Friday, April 17, 2009

Surgery X Friday, April 17th

Hello to all. This is Chance. Carson, Cody and I left Olney at 10:00 this morning to see Clay before he went into surgery. It has been two weeks since his brothers have seen him. When we walked in and told him Carson and Cody were here to see him he tried several times to sit up and I am sure he would have jumped out of bed had he been able. Cody read him a story. Carson told him about the new puppy he was going to get when he gets home. The visit went by much to quickly. They called for him in the O.R. and he was prepped and on his way down a little before 3:00 this afternoon. We had been prepared for a long procedure because we thought they were going to have both Purdue and Arnoldo in the surgery working on different areas. About 45 minutes into the procedure Dr. Purdue saw me in the hall and reassured me that everything was going well, but they had decided to concentrate on the face and postpone the hand for a later date. It appears Clay will get to keep all of his fingers a little longer. We were prepared for them to take a portion from several digits today. They rolled Clay up from the operating room about 6:15 this evening. Dr. Arnoldo told us that everything went as planned. He was worried about the skin color of the grafts. We as parents are most worried about function and getting him home. Today was a big step forward and the Doctors are making progress with each procedure. He still has the left hand and the back of his head, to be grafted, and we are not sure of the time line on either of these. We would like to thank both Doctor Arnoldo and Doctor Purdue for their expertise in helping Clay. Deidra and I both feel it would take a special calling to be a burn surgeon and we are glad they chose to do it. Thanks to everyone who prayed for Clay today, we hope today will be a jump start on his road to recovery.

14 comments:

  1. Glad to hear that all went well today. we will keep you all in our prayers.We pray that Clay will be home soon with his family. God Bless You All

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sending hugs and prayers your way.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Another step towards recovery and the biggest step of all....the return home. I love picturing the thrill of seeing the three boys together and Clay's excitement at seeing them! That is all good medicine for him...brothers need their brothers. We have three sons ourselves and it is a special gift. Nebraska friends are still keeping all of you close in heart!

    ReplyDelete
  4. So great to hear that Clay's surgery went well. The burn doc's at Parkland are awesome. How sweet it is to read about Clay being so excited about seeing his brothers. Praying that you all are taking care of yourselves and each other and that God's lovingkindness keeps showering on you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think trying to keep up with older brothers when Clay gets out will be the best physical therapy. So glad to here the good news. Praying that things continue to go well. Best Wishes to all.
    Laurie

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad to hear the surgery went well! I am thinking that the Drs. know that God just needs a little more time to heal those digits! I am gonna be praying like crazy. As long as he has them, there is hope! So, I will count that as a praise! I will be praying for his grafts, all of them, I know you are all so concerned. Remember, one day at a time! I am so glad all 3 Cs were together today, I know it must have done them all a world of good! Rest well and know I am on night duty tonight! Alex is better, I am well rested and ready to pray! love you all! Missy

    ReplyDelete
  7. What EXCITING NEWS!!! You thrill our hearts to pieces---keep up the GOOD Work Clay!!!
    Love and prayers to you all. Have a good night.
    Marvin and Bonnie XOXO

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow! What an eventful day all of you have had. I read this passage in the Book of James and thought of this blog. How many people come to pray for Clay's healing and become strengthened through your postings and the courage that Clay and the whole family is demonstrating to us. Thank you and have a good..., no make it a GREAT weekend.

    Gary and Jeanne' Snyder

    "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

    —James 5:13-16

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great news and thank you for taking the time to share it with us. We too check your blog every night. We are thrilled when things are going well and so sad when things are not. We too look forward to the day when you all are at home together again. Caden and Colby sure enjoyed playing with your boys last weekend in Seymour.
    -- Marcus Smith family

    ReplyDelete
  10. We are pleased with the report from Surgery X. We know there are many more to come, we are hopeful that his little left hand will not be as bad as first thought. Each day brings him closer to the day he gets to be home and hug his brothers. Our prayers and thoughts go your way, waiting for reports of his face graft today. Much love, Dawn & Pam

    ReplyDelete
  11. So glad to hear Clay is making progress. Thanks so much for all the updates. We would like to hug you all every day, but we do keep you close to our hearts.
    Love to all, Wayne & Chris Hartley

    ReplyDelete
  12. hugs to you all.....

    Love
    Chris, Bambi, Mia and Ryder

    ReplyDelete
  13. I am a stranger to you all but not to the process of recovery from burns. I'm following Clay's progress and praying for him. He is precious! I was burned at age 11 in outdoor fire at 45% 3rd degree and after 28 surgeries am completely recovered--which is amazing considering this happened to me in 1966. Although my face and hands were unscathed (lucky me). At the end of this journey, Clay will be fine!

    ReplyDelete
  14. have the prayer warriors praying for clay. we are glad this surgery is behind him, and will anxiously await to hear how he is doing. We send big hugs and lots of love from austin texas.
    take care... xo, the southerlands

    ReplyDelete