Baby Walt was born November 24 via emergency c-section. Shortly after his birth, he was diagnosed with a rare heart condition and life lifted to Houston’s Medical Center.
December 9th, Walt had surgery to treat patent ductus arteriosus and repair the right atrium, both of which were exacerbated by his heart condition. Since then, we’ve been spared (he’s been spared) any further instance of literal life-threatening scare. The surgery was as great a success as it could be. Better even.
On Monday, December 30th five weeks and one day after entering the world, Baby Walt left the hospital and joined us at home.
He’s now 6 weeks old and doing great. Aside from a rock star haircut (necessary for the insertion of a PICC line into his scalp) and one medication, Walt is a perfectly normal infant. He eats well. Really well. Sleeps like a champ when swaddled and enjoys walks and snuggles.
Walt’s journey has been nothing short of a miracle. Miracle upon miracle upon miracle.
On Christmas Day we spoke with a doctor who told us they were giving Walt a little more time, but if in the next few days Walt wasn’t eating more on his own, they would have to place a permanent feeding tube which would remain until his weight gain picked up. I cried. And then I prayed. And before I went to bed that night, I took communion and prayed again. When I called the nurse first thing in the morning on the 26th, she told me they were removing Walt’s existing feeding tube because over the last 12 hours, Walt was successfully sucking down an entire bottle. I cried again. And praised God for yet another medical-defying miracle.
And that’s a microcosm of the entire ordeal. The five weeks Walt was in the hospital seems like a separate lifetime. One that happened in some alternate reality woven of surreal nightmares, endless days under fluorescent lights, sitting in uncomfortable, sterile chairs, set to a soundtrack of beeps, buzzes, and alarms. But after every nightmare, joy greeted us in the morning.
When he was born, we were told Walt might not make it through the night. But he did. Then we were told his heart might not be able to function properly. But it did. Then we were told his lungs might not work as they should and he might need a respirator indefinitely. And let me tell you, the boy’s got some pipes. Last it was trouble eating and the potential need for a feeding tube. He now weighs 10.5 pounds and is showing no signs of slowing down.
His future looks bright. It is bright.
And here we are. Still standing. All healthy. All well. Completely because of the love, support, and prayers of so many people, because of the peace and loving kindness of our God who has been faithful a million times over. As for Walt, he’s sound asleep. He also smiles in his sleep. It’s adorable.
God has heard our (and your) prayers and answered. His mercy, grace, goodness, and faithfulness are evident every single day. They are forever part of Walt’s story and our family’s.
Thank you for praying for my son and my family, for loving us from afar. The Legal Insurrection family is truly that and I’m so thankful for each of you, staff and readers alike.
My prayer for each and every one fo you is Numbers 6:24-26:
24 The Lord bless you and keep you;25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;26 the Lord lift up his countenance[c] upon you and give you peace.
I look forward to getting back on the blog in the next week or so. I’ve missed y’all.
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