. He was miserable and at one point (our typically upbeat) little man said, "I can't win; I wish I were dead." Thankfully, at about 1:30 this afternoon they found the correct med cocktail to give him relief and he has slept most of the afternoon and evening so far.

In addition to pain, Sam is also becoming frustrated as he realizes he won't be able to sit up in his wheelchair (or anywhere else) for the next few months (last blog: his hips won't bend). We'd really appreciate prayers for his pain physically and otherwise--that he would be able to trust God through this difficult time.

As always thankful for our praying Saints, K

Long over-due update and back surgery

I will give an update on Sam and then give a little info about Isa and our family in general.

Sam had the much dreaded back surgery yesterday. We spent last week at the beach (a whole other story) so I had no Internet access there. Therefore I wasn't able to communicate as well before his surgery as I would have liked. So far his post-op experience has been better than we could have dared hope. Pain is managed well, no nausea, no neurological complications, and no signs of infection. Praise God! He is still heavily medicated and in a deep sleep even now. There is, however, a down side..prior to surgery, we (neither therapists nor doctors) were able to isolate his hip vs back movement...so once they locked his back straight they didn't know if Sam would have enough hip flexion (bending) to be able to sit. Turns out he doesn't--so now he has straight back and straight hips. He is not able to sit upright (which is a real problem)...so as soon as he is able to tolerate (a month, two?) Sam will require another hip surgery- similar to the one he had in Kansas. So we are trying to figure out how to manage day to day activities until we have surgery...and are trying to decide if we will stay here or go back to Virginia for the surgery.

So that brings me to Virgina; we moved there in June. (Chip moved in April.) Chip's mom, Mama Peggy, passed away at the end of FEB. We miss her very much. Before Mama Peggy's death we were able to spend almost every weekend with her in Columbus. We spent a lot of time in the car, time which God redeemed; it forced us to bond as a family more quickly than I think we would have otherwise.

So that brings us to Isa--she been home nine months and is doing really well. I didn't blog so much about her adjustment because I'm not sure how Isa will feel about her story being so public. However, I don't think she'd mind if I tell how funny she is. Isa loves to imitate people in our family. She does us all, but my favorite is her impersonation of me on my death bed: back of hand to forehead, "Sam, do your homework! Isa, no kiss boys!"

So I will continue to update on Sam's progress. As always, the Hueys are sustained by your prayers. Thank you...K