A Very Long Day

Here is how it all went down!

1. Woke up at 5am
   
2. Left the house at 6am
   
3. Arrived at hospital at 9am
   
4. Drove around looking for parking until 9:30
5. From 10 until 11 we answered questions from the nurses. Actually, I started answering questions until I realized that my wife was much more educated on Dawson's health than I will ever be. So I sat down and shut up.
6. At around 11:30 I watched two nurses try and put a very small needle into Dawson's very small vein.
   
7. They were not successful!
8. I went to find food! Thank God for Chick-Fila
9. After I got lunch I forgot where I left my family so I ate waffle fries while I wandered around until people felt sorry for me and led me back to where I was supposed to be.
10. In the meantime a very good doctor was able to place Dawson's IV
11. It is now around 2 and we took Dawson for a CT Scan. I actually got to watch the screen as they did it.
    
12. That took about 30 minutes and then we went for an x-ray.
    
13. We got back upstairs around 3:00 and then Dawson had an echo done. I am not sure what that means exactly, but two things I know. 1. It takes a long time. 2. You can actually see his little heart beating on the screen right in front of your eyes. How can that happen?
14. After the echo we met with the surgeon. He asked lots of questions but one in particular I will share with you. He asked why were we moving forward with this surgery in light of Dawson's disorder. Typically I would be offended by such a question but this time I could share with this wonderful man all the wonderful things God had done for us. All of those things are too many to list here. But I guess the image of my sons heart, beating a mile a minute on the screen of that echo machine 17 months after all the Doctors told us that Trisomy 18 was not compatible with life, says it all. To be honest it was a refreshing reminder of what God has brought us through.
    
15. We left the hospital around 5 and came to the hotel and crashed!

During times like this when we face so many unanswered questions I find comfort in certain passages of scripture and this is one of them:
Psalm 91:1-2
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.