Sunday, November 29th

Hello to all. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a nice day and are so thankful to be home and with all of our family. You don't appreciate the small things until they are taken away from you. It is good to have all three boys underfoot. We usually head to South Texas for Thanksgiving but we had it in Olney this time. There was plenty of good food and we enjoyed the visit with everyone who came. Clay and Deidra are headed back to Dallas tomorrow, minus grandma who has been here helping, to have a dressing change done on his neck. We are not sure of his next surgery date but we expect to have it set after tomorrow's visit. The wound pump that Clay carries with him is very temperamental and we have usually exhausted our tricks trying to keep it functioning between the dressing changes. Clay seems to be doing well. On Thanksgiving day after lunch his brothers and cousins were playing in the arena. Clay said he was going out to play. We watched as he scaled two pipe fences with his wound pump tucked in his backpack. When he reached the ground on the other side he took off running to join the fun. Apparently all the therapy is paying off. He eats like a horse and is very active. We realize that there are still many battles to be fought but we know that the Lord has a plan for Clay's life and we as parents have to help any way we can. We miss all of the contact with everyone who graciously comments on the blog, but we are thankful that God and Clay are steering us back toward a semblance of normalcy. Take care, and we are always thankful for the prayers, help, and encouragement we have encountered on this journey.

Thursday, Nov. 12

Hello to all! Sorry for the delayed post. Clay had surgery Monday of this week at Children's Medical Center in Dallas. He arrived at 11:00 a.m. and went into the operating room at 12:30. He was in the O.R. for about 2 hours and in the recovery room for another hour or so. The procedure was done to release the burn scars on his neck and chin. As we have said in the past all burn scars contract and for the past months Clay has been unable to raise his head. He really had no chin or neck to speak of. His skin had pulled his lips and chin down to the point where there was only a centimeter and a half from his chin to his trach. After the surgery there were 13 centimeters separating the trach and the chin. When they let us come into the recovery he was still asleep from the sedative. Deidra and I were shocked and thrilled to see him sleeping on the recovery bed with his head stretched out and lying flat against the bed. We have become so accustomed to him walking around with his little head down that we had forgotten what his regular head and neck position was supposed to look like. Clay had a little bit of more good luck in the operating room. Clay has had a loose tooth for quite sometime and he would not let anyone help him pull it. During surgery he lost this tooth and one of the doctors told us that the tooth fairy came to the O.R. and left him six dollars and put his tooth in a jar for him. The doctor was very pleased with the procedure and told us that the Integra product was the way to go because he was not limited by lack of skin(you can google this product sometime-it's pretty interesting). Clay is wearing a Wound Vac pump over the bandage and a C collar neck brace. The wound vac attaches through a hole in the neck brace right above where his trach comes out. The Wound Vac provides constant suction to the wound and Clay will carry this machine everywhere he goes for a month. These are quite a few contraptions for a 6 year old. On Tuesday the resident doctor told us that we could plan on going home. We anticipated discharge around noon. To make a long story short we had to wait on a portable Wound Vac pump and were not able to leave the hospital until 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday night. This made for a late night or early morning back to Olney. We are thankful to be able to spend a few days at home. Deidra and Clay are back to Dallas tomorrow (Friday) for wound care. Clay will have to be sedated and it will be like a minor day surgery to do his dressing changes. He is very uncomfortable and hopes the time goes by quickly until the next surgery when they will graft his skin over the Interga on his neck. He will have to wait for four weeks until the next procedure. We are thankful that he is progressing and we truly appreciate all of the help and prayers of family & friends.

Saturday, November 7

I had a few minutes this morning, so I wanted to post something that touched my heart. Cody, Clay, and I were sitting at the dinner table last night (Chance was in Oklahoma for business and Carson was at a 4-H judging contest). Cody was worrying about Clay's surgery on Monday & was also wondering if he could just miss a few days of school to sit with us at the hospital. I reassured him and told him that there was no need to worry about tomorrow until tomorrow comes. I then said, "And this could be the day that the Lord returns." Then Clay said "Oh, I hope this is the day because then I will have a new body." The things that children say touches the depths of our souls.
We will get Carson & Cody to school Monday morning and then head to Dallas. We are to be at Children's Hospital by 11:00am. Clay will have his pre-op and then head to the O.R. at approximately 12:30pm. We are not sure how long the surgery will take, but he will stay in the hospital overnight. My twin sister has been really sick; so, my mom is in Nebraska helping them with our nieces. My mom has been away from home so much this year-thanks, Dad, for holding down the fort while she has been away. The boys will be staying with some friends here in town. We are grateful that we have many wonderful friends willing to help with Carson & Cody. Thank you so much! We are very thankful for all the help and encouragement near and far.

Tuesday, November 3rd

Hello to all. We had some good news and a bit of a surprise yesterday, and wanted to keep everyone posted. Clay and Deidra went to Children's in Dallas for a follow up appointment. They were hoping to be put on the schedule for the neck release. We felt that time was of the essence and we were not sure we were going to be able to have it done before December. Deidra called yesterday around 1:00 p.m. and said that they have scheduled the neck procedure for next Monday, November 9th. We are thankful they could accommodate us and give him some relief sooner than we anticipated. The doctor was pleased with the results of his work on the hand. He has written orders for Clay to see a hand specialist for rehab. Deidra is trying to set up those appointments today. Deidra and Clay are staying busy with doctors, rehab, and school. Cody and Carson are just busy being second and fifth graders. Carson is on his way to a livestock judging contest this weekend at Texas A&M. I am trying to get our cows AId and hopefully sow some wheat if it every dries out enough to get back in the fields. Hope everyone is well. Thanks for all your help and comments. Come see us whenever you can.