Day 5 @ Children's

The swelling has decreased tremendously. Ready to go home!

"Here's to my last day at the hospital....cheers!"

"Now for a 'beauty nap'..."

Taking the IV needle out (oww!)

Heading home....yay!

What a contrast in less than 48 hours!

We left Children's around 11 am, picked up "B" and Grandma, and headed home. A big snowstorm, bigger than what hit us a few days ago, was scheduled to hit around 4 pm. It hit a bit earlier, so now we're walking in a winter wonderland. Amidst it all, we're grateful "J" is back home at last!

Many, many thanks to all of you who visited, called, emailed, and expressed your care for "J" and our family during this challenging time. God bless you all!

Day 4 @ Children's

Playing with "B" and Nai-Nai
"J" woke up in the night a few times, making it hard for us to sleep. The past few nights, for that matter, have been erratic sleep-wise for us all.

The drainage tube behind "J"'s head was removed today....took all of 2 minutes. He cried a bit, as the nurse said it'd be a bit painful. If "J" can feed and relieve himself like he did prior to surgery, there's a chance he may be discharged tomorrow. He slept on one side most of the night, which caused one eye to swell back shut, while the other eye was less so.

"B", Grandma, uncle, and auntie all came by again to hang with "J". "J"'s eyes are much better now. All the docs and nurses agree that he's ready to go home by tomorrow morning. There's a snow storm supposedly headed this way tomorrow afternoon, so the timing is good.

Day 3 @ Children's

The doctors said the swelling would get worse today before it'd get better. Hard to fathom, but sure enough, they were right. Our sweet "J"'s head ballooned to other-worldly proportions. His move from ICU into the regular recovery ward surely meant "J" was on the right road to recovery, yet judging from his appearance, it seemed like anything but.

It boggles my mind how the pics below, taken just two weeks apart, are of the same little boy....and yet they are....


"J" continued to cry and moan, pitifully unable to see anything through his over-swollen eyes. Poor little guy....has absolutely no idea what's hit him. It was all we could do to hold back tears during this trying time.

The much-ballyhooed big snow finally fell overnight. Early morning found cars stranded, schools closed, workers staying home, kids playing. But here at Children's, all business....and thankfully so. The staff at Children's has been excellent. "L" and I ventured out carefully, back to my brother's place for a short while, but most of the day was spent with "J". The snow made for a much-welcomed serene backdrop for "J"'s woes.


Over the course of today, "J"'s swelling subsided. By evening, his eyes could open just a bit....first the right eye, then the left. Not much, but just enough to see and track us. As time passed, he would let out occasional grunts, even a slight laugh. He started playing "pai-pai-shou" (clap-clap-hands in Chinese) with us as well. It was a remarkable improvement from just this morning. Although his still-swelled head is still not where we'd like it to be, we are massively encouraged.


Lord, look after Your little boy...

Day 2 @ Children's

"L" called me this morning, informing that "J"'s head had swelled significantly overnight. Seeing it for myself, his head appeared almost twice the normal size. One eye was puffed nearly shut. Again, not unexpected, as we were forewarned by doctors, nurses, and families who'd gone through this before....still, when it's your child and you're so used to him looking one way, it still shocks to see him appear so different. Our sweet "J" was almost unrecognizable. It was very heart-breaking.

Contrasting our ache for "J" was knowing that today is "B"'s birthday...she's three! I brought "B" and my mom over to Children's to meet some families from our small group, who brought a cake and presents to celebrate. Later, several families from our home church showed up with cake and presents of their own. During this time, we brought the grown-ups and older kids to see "J". Children's Hospital only allows 3 people (over age 12) into ICU at a time, so we made a lot of visits. We were so blessed by everyone who came. We were worried that "J"'s surgery would overshadow "B"'s birthday, but that was not to be, thanks to such considerate, caring friends. They made sure both "J" and "B" got love. Thank you all who came, as well as those who called and emailed your concerns, thoughts, and prayers, making today so special and easier for us to cope!

Many of our visitors were able to bring their children, since their schools were closed due to impending snow. The snow never came, but it's forecasted to come tonight and tomorrow. We'll see...

Though no visitors under 12 are allowed, "B" was an exception, being a sibling. Her comment upon seeing "J"? "Owee. He got a big boo-boo. He need a big band-aid." Out of the mouth of babes. :-)

"J" was moved out of ICU around 9 pm into the regular recovery ward. We went back my brother's home to gather some things and celebrate "B"'s birthday for a 3rd time, with her grandma, uncle, and aunt. "L" and I headed back to spend the night with our "J". His head has puffed up more. Both eyes are swollen completely shut. He cries and cries, with pain meds his only source of comfort and calm. It's been difficult to take. We really, really miss "J"'s old head....his bright, wide eyes....his infectious giggle. Now there's none of that. And even though it's been less than a day, it seems so long since we've seen/heard them.

We're settling in for a long night....but we also know that we don't want to be anywhere else at the moment.

A different kind of journey....

Our family is now embarking on a different kind of journey today....one that's not taking place overseas, but rather here in Seattle.

Our baby son "J" went into Children's Hospital for surgery early this morning. The surgery will correct a condition he has called craniosynostosis. You can find out more about craniosynostosis here.


Top of "J"'s head, day before surgery
Yesterday afternoon was spent at Children's in pre-op appointments. It all went much longer than expected. We decided it'd be best to spend the following night at my brother's house, since he lives close to Children's.

We left "B" with grandma, uncle, and aunt as we checked into Children's for surgery this morning at 6:15 am. After some anxious waiting in a prep room, we put our sweet "J" in the arms of his anesthesiologist, and they disappeared into the operating room at 7:30 am. That was a rather emotional moment for "L" and me. The hospital gave us a pager through which they contacted us every hour or two to give us updates.


A slow 3-4 hours followed. During that time, we contributed blood samples for a research project to determine the cause of craniosynostosis. We ran a couple of errands to get our minds off of what was happening to "J". Finally, around 11 am, after much anxious lounging in the waiting room, we met with the craniofacial surgeon who reported to our relief that everything went well.

"J" was moved to the intensive-care unit. We got to see him around 1 pm. His head was swollen a bit, but not as much as I'd expected. An angry, ear-to-ear scar zigzagged over the top of his head, gooped with medicine. A tube ran out from a hole behind his right ear to drain fluid build-up in "J"'s head. Though we expected all this, it still shocked to see it on our lovable "J"....I don't think any amount of pre-preparation could've made that easy.


It was hard to leave "J" by himself in ICU, but there wasn't much we could do there. So we went back to my brother's house to eat dinner and take care of more errands. My mom, brother, and sis-in-law all went back to visit "J", after which "L" stayed back to spend the night with him. Only one parent is allowed to spend the night at ICU.

More bombs in Hyderabad :-(

Sad news yet again from Hyderabad....

BBC: Deadly explosions hit Indian city

Lumbini Park is in the vicinity of Necklace Road, where we visited earlier.

Deadly bomb blast in Hyderabad

Yikes....and to think we were at the Mecca Masjid just within the past two months! Prayers for the families of the victims....

BBC: Bomb hits historic India mosque



Charminar gate near Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad --- the area near the mosque was left strewn with personal possessions (photo: BBC)

Coming to an end

Well, it's hard to believe....almost 5 weeks have gone by since we left on our work/play adventure to India. It's our last full day here in Hyderabad. Mammayya (uncle) from Oman just arrived today to see us and "B". We're having a good time catching up.

We leave early tomorrow morning around 2:30 am and will spend pretty much all of Easter up in the sky. If we should find anything else of interest to post of our time here, I'll put an update and link to it in this entry.

Thanks for reading! Until our next look-in on our next journey-out....

"S","L", and "B"

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4/25/2007 Update: The Power of Listening

Twilight cricket under the CPI flag

The other day, "L" and I were walking just a block from home. We passed by a group of kids and adults playing gully cricket. They invited me to try hitting the ball, which I did. So I finally took my first swing of a cricket bat ever! Luckily, the kids bowled easy on me, as I went "2-for-3".





If you look carefully at the top of the group photo of the children, you'll notice red flags atop two flagpoles. They're flags of the CPI....the Communist Party of India. You can just make out the bottom of the hammer-and-sickle adorning the top of the flagpole on the left.


Close-up of aforementioned "hammer-and-sickle", as seen from the roof of our house.

I don't fully understand the role of communism in India, but it's more prevalent than I realized. There are definitely some extremist views here, to be sure. But I don't sense communism is perceived in India the same way it is in the USA, where it's equated more with totalitarianism, atheism, and suppression of freedom (particularly for those of us who grew up during the Cold War years). Something I'd like to learn more about in the future....

The Power of Listening

Something happened today that I thought deserved a separate post...

I've met several people here who became Christians after growing up Hindu most of their lives. In a country where such decisions are not made lightly, I really wanted to hear their stories. I knew one such elderly gentleman at church, "H".

Today after service, I asked "H" if he could share his story with me. His face lit up at my request and he proceeded to tell me, with much enthusiasm, about his struggle years ago searching for spiritual truth while comparing Hindu scriptures with the Bible.

Right now, I reflect not so much on "H's" story (which I loved hearing), but rather his remarks afterwards. He told me how blessed he was that I was interested to hear his story in the first place. "H" lamented the generation gap that he senses keeps people from learning about each other. He appreciated that I, as a younger person, desired and initiated to learn something from his generation. As we parted, "H" unexpectedly gave me a big, hearty bear hug....a surprisingly demonstrative gesture for anyone in India!

I serendipitously took away a lesson from my encounter with "H" today....about the value of valuing others' life journeys, simply by asking to hear their stories.