Waiting for November 18th...

As you know, the big day has been set for November 18th. Here's a "quick" update, just so you all know how Tyson's been doing in the meantime :)

Tyson is doing great! He's 23 months old now and starting to really chatter. His vocabulary is expanding every single day, he is putting 2-3 words together, and he is constantly making us roll on the floor laughing at his antics. Last week he had another speech assessment done, and the ST was very impressed with his progress over the past 5 months. She says he is in the normal range with respect to the amount of words he uses, but the pronunciation still needs work. Another assessment will be done in 6 months and if he's still having difficulty expressing words properly, they might start a program with him. I'm honestly not that worried about it. He'll get there! WE sure understand him! Our oldest 3 kids are having a hoot with him too, of course they think everything is so funny all the time. Even when we're trying to discipline him. We're always laughing at the funny things he says and does, and the expressions on his face when things don't go his way. That's our Mr. T.

With my other kids at this age, if they were quiet it usually meant they were getting into trouble. When Tyson gets quiet and I'm wondering where he is, he is usually sitting in the corner of his room by his bookshelf looking at his picture books. He LOVES cuddling up with a good book, like his Mama :)

So far this fall, Tyson has been extremely healthy. Our whole family has been blessed with amazing health so far. Since the cold/flu season has hit again, we've enforced a strict hand-washing policy in the household again. The kids get so used to it that we don't even have to remind them anymore. We're also trying to keep Tyson away from public places, especially places where there are large groups of young children. So far he is good :) His "asthma" or whatever you want to call it has been acting up again since the weather has changed again, so he is back on his inhalers. Hey, he did pretty well, he'd been off them for the entire months of August and September. That's not bad. He is coughing a bit, and has a "ruggel" in his throat again, but his airways sound clear and he's not waking up in the night from it or anything. No runny nose or other signs of a cold though, but we're giving small doses of liquid silver 3X a day to prevent anything from hitting him. That's in addition to the multi-vitamins and pro-biotics. You can never be too careful with a kid like him. He's come this far already, we don't want him getting sick right before surgery.

So November 18th is the big day. Three weeks from today. Two weeks till pre-op. Not that I'm counting ;P

I am struggling with how much of my feelings and emotions I should share on this blog, since this is technically Tyson's blog not mine. But I can't help the raw fear at the thought of losing my son. This is pretty serious stuff. At this point, I am not as concerned about his HRHS (small right ventricle) or his other defects, but I am more concerned about the PVS (pulmonary vein stenosis.) Brian and I are both very much looking forward to the pre-op day, when we will have opportunity to talk to Tyson's surgeon about the severity of it all. I'm really hoping this Coles procedure works for him. The Coles (to fix the PVS) is definitely a bigger concern than the Fontan (3rd surgery to re-plumb his HRHS heart.) *sigh* Waiting can be so excruciating!

There have been so many times in the last 2 years that I wish we had a remote control for our lives. We could rewind to special times, pause at the great moments, go in slow-motion to savour the happy and exciting moments, and fast-forward through the difficult, painful times.

In some ways, I wish November 18th would never come. Why operate on a seemingly healthy little boy? Sometimes it's so hard to accept that his heart is so sick on the inside, especially because he looks so good on the outside.

In other ways, November 18th can't come soon enough. I'd love to have this all behind us now. Like right now. I want to push that fast-forward button...If only it were that simple!

I am so happy that at times like this, we can go to the Lord in prayer. We are never alone and we will forever be grateful that "our help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121) While I wish we could just fast forward our lives at a painful time like this, we know that God is holding onto us and helping us grow closer to Him in times like this. He will pull us through it, as He always does!

This surgery will be different too, in the fact that Tyson is much older than the last time. He can talk and express hurts and pain. He won't sleep as much this time around because he's no longer a baby, but I'm secretly hoping they keep him heavily sedated for a while...to keep him calm.

As much as I am sad about what we have to endure in placing our son into the hands of the surgeons once again, I am even more worried about how Tyson will react and behave. Will he feel pain? Will he be able to express his pain? Will he be mad at us for allowing this to happen to him? Will he remember the pain? Will he be calm enough to lie there, resting soundly like he's supposed to, without pulling out all the wires and tubes? He's a very active little guy, how will he handle being in pain every time he moves? If he has a temper fit and decides he is not happy with where he is...well...those of you who know Tyson....you know that this would be a very stressful event for us to keep him under control. His temper has got him through 2 surgeries and many procedures in the past, I pray that his temper will help his recovery and not hinder it. (Ok, so I won't let his temper take full credit for his recovery....thank-you LORD! But the determination has helped:)

Well, I am blogged out for today. I will probably post another update after his pre-op date, or maybe the next day.

Once again, we covet your prayers :)

Mel:)

(Since Tyson will be spending his second birthday in the hospital, we got his 2 year pictures taken earlier in October and I've posted them below. Enjoy!)