Mother's Day

Twenty-one Mother's Days ago, we were sitting in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa. Our oldest son was only five weeks old, and nearly too late, had been diagnosed with pyloric stenosis. For the previous two weeks, he had been projectile vomiting nearly everything he ate to the point that he weighed less than his birth weight when then doctors finally pinpointed the problem. The condition is detectable with a simple x-ray, but our pediatrician, for whatever reason, didn't do one until Dana insisted.

Approximatley 15 percent dehydrated (not good for a five week old infant), Ryon was immediately admitted to the hospital with instructions for us to "call your pastor if you have one." They gave him a 50-50 chance of living due to his severe condition--definitely NOT good odds for new parents! For two days, we anxiously waited in the PICU while doctors and nurses worked to save our little boy. On Dana's first Mother's Day, it was determined that Ryon was sufficiently hydrated to handle surgery; he and and the little "plastic bubbly" that had been his bed/home for the past two days were wheeled out of the room. That was tough! About an hour later, we got the news: the surgery was a complete success!

Since then, Ryon seems to have been making up for those five weeks. That kid can EAT!!! We have two boys now and they are both the best kids a parent could ask for...most of the time. They got Dana a card and a gift--all on their own. After church, they'll take their Mom out to eat (I get to tag along). This will be a much less stressful Mother's Day than Dana's first one.