Wiersma Family Blog

WIERSMA FAMILY BLOG
A glimpse into our lives as a family with micro-preemies. Our twins boys (Lovingly referred to as our Miracle Men) were born almost 16 weeks early.

Our journey continues when our son Max was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 3. This is his story....


Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Another successful surgery!!

Things went well today!! The surgery did take a bit longer than they had originally thought, which was a little concerning for us, but the surgeon said that everything went well. He did have a hernia in both cavities and they were successful in fixing both and did not disrupt the blood flow to the testicles. The NICU doctor who examined him after the surgery said that his lower abdomen sounds much more relaxed than before (via a stethoscope). This would make sense as they were able to take two hairpin turns out of the intestines...I would imagine things will "flow" a little easier now. Max was not too keen on the whole moving process from his bed to the transport setup, which is quite a maneuver. As you all know, Max has a lot of hardware, and it all needs to be either switched to a portable device or wheeled right along with the transport isolette. Kate and I got to the hospital early so we could sing and pray with him before he got wheeled away, but the nurses put us right to work. I ended up pushing his cart to the holding room because EVERY nurse in the NICU is pregnant right now and on weight restrictions. Seriously...there is something in the water at that place. I wish we would have know that prior to the fertility treatments!! I took a picture of the setup required to move him down to the holding room for surgery:


Can you find the baby in the picture above?

Thank-you to everyone who prayed for not only Max, but the surgeons, the nurses and Kate and I. We had some jitters because surgery is always a big deal, and it is a much bigger deal with baby who has had to put more effort into living in 15+ weeks than I have in 28+ years. But after they wheeled Max in for surgery there was a calm that only comes from God. Kate actually went back up the NICU to be with Wes and because they wheel Max right back to the nursery for recovery. I stayed in the waiting room on the surgical floor so that I could talk with the doctor afterwards. Like I said, the surgery lasted longer than we had thought, so I ended up drinking 4 1/2 cups of hospital coffee and doing about 19 crossword puzzles. I did have some smelly neighbors and overheard some very frank talk about a hysterectomy, but I got a chance to talk to the surgeon after the procedure, so after some therapy it will all have been worth it.

Max is recovering well. His oxygen needs are back in the 45% range from about 70% earlier today, and he did have a few small poops so they were able to get his feedings started again tonight which they were very pleased about.

We did get some new information on Wes today too, but you will have to stay tuned for that because I am going to bed.

10 comments:

  1. Yay for good news!!!

    Love you guys!
    Jason, Mary & Bella

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  2. Thanks for the update Mark & Kate! Surgery is only minor when it happens to someone else, so we are glad to hear that Max is doing well. Definitely an answer to prayer!

    MBIKLG

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  3. Praise God for answered prayers!
    Amy & Brent

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  4. Praying! I love the humor about needing therapy now for what you heard.

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  5. Praise the Lord for seeing Max (and you and Kate) thru another surgery! Praying that Max continues to have a quick recovery from surgery. You and Kate and the boys continue in our prayers.

    God can do more than I ask or imagine. (Eph. 3:20)

    Tina Jacobsen

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  6. Praying for a good recovery for the little dude! I find myself laughing and crying at the same time when i read your blog! Your faith, and your sence of humor. Mark- I love seeing life through your eyes,Seeing the glass half full! I love how you always have a funny awkward story usually regarding poop or something gross! haha i love it... you are guys are awesme...and hillarious!
    praying for you all
    DeYoung's

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  7. Yeah...another step complete! Thanks again for allowing us to follow in this journey with you and Kate and Max and Wes. I too find myself laughing and crying as I read your blog....what an amazing story you will have to share with your 2 miracle boys someday.
    Julie Meyaard

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  8. Yay! I'm so glad everything went well yesterday! I'm thinking Max is going to be feeling a lot better after getting his insides all straightened out! I said hi to Mr. Max today, he looked pretty happy:) See you this weekend when I'm back at work!

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  9. So happy to hear everything went well. I'm sure Max is going to enjoy life much better with no more twists inside. Praying for continued strength in the recovery process!
    -Sue Nykamp and boys
    PS - Thankful that you and Kate are also able to breath a little more stress free as you've passed another "hurdle". May your "race" at the NICU be shorter than you expect.

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  10. What great news-you have some tough little guys!!
    Glad to hear that things went ok for Max and he is doing good.
    Love you all!!

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