Praising God!!!

Thank you all for your prayers! Elliot had a lot of scar tissue damage, but the surgery was a success! The next 7 days are very important in Elliot's healing process, so continue to pray for no complications and quick healing.


Pray for Baby Gracen from South Carolina tomorrow. He is also an EA baby. He will be having the same surgery. They will do another surgery on another baby on Wednesday that burned his esophagus by drinking Drano. These surgeons are amazing!

An update on Elliot

Elliot has been in surgery pretty much all day. I have been getting updates off his mom's Facebook page. Apparently, we have generated a lot of traffic on her page today. We've managed to crash it multiple times! (Thanks a lot, Facebook. Really.)

So far, the surgeons have managed to locate the ends of his esophagus, which was difficult, due to scar tissue that had built up from the last 2 surgeries. They have put stitches in the ends of his esophagus and are preparing to connect the ends together. I can only imagine what a delicate process this must be!

Heather has been a superstar to keep her Facebook page updated every time the surgical liason nurse comes out to keep her in the loop. I know that she and Jay are on pins and needles and cannot wait for the awesome news that this ordeal is over.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers. I know that Heather and Jay can feel their sustaining power. Keep 'em coming!

A Special Request for a Special Boy

This is my husband's cousin, Elliot. You may remember that I have mentioned him before. Today is a big day for him. He is having major surgery, performed by the best surgeon in the nation for his specific condition. Please pray for a successful surgery, peace for his family (Heather and Jay), quick healing, and a chance to go HOME for the first time!

Here is his story, in his mother's words:

On January 25th of this year, I gave birth to a beautiful boy, Elliot (4 lbs. 12 oz, 17.5 inch). He was born with a rare esophagus condition, known as Long Gap Esophageal Atresia. We had a hint of his condition before he was born but didn't know it would last so long or transport us across the country.

The day after Elliot was born he had his first thoracotomy to try to connect his esophagus (surgery #1). It didn't work. The surgeons had determined he was a tougher case than they initially thought. He had a gap in his esophagus that was greater than 4.5 cm. Our surgeon had only seen three cases like this in his 25+ year career. Surgery #2 was an emergency repair of his stomach after surgeons had accidentally perforated it during one of Elliot's contrast studies. Surgery #3, the most recent, was another thoracotomy. They thought the esophagus was connected but that too failed. Surgeons in Long Beach were trying to prepare us for a plan we didn't want. A plan that would require several more surgeries over several years. This option was not good enough for us. We searched for better and we found it in Boston.

The Children's Hospital of Boston is one of the top hospitals in the country. And it is becoming a referral center for Esophageal Atresia. In the past two years, the doctors have treated over 7 EA babies successfully! After just two days of speaking with the Boston surgeons, both hospitals and our insurance company, we were flown out on a medical learjet to New England. It has been a whirlwind of activity but one that is filled with hope. Elliot's next surgery (hopefully the last) is planned for August 17th. We will have the dream team of medical surgeons present and they nearly guarantee a repair of the esophagus.

It has already been a long and stressful road for all of us. Elliot is now six months old and has never been out of the hospital, he has never been home. One of these days we'll get him there.

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Thank you all for your prayers for this special boy. As of 6:30 a.m., Elliot has been taken back for surgery. I will update my blog as the day goes on.