Time for a Connor collage . . . he is turning 6 today! "Sweetheart" is always the first thing that comes to mind when I think of him. Just yesterday he told me that he would still snuggle with me even though he's turning 6. Good thing, because he's so fun to cuddle with.
I don't go a day without thanking the Lord for bringing Connor through such a tough time when he came into this world. Just 2 weeks before he was born, it was discovered that his intestines had several blockages, places where they were webbed together, so that nothing would be able to pass through them. I'll never forget the moment that I knew something was wrong. At a regular checkup, the Dr. noticed my stomach size had grown more than normal since my previous visit, so he sent me down the hall to get an ultrasound. Linda, the technician who had done all my previous ultrasounds with the girls, was a chatty woman who often used non-technical terms for the anatomy that you're searching for when trying to determine the sex of the baby. She was often goofy and made silly comments while you were on the table. This time, however, she was silent. That's when I knew. She quietly took picture after picture, zooming in, getting different angles . . .she said she would get the pictures to the Dr. and sent me back to the room to wait for him. After a few minutes he came in and shared that it looked like there were some dark spots in his colon and I needed to go right away to the hospital to get a more precise ultrasound done. It's amazing how everything can change in an instant. I called Brett at home and we headed over to St. V's.
They ran several tests, and informed us that Connor had a couple of total blockages, or webbings, in his intestine. Normally a fetus ingests amniotic fluid, it passes through their system, and returns to the amniotic sac . . .however, since everything was blocked, the fluid continued to build in my belly, which was why it had grown disproportionately. I was 34 weeks along, and the doctors told us that he would need surgery, but he could wait a couple more weeks to be born so his lungs could develop.
Ten days later, Connor decides he's ready. It was five in the morning, and I had been up for a couple hours, unable to sleep. I began to watch the movie, Drowning Mona. I had seen it before, and thought it was hilarious. Just a couple minutes into the movie, the contractions started. I really did try watching the rest of the movie, but given the gravity of the situation, I ended up calling the doctor and heading to the hospital before it was over.
Connor was born at 2:32 in the afternoon, with some difficulty. He had surgery the next day, where they cut out the sections of the blocked intestine, did some re-routing and placed him on a feeding tube that went directly to his stomach. They had to make sure everything was functioning from that point down before they introduced food by mouth. Each day his tube feedings were increased a couple cc's at a time. His progress was usually two steps forward, one step back. However, Connor was a trooper and continued to get better and better every day.
Finally, after nearly two months in the hospital he was able to go home. He remained on the feeding tube for another month or so, then was relieved of that. We were told by several nurses that he would probably always have frequent stomachaches, would have to go the bathroom shortly after eating, and be cranky a lot. They were wrong about all of that! He's done great, and has not had any problems since he came home.
Maybe going through all that trauma when you're an infant gives you a high pain tolerance when you're older . . .because that's exactly how Connor is. I got a call from the school secretary last week, just informing me that Connor had fallen from the monkey bars and landed on the side of his face. She said she knew it hurt him, but he didn't cry . . . in fact, his only complaint was that the ice pack they gave him was too cold! His stomach and digestive system is truly strong, too. A year or so ago, we were riding home from a rib joint, and Connor asked to have some of the leftover ribs. When I got him out of the car, he showed me how much he had eaten . . .he ate the meat off of the bone, and half of the bone itself! He thought it was good.
Long story today, but it has just been so amazing to see what that little guy went through and what a fun, sweet boy he's become. He's a fan of Star Wars, playing outside, and video games (Brett is thrilled to finally have a buddy for those). He has an infectious laugh and does a pretty good job holding his own when his two older sisters gang up on him. Happy birthday, buddy, we love you!
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