Traveling a New Path

It goes without saying that when you adopt (or give birth to) a child with medical needs, there will be some stressful moments. Of course, there are tough times for all parents.

When God led us to Hudson we knew that sometime in the future we would be facing medical tests, procedures, and eventually, open heart surgery. Now home for two months, we are facing our first big challenge Tuesday, July 24.

Hudson will be having a heart cath at the children's hospital tomorrow.

The cath is designed to both give doctors a better idea of what is going on inside his heart and to address any narrowing of pulmonary arteries they think he may have (discovered in earlier cardiology tests.) The heart cath will allow them to determine whether or not Hudson is a good candidate for the Fontan Procedure, which is the third open heart surgery necessary to address his congenital heart defect. He had his first two surgeries in Beijing while under the care of New Hope Foster Homes.

We will be at the hospital early in the morning. The surgeon expects to begin the procedure around 7:00 or 7:15 am. He expects everything to take 4-5 hours. If everything goes smoothly, there is a chance Hudson will be able to come home later in the day. If the doctors determine some work is necessary while they are 'in there,' we will have to stay overnight.

We certainly appreciate your prayers for Hudson...

• that he would be supernaturally calmed tomorrow morning when we arrive at the hospital. (Since he doesn't understand everything we tell him, he doesn't know about it.);
• that the anesthesia would work as it should on him;
• that the heart cath would be simple and without complications;
• that the surgeon and others in OR would be clear-minded and directed by the Holy Spirit;
• that Marla and I (and our entire family) would have a confidence and peace from God about the operation;
• that Hudson would recover quickly and without any problems; and
• that Hudson would "know" that he is loved and that everything will be fine.

We know that God's Spirit is already at work. Admittedly we are nervous but we are faith-filled.

It was not our plan to adopt a child with "serious" special needs. We wanted a little one that could be easily "fixed." But that was not God's plan for us. 

HE made that very clear. We recognize that HE wants us to walk this path in HIS strength not our's. But I believe he understands that as much as we trust HIM, we still 'hurt' for our little boy. Our love for little Hudson is as deep and strong as it is for any of our children. God does that. HE knits our hearts together in an instant. I truly can't imagine traveling this path with HIM.