Dec 28, 2015

Surgery date is set.... Along with a message of encouragement


" The Oak Tree" - by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr.                                                                                                        A Message of Encouragment.

A mighty wind blew night and day. It stole the oak tree's leaves away.  Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark, until the oak was tired and stark. But still the oak tree held its ground, while other trees fell all around. The weary wind gave up and spoke, "How can you still be standing, Oak?" The oak tree said, "I know that you can break each branch of mine in two, carry every leaf away, shake my limbs and make me sway. But I have roots stretched in the earth, growing stronger since my birth. You'll never touch them, for you see, they are the deepest part of me.  Until today, I wasn't sure of just how much I could endure. But now I've found, with thanks to you, I'm stronger than I ever knew." Especially now, try to remember that you're stronger than any problem you encounter or any disappointment life will bring.    

I wanted to share this encouraging message as a reminder of how strong we truly can be, if we have God in our lives....

Keep thinking positive...... Keep moving forward......Never stop believing in FAITH and HOPE.....And always keep the LOVE in your heart, never let anyone or anything blacken it for you.

As hard as this life can beat you down, that is what we constantly tell ourselves.

But the most important thing to remember is that you are never alone.

So it doesn't matter that life moves on. We are not alone in this battle. God is always with us and He never leaves when times get tough. Kaleb is not the only child enduring so much pain, hardship and obstacles. It is a gift when God awakens you and pulls back the layers over your eyes and your family is forever changed. You do what you can to help and uplift others and not to hurt them. You learn to appreciate those who love you... Help those who need you.... And forgive those who hurt you...

Life is too short and beautiful for nonsense. We rise by lifting others. Surround yourself with people that make you laugh, forget the bad and focus on the good. In the end, walk away from the petty things that don't matter in the bigger picture. Walk towards the making of great memories, moments big and small, laughter that makes you pee your pants, the positive, the uplifting, the love... That's what really matters! Life is too short to be anything but HAPPY! That is one BIG thing that I can say our son has taught us.

Little man's surgery is scheduled for January 12th at The Children's Hospital Of Wisconsin. We will be admitted on Sunday January 10th for another clean out procedure. They will have to give Kaleb the NG tube again (it's the tube that goes through his nose, down his throat, into his belly) The clean out procedure will last until Tuesday January 12th, where he will then be undergoing his 7th surgery for a cecostomy.

A cecostomy is a catheter/port a.k.a button, that will be surgically inserted through Kaleb's appendix into the cecum, which is the beginning of his large intestine. Kaleb will have a port/button on the outside bottom right of his belly. The port/button will have two holes. One is in charge of a balloon that will be inside of him, that helps hold the port/ button in place along with sutures. The hospital will be teaching Brian and I how to control the air compressor for the balloon inside of him. The second hole will be the one that has a cover and it's for Kaleb's antegrade enema treatments.

Every night around the same time for about 40-60 minutes we administer this treatment. The hospital will also be teaching us how to give Kaleb these antegrade enemas. We know we will be given hospital equipment for home to help us perform his treatment. We will know more when we get to The Children's Hospital.

The wonderful doctors and nurses will be teaching us along the way. Brian and I, along with Kaleb, will have to come back in two weeks to meet with Dr. Lynn Calloway and her surgical team and then with Dr. Sood and his GI team for more lessons and treatment for Kaleb. We have decided to call Kaleb's port his button because that's what they call them and it sounds nicer and not as scary. If all goes well, we get to leave sometime on Thursday January 14th.

Please pray for our little warrior. Think of him on the week of the 10th-14th. BIG prayers on Tuesday the 12th for his 7:30am surgery. In our next update we will explain why we chose this surgical opition and what we are all hoping it will do for Kaleb. I will end on one of my favorite quotes.

"God often uses our deepest pain as the launching pad of our greatest calling."  Falling down is part of life, getting back up is living. We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and we wish you all a HAPPY, HEALTHY New Year! God Bless and love to you all!

 

 






 

 

Category: General
Posted by: karriepalicki




"God only gave you this life because he knew you were strong enough to live it"

"People are like stained glass windows. They all sparkle and shine when the sun is out. It is when the darkness sets in that HEROES are revealed, as their mesmerizing courage shines through from the light within" - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

 

 





LOVE for Dallas!!!!

Our niece Haley next to Kaleb's heart on the wall at school