THE BIG DAY!

Miduk wrapped in his prayer shawl before surgery

Check out the fashionable hospital gown! 

After he was prepped and ready for surgery, Miduk was ready for a nap.

We woke him up at 4:15am this morning!

My friend Pamela checked in on Sugar for me today, and found Sugar laying in Miduk's bed waiting for him.  :)

This was the view from Miduk's room on the third floor at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.  Downtown Dallas was all lit up at 5:00am and we watched the sun come up! (well I did - Shelby and Miduk were napping...)

Miduk was in good spirits this morning when we arrived at the hospital.  After the pre-op visit yesterday, he passed the time by going to Ben's soccer game, and we had a family dinner where he was more talkative and laughing than he has ever been at dinnertime!  Our friend from bible study, Stacey and her two children Jimmy and Claire, (photo soon to come!) came over to bring Miduk a prayer shawl to take to the hospital with him and to wish him well.  The Prayer Shawl Ministry at our church is amazing.  These talented ladies knit beautiful shawls to present to those who are in need of comfort.  At church last Sunday they dedicated some of the shawls they had made, and the congregation was asked to tie knots in the fringe of the shawls and say a prayer for whomever may receive it.  Miduk took part in the dedication on Sunday, not knowing that two days later he would be receiving one!  And a dark charcoal gray one at that!  His favorite! haha  He held it close and snuggled it under his chin as he was prepped for surgery, and they even allowed him to take it into surgery with him!  I know he felt all the love and all the prayers as he wrapped himself up in the shawl.  Our new pastor Jeff also made an early morning visit to talk with Miduk and to pray with him before surgery.  Miduk was so calm and laid back this morning, obviously not worried or nervous about it!  He has had a previous abdominal surgery so he was familiar with the IV and knew what to expect as far as being put under anesthesia.  Kasey told him, "Don't worry, be happy!", a little something they share.  Earlier in the week Kasey had a disappointment and was upset and Miduk spent the evening trying to cheer her up by telling her Don't Worry Be Happy Kase!  :)

All the staff at Scottish Rite are amazing, from the security guard in the parking lot who waves like crazy and smiles really big when you pull in (kinda like Santa Claus, Shelby says) to the nurses and doctors and support personnel.  I just can't say enough good things about Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.  They are definitely geared for children and make them feel welcome.  Almost like the kids came here for a good time instead of medical treatment!  Everything is bright and colorful, antique toys on display, a popcorn machine, aquariums, video stations, generous prizes.  Even the exam rooms have fun names like the Zippity Zebra room or the skateboard room.  And might I just add that we found the cafeteria food to be amazing?  They have the best burgers and even a stir-fry station!  :)

Miduk was finally taken into surgery about 8:45am, and we were paged at 10:15am that he was in recovery.  Dr. Birch came out to talk with us, and reported that Miduk did great and he felt like the surgery was a success.  He is very patient and very personable, and has a great rapport with the patients from what we've seen.  He told us that he scraped the growth plates and also put titanium plates (very small) on both sides of the kneecap to completely seal off the growth plates.(that's a lot of plates!)   He explained that putting the plate in was an added measure of  security, just in the very unlikely case that some of the growth plates continue to grow and cause the knee to turn outward. In cases where that happens, normally they would just go back in and scrape it again (a narrow window of opportunity since timing is everything).  But since Miduk will be returning to Indonesia, he didn't want to take any chances and went the extra mile.  And no, these plates won't set off airport security!  :)

Miduk spent the afternoon sleeping, playing a little Nintendo and watching some TV.  Shelby brought Kasey up tonight and he was glad to see her.  :)  She always makes him laugh.  This time she took photos of herself and Miduk and did that "photo booth" thing on the computer where it totally distorts your face.  Always good for a laugh!  He ate a cheeseburger and even walked to the bathroom!  So far, so good.  He was even able to do the exercises that the physical therapist taught him yesterday!  I feel like he's on the right track and we should be able to go home tomorrow.  Today when Miduk was groggy he opened his eyes and randomly said "Wesley here?"  Wes will be coming home on Friday to spend the weekend and see Miduk again. 

All in all, everything went great.  Thanks to all of you for your phone calls, emails, text messages, and most of all your prayers for Miduk today.  And thank you Darlene Rogers for making the most amazing prayer shawl, I'm sure it will be something Miduk will take back to Indonesia with him when he goes.  And what a great conversation starter that will be!