Sunday, January 16

Walker is scheduled to go into surgery tomorrow morning at 8am. He has had all his preliminary blood work and his Covid swab done, and everything looks good. He has had a nice, quiet weekend, which I am so thankful for. Lots of resting and hopefully gaining all the strength he will need to get through his surgery and recover. I’ve been cuddling him as much as I can.

I made a little video with some pictures to try to help you understand what they are doing in his surgery tomorrow.

We have been told to expect that it will be a long day of waiting, as the surgery is quite complicated and can take anywhere from 6-8 hours. He will have special cardiac anesthesiologists that will keep a very close eye on his heart and breathing throughout the surgery.

After the surgery, Walker will be placed in a medically induced coma for up to a week. This is so that he is not able to move his neck or body and his chest incision and the anastomosis (the site where his esophagus is stitched together) are able to heal. He will have a catheter in so his diaper will not have to be changed. He will be intubated to keep his airway open and help him breathe.

Walker’s recovery time really depends on how everything goes and if there are any complications during or after his surgery. In his case, the two biggest risks for complications after the surgery are stricture in his esophagus or leakage from the anastomosis. Stricture essentially means narrowing. It’s possible that as scar tissue develops around the anastomosis his esophagus will narrow, and they will need to go in to dilate it a few times to reopen it. If there is leakage from the anastomosis it can build up in his chest cavity and need to be drained through a tube. In addition to these are all the risks that come with any surgery, amplified of course by the fact Walker is so small and has a heart condition.

Please lift our sweet boy up in prayer to his Heavenly Father tonight, tomorrow, and in the days to come...

Pray for a peaceful, restful night for Walker.

Pray for God’s protective hands to hold him close as he undergoes his surgery.

Pray for all those involved in his surgery tomorrow to make it safely to the hospital, despite the snow storm that is expected.

Pray for God’s wisdom to guide the surgeons as they work. Pray that they will have skilled and able hands as they perform the surgery.

Pray for Walker to remain stable and strong through the entire surgery.

Pray that his surgery will be successful.

Pray for safety, strength, and comfort as he recovers.

Pray that there will be no complications and he will heal well.

Pray for a deep sense of peace and trust for Andrew and I tonight, tomorrow, and in the days ahead.

Most days I have been reading Psalm 23 to Walker from the Jesus Storybook Bible, and the words often bring me to tears-- I read them imagining that he is reading them himself. These words have brought comfort to me as I read them to Walker. I pray that, even now, he feels the loving hands of his Heavenly Father holding him and knows that God will never let him go. Maybe these words will speak to your heart, too.

God is my Shepherd.

And I am his little lamb.

He feeds me.

He guides me.

He looks after me.

I have everything I need.

Inside, my heart is very quiet.

As quiet as lying still in soft green grass in a meadow by a little stream.

Even when I walk through the dark, scary, lonely places…

I won’t be afraid.

Because my Shepherd knows where I am.

He is here with me.

He keeps me safe.

He rescues me.

He makes me strong and brave.

He is getting wonderful things ready for me.

Especially for me.

Everything I ever dreamed of!

He fills my heart so full of happiness I can’t hold it all inside.

Wherever I go I know…

God’s Never Stopping

Never Giving Up

Unbreaking

Always and Forever Love

will go, too!