Sweet Sweet Surrender
In high school I was involved in a speech writing competition. I was allowed to choose from a variety of pre determined topics, then I wrote, and presented a personal speech on that subject. My subject matter was, "When tough times, hit home." This is how I opened;
For an easy successful surgery for Teagan with no unforeseen complications. They will transfer her from her current hospital for several days for the surgery and then she will be transferred back. We also are praying that post surgery she would be able to resume recovery from the same place she was.
For the other three little's as they very much want their baby sister home and the schedule can be very challenging. We are not telling them specifically why Teagan is being transferred, they just know that the doctors need to do some work on her at another hospital for a few days. That we can keep their schedule as undisturbed as possible through the surgery.
Continued strength for Mark and I in the days to come as the schedule and dynamics of what is going on can be very taxing at times. Most of all though that our family can be an encouragement to not only the other families but doctors and medical staff that we come in contact with.
We are so humbled by the support and prayers that have come from all of you. Both the friends we do and don't know. The Lord is using ya'll in our lives to equip us for each step in the road ahead.
We love you
The Stratton's
"I don't like to face problems head on", Linus said to Charlie Brown. "I think the best way to solve problems is to avoid them. This is a distinct philosophy of mine.... No problem is so big, or so complicated it can't be run away from."
I have to be honest as easy as this would have been to do in some regards over the last many years, and as much as I love Peanuts cartoons, I feel Linus may be a little off in his thinking. Don't get me wrong, I think he is expressing what many of us truly feel some days and this is very much the idea that we are taught in todays society, it seems though that when we run away from the tough stuff we find ourselves in a weaker less fortified position than we began. There are of course times in life where you need to remove your self from a situation for protection or safety, but that is not really what I am talking about here.
I have been asked the question repeatedly, "how are you still functioning?", or the heard the phrase "I don't think I could do it" more times than I can count over the last few weeks, and I never really quite know how to answer. I would like to take a brief moment to address those ideas. I can't do it. Let me say that one more time just in case you missed it, I can not do it! I am completely incapable to battle what we are batting right now. There is no way in my power I could face what all we have faced in the past, are currently facing now, and still be standing. I should be pulling a Linus, saying "adios" and hightailing it out of here. Our family should not still be standing or functioning. We have one thing going in our favor though. There is no way a single human on this planet could have prepared Mark and I for everything that has crossed our path in the 10 years we have been together. But a human didn't prepare us. Every major trial we have faced over the last 10 years together, and there have been some dilly's, has further strengthened, equipped, and fortified us for what was to come next. That's what I have discovered about trials. Each time one comes along no matter the size or magnitude you have a choice as to how you face it. In my experience you can attempt to bear up against it in your own power, and in this case it usually brings to light how woefully ill equipped I am, or you can make a choice to surrender the trial to a God who is bigger and loves you more than any human on this earth ever could.
I choose the latter. Believe me it is not the fun choice in most situations, our human nature is to want to be in control of the situations that are very much out of our control, but I have found I am the most equipped to deal with trials in life when I do it fully surrendered. That is the place we are and have been at with Teagan. Surrendered. We learned a long time ago with Maddox and especially in our experiences with Brylee that there is very little about our children's lives that are in our control. We can love our children, pray for our children, and while our children are entrusted to our care work to equip them to be the best that they are capable of being. With Teagan we have asked you to pray with us, we have loved on her and have her in a place where we know she is being well loved and cared for, and have teamed up with the doctors and medical staff that we believe are the best to manage her care and specific situation. We have surrendered control and in doing that we are seeing God do some truly amazing things.
Since I last posted we had a few days of set backs with Teagan's labs and over all health, but she quickly recovered back to where she had been and as a result we were able to removed the respiratory support from her throat and switch her to what is called cpap. It
is a device that is inserted into her nose to provide any assistance she may still need, but requires her lungs to work harder and in turn grow stronger. Her labs have continued to improve and stabilized, and two days ago I had the privilege of seeing her not just open, but blink her eyes. I know that does not seem like a big deal, but for a baby as sick as Teagan is that kind of little progress is still a huge victory. She has also tolerated the lessened respiratory support so well that they are planning to take her off of all respiratory assistance completely tomorrow. If this goes as planned this will be the first time we have gotten to see her sweet face not covered by tubes and tape. The are continuing to do head ultrasounds every week to monitor the damage to her brain as well as see if her brain is draining the excess built up fluid like it should be. Her most recent ultrasound showed no new damage from what we saw that first week. It also did not show that the fluid in her brain has caused a significant pressure build up which can cause her significant new issues. It did however show that the fluid is not draining like we would like, so after prayer, seeking wisdom from several doctors we trust, and consulting with the surgeon we all agreed it was time to have a VP shunt put in place. This is a small tube that will be inserted into her brain and will allow the excess fluid to drain like it should and prevent any pressure from building up moving forward. While no parent wants to put their child through surgery we are both very much at peace that this is the best next step for Teagan to continue to help her in her recovery. Y'all God is doing some big things in that little girl. She is far from out of the woods, but has already overcome what we feel like and know to be pretty insurmountable odds. But that is the beauty of what can come with surrender. It comes without boxes or limits. When you fully surrender the Lord will equip to handle whatever trial comes next and all the beauty and tragedy that can come with it.
is a device that is inserted into her nose to provide any assistance she may still need, but requires her lungs to work harder and in turn grow stronger. Her labs have continued to improve and stabilized, and two days ago I had the privilege of seeing her not just open, but blink her eyes. I know that does not seem like a big deal, but for a baby as sick as Teagan is that kind of little progress is still a huge victory. She has also tolerated the lessened respiratory support so well that they are planning to take her off of all respiratory assistance completely tomorrow. If this goes as planned this will be the first time we have gotten to see her sweet face not covered by tubes and tape. The are continuing to do head ultrasounds every week to monitor the damage to her brain as well as see if her brain is draining the excess built up fluid like it should be. Her most recent ultrasound showed no new damage from what we saw that first week. It also did not show that the fluid in her brain has caused a significant pressure build up which can cause her significant new issues. It did however show that the fluid is not draining like we would like, so after prayer, seeking wisdom from several doctors we trust, and consulting with the surgeon we all agreed it was time to have a VP shunt put in place. This is a small tube that will be inserted into her brain and will allow the excess fluid to drain like it should and prevent any pressure from building up moving forward. While no parent wants to put their child through surgery we are both very much at peace that this is the best next step for Teagan to continue to help her in her recovery. Y'all God is doing some big things in that little girl. She is far from out of the woods, but has already overcome what we feel like and know to be pretty insurmountable odds. But that is the beauty of what can come with surrender. It comes without boxes or limits. When you fully surrender the Lord will equip to handle whatever trial comes next and all the beauty and tragedy that can come with it.
Moving forward the next week our immediate prayers are:
For an easy successful surgery for Teagan with no unforeseen complications. They will transfer her from her current hospital for several days for the surgery and then she will be transferred back. We also are praying that post surgery she would be able to resume recovery from the same place she was.
For the other three little's as they very much want their baby sister home and the schedule can be very challenging. We are not telling them specifically why Teagan is being transferred, they just know that the doctors need to do some work on her at another hospital for a few days. That we can keep their schedule as undisturbed as possible through the surgery.
Continued strength for Mark and I in the days to come as the schedule and dynamics of what is going on can be very taxing at times. Most of all though that our family can be an encouragement to not only the other families but doctors and medical staff that we come in contact with.
We are so humbled by the support and prayers that have come from all of you. Both the friends we do and don't know. The Lord is using ya'll in our lives to equip us for each step in the road ahead.
We love you
The Stratton's
Oh, Austin! Teagan is just BEAUTIFUL!! Will pray.
ReplyDeleteInterceding for your family.
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