Two years ago today, February 28th, we walked
into Phoenix Children’s Hospital with our little boy, bags in hand and family
and friends by our side. I would say we were scared to death, but honestly it
was more somewhere between feeling a peace and numbness. Here we were about to send our seemingly healthy child in to a major
hours long surgery not knowing how he would come out on the other side. But there
was something inside him that was slowly deteriorating his neurological system
and it was a miracle they found it when they did.
Just 6 weeks before we walked into that hospital, at 10a on
a Monday morning 1/14/13 we received a phone call that changed our lives
forever. The “routine” MRI our 5 year old had the Friday before had revealed a
brain malformation in his cerebral region. The MRI was only due to his Autism –
they were looking for frontal lobe brain lesions. Six days within the MRI we
were sitting in a neurosurgeons office discussing risks and treatments.
As we went through the motions of diagnosis and treatment
emotions were everywhere. Within 6 weeks we went from “routine” MRI to sending
our child into major brain surgery. He was just months away from being
paralyzed had we not done something so there really wasn’t a choice. Those 6
weeks from diagnosis to surgery are a total blur. It was a scary and stressful
time. But through it all God gave us times of peace, He sent us support, and
most of all: He gave us moments. Moments that are crystal clear in my mind that
I will always remember.
I will never forget that phone call. I will never forget the
conversation with my parents after I drove to their house from work shaking and
in shock after that phone call (they were only 5 minutes away). I will never
forget the surgeon telling us sternly we could not wait until summer or he
could be paralyzed. I will never forget
God sending us a song on the radio the day we scheduled the surgery. I will
never forget the first time my son ate again. I will never forget the first
time my son walked again.
He still has lasting effects, and we still have future risks
that we will need to watch out for the rest of his life – but we are in a
really good place right now. Looking back at pictures it is hard to believe how
we even got through it all. All of these moments feel like yesterday. I am so thankful
for these moments because they shaped who we are today. But more than the
moments, I am thankful for the people God brought to us in our time of need.
I will never forget our church surrounding us in prayer 3
different times the week of surgery. I will never forget the first person to
give me a hug our last Sunday before surgery was a mom who was going through a
cancer battle with her teenage son – and she
wanted to be by my side through my
son’s struggle. I will never forget the family and friends who met us at the
hospital in support. I will never forget the cards, and gifts, and meals that
were sent in support of our family and our son.
I will never forget any of you. I wish I would have, I wish
I could have written thank you notes to each and every one of you. There isn’t
a week that has gone by in these two years that I haven’t had many of you in my
heart and thanked God for you.
How has this shaped who we are today? We no longer take the
day to day for granted. Every smile, every footstep, and even every “teachable
moment” is something to be thankful for. Every person, every gesture, and every word
that is spoken we acknowledge as a gift. It is easy to get caught up in life
and forget that life is made up of many moments. Moments in time that, if you
allow it…if you slow down enough to just Be Still and pay attention…those
moments can change you. The smallest moments can take your breath away and make
life worth living.
Interested in reading more about this story? Check out the
Chiari Kid page which has documented the last 2 years. Thank you.
