Jon's Last Surgery

Today I was reflecting on what we were doing one year ago...  we were at the hospital, George Washington University Hospital, where Jon had his last surgery. 

 Let me back up a little.  

Jon had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in July, 2009.  He recovered from that surgery and was healing well for the first few weeks.  During one of his post op visits with the surgeon, it was determined that the bone flap was infected.  This meant that Jon would have to endure another surgery to remove the bone flap.  The original plan was to do surgery to remove the flap, leave that out for 6 months, then put it back in or use that flap to make a prothesis.  So, in August, my mom came out to be with me at the hospital during his surgery and be with me as he recovered there.  I had made arrangements for the munchkins to stay with the Pulls, good friends of ours, for a few days.  That surgery was uneventful and Jon recovered well, but now he had an indent on his forehead from where the bone flap used to be. 

In November of last year, Jon was getting anxious to get the last surgery done and he wanted it done before the 6 months were up.  So, we talked with the surgeon, and he thought since Jon was recovering so well, that it shouldn't be a problem to go ahead with the last surgery.  

On Dec. 7, 2009, Jon had surgery to reinsert the bone flap.  My mom and sister, Debbie, drove out from Indiana, to help with the munchkins while I was at the hospital during the surgery and the few days after while Jon was still at the hospital recovering.  Along with my mom, one of my good friends came to sit with me during Jon's surgery!  I'm so thankful that she took time out of her busy schedule to be there with me!  Jon's surgery lasted for about 7 hours, from what I can recall.  What they ended up doing during surgery was removed 2 of his ribs and used those bones to cover up the hole instead of using the original bone flap or a prothesis.  As they were doing that, they discovered that the ribs were not enough bone to cover the entire hole, so they removed some of the bone from the other side of his forehead and used that as well as the ribs.  This last surgery was much more involved than we had anticipated.   Jon's recovery from this surgery was much more painful, due to his ribs being removed, than with the other two surgeries.  In fact, he told me that the pain in his side trumped the pain in his head!  I can't even begin to imagine!  Jon came home on Dec. 10th from the hospital.  My sister and mom left on the 11th and the munchkins headed over to the Holmes', some other good friends of ours, for a few more days as he recovered in peace and quiet at home.  It was so helpful to have the munchkins stay with our friends so I could devote all my attention to Jon and not be multi-tasking with the kiddos.  Each day I made it a point to go over and visit with them, to hopefully reassure them that Mommy and Daddy were okay.  I think Buddy had the hardest time being away from us.  Just recently, out of the blue, he will start talking about how he missed us when Daddy was at the hospital.  He has such a sweet heart!  

Once again, we were so well cared for by so many people!  Meals were brought over, our friends took care of the munchkins, and Jon was able to rest well.  I know so many people were praying for us as well!  

We celebrated Christmas here at home last year.  Jon's mom came out to be with us over Christmas.  It was a quiet, relaxed time for all of us.  I think that was what we all needed after all the craziness of the few months prior. 

Here are a few photos from Christmas last year...

The munchkins decorated a gingerbread house...

Grandma Jean helped too...

Our family on Christmas Eve, 2009

Me and Jon

Jon with his mom

Grandma Jean and Sissy with their new PJ's on

The munchkins & Daddy playing with Buddy's new train set

Jon reading the Christmas story from Luke 2 on Christmas morning

In January, Jon started physical therapy for his side.  After just a few sessions, he started to feel so much better! 

I never want to forget how God took care of us and all the of the small details during this difficult and uncertain time!  He was with us every step of the way.  He is always good and will see us through anything we face in this life.  He keeps His promises to never leave us or forsake us! I am thankful that we are all doing well and are healthy this year.  We will be heading to Indiana soon to celebrate Christmas with our families.  I'm thankful that we were able to see another year of life together as a family!  To God be all the glory!