If you ever question how Great God is... Let David Show You =)

This morning David and I woke up, went to church, had lunch, took pictures, and then were blessed with the opportunity to experience a ride in the Bat Mobile! David was awarded keys to the Bat Mobile for his Courage! He was deemed an “Honorary Super Hero”!  As he was being presented his key/ Super Hero Award I realized that today is March 25th. 

One month ago today, David laid unresponsive in a hospital bed.  He was on 100% Life Support, his organs were failing, and doctors did not think he would make it through the night.  Four Weeks later my little Super Hero was granted an experience children rarely have the opportunity to experiences ~ The Bat Cave.  He spent the day enjoying life and sharing his giggles and smile with  friends and loved ones.    

If you ever question how Great God is... Let David Show You =)  

Today is the Big Day...

Many of you have seen the video of David first opening his eyes, but most of you do not know the story behind the video…


 Bridget from Hopekids came to visit David. He was still on full life support, the doctor’s prognosis were not good, and I was one desperate mommy. David had not responded or moved since his seizure and intubation. Bridget leaned over and whispered in David’s ear. She told him that he needed to pull through and get better so that she could arrange for him to visit the Bat Cave and ride the Bat Mobile. Once she said that he started twitching his eyes, as if he was trying to respond to her.


 We decided we would have mommy sing in his ear and see if we could catch him responding (twitching his eyes) on video. We grabbed my phone and the minute we started recording he actulay opened his eyes and looked right into the camera. That moment was breath takeing!!!


 Everyone blessed to be in the room at that moment, can attest to the excitement and joy of being able to watch him open those bueatiful eyes of his. It was almost like he was letting us know he was going to pull through and he wanted to world to know as well (via YouTube of course). Today is the big day. We will be taking our visit to the Bat Cave in just a few short hours.


A Special Thanks to Gotham City Motors for the Bat Mobile experience and to Dawn Hayes ~ Studio D Photography Co for capturing the moment for us, and of course HopeKids and Bridget for your diligent work providing hope to families who need it the most.

 

He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it!

God is and has done an amazing work and I just continue to trust and know that "he who began a good work will be faithful to complete it". Although home, this week has been very hectic. I was hoping to get some rest and recover emotionally, but as of today the week has not permitted time for rest or recovery.


 I have spent the last week scheduling appointments, taking David to follow ups, fighting with insurance companies, and trying to obtain all the new equipment and medication David now needs. Emotionally the whole situation/event is just sinking in and I am trying to process many different emotions while also trying to manage life. I am not doing that too well at the present moment.


 We met with David’s school Yesterday and have determined that at least for now the Medically Fragile class will be the most appropriate fit for him, until he has fully recovered. He enjoyed his visit to Caesar Chavez, and displayed more energy than I have seen him have since illness began over a month ago. David rolled around in his chair and greeted both students and staff with such enthusiasm. It was a precious site!


At this moment we are taking everything one day, sometimes one breathe at a time. On Monday, David will return to school and I will return to work, and somehow, someway, we will get back to our normal routines and "our normal lives".

 ♥♥♥  On the bright side David is looking better with every passing day!  ♥♥♥ 

Ok God... Tonight is one of those moments that I need you to come rescue me from myself. I am frustrated and angry and don't want my human emotions to take from what you are doing in my life. 

I just have to remind myself that "nothing goes to waste" and that things don't have to 

make sense and often won't.

His Story/Our Journey does not end here…

We are still adjusting to being home and I am still struggling with my emotions. In the midst of “our crisis” being strong for David was my only option. Now that it is over, the reality and severity of the situation is sinking in. I remember those 24 hours like it was yesterday. Time stood still and 24 hours felt like 24 years.


The Questions racing through my heart, soul, and mind...
Was this going to be the battle we would ultimately loose?  Was David going to survive this? Was he ever going to wake up? Would things ever be the same? How would I get up and make it through my days without his Smile or my Dayday by my side? Eventually, I begun to get too tired to ask questions or even think.


 Knowing that neither my strength nor David’s strength could fight the battle we were facing, I had no other choice but to lay it all at God’s feet. David did survive, he woke up, and myself and many others are blessed with the ability to enjoy once again, enjoy David’s Smile, but things will never be the same!


 I have seen and experienced miracles, my faith is stronger than I could have ever imagined, I am now able to fully and completely trust God, and I know when I call on him,  he comes running. Throughout this experience I have cried out to God, on more occasions than I can count.  Somehow, someway, in my moments of utter desperation God always responded to my cries.  He has sent signs, used people, and made the impossible possible.  That changes a person!


This last month has been an emotional roller coaster, one with more downs than ups, but at the end I got off the ride, and was embraced by my Father.   Right were God wanted me, were I have needed to be for a long time, back in his arms.


Remember although,  David is on the road to recovery his story/our journey does not end here… We have a world to change =)

Slowly but surely, I am getting my Dayday back =)   We were listening to praise and worship on our way to follow up with David’s Primary Care Physician (PCP), and he began to dance.  It has been a slow process, but everyday I get a little more of my Dayday back!  Thank you Jesus =)

Don't Let Anything Go to Waste!

This was in a recent Women of Faith ~ daily refreshment titled Nothing Goes to Waste~ I could so related, and felt led to share...


 "I’ve also learned my greatest spiritual growth has sprung from my deepest human pain. Nothing in our lives goes to waste. All experiences, even a marital calamity, will ultimately work together for our good. I've also learned to be patient about not knowing what God knows. I have to trust him to take care of what I can’t see and ultimately make sense of what I do see."


Although, my experience had nothing to do with marriage, I did grow and learn so very much about trusting God and letting go of "needing to make sense of things".

I am learning to laugh about things again =)

After David failed his swallow study speech suggested that David only drink from a sippy cup with a straw. They are intended for toddlers who are just learning to drink from a straw, so straw regulates they amount of fluid. I tried to drink from one myself and they are pretty difficult to drink from. David is not enjoying having to work for his drinks. I keep catching him taking off the lids to avoid having to use the regulated straw ;). As a result I have had my bed, floors, carpets, his toys, and our clothes covered in boost. I want to be angry because he continuously spills and has created several huge messes, but I can’t help but laugh that he has figured out that he can just take off the lid and not have to deal with drinking from the darn “difficult straw”! lol

Lord I know you have already blessed me with so much, and I am so very grateful, but please I am begging, make my Dayday whole and complete again. His current state is scary and heartbreaking!


 David was sitting next to me and he leaned over and began staring at the floor, drooling, and shivering. I lifted him up thinking he was starting to seize, but he was not. I don’t know if it is the medication, his recent medical issues, or a combination of it all, but that is just the way David is and has been since he has woken up. He has had a few moments were he laughs, kisses, and even dances, but they are few and far between and for the most part he just seems lethargic and lost.

David is home but our Journey continues on...

My emotions are running wild! I am so very grateful that David is alive, that God granted me/us a Miracle, and that I am again blessed with his Smiles. I am so very confused about my current state of being and emotions.


You would think that now that David is stable and home I would relax, but the truth is I am falling apart! When he was in critical condition I did not have time to grief, process, or emotionally deal with the traumatic experience happening at the moment, I had to stay strong for my baby, who at that moment was so very weak. Now that, “that moment” is over, all of those emotions are flooding in and I feel as if I am drowning.


 I know that after any medical event with David it takes a while for things to return to normal or “our normal”, but this is a very different experience than I am use to. Brain surgery although difficult, is something David and I are both use to and know how to bounce right back from. Watching my son unable to do anything for himself hurts my heart, but than I feel guilty for being sad when I am lucky he is even alive.


 He is not longer potty training, he is still not speaking, he can not help with transfers, feeding himself, or any of “our normal” routines at the present time. I don’t want to be ungrateful for what I don’t have, because I am so very grateful for what I do have. He just didn’t come back the same, I still love him the same if not more, I value and appreciate every minute with him, but don’t know how to process or deal with the drastic changes. 


His whole body constantly shakes, he drools, and he is completely dependant. Doctors say all of these symptoms are most likely temporary, but can be permanent. I can deal with David in whatever package he comes in, I just don’t know how to process and/or adjust to the changes.


David is home but our Journey continues on, as will our struggles. I just know that this experience put me in a place where I had no other choice but to completely and fully hand my heart over to God. I had to trust him with my heart and my son. My heart still hurts but I know I am in a place where he can fix some very deep rooted traumas and pain, and this can only make me a better person and mommy for David.


 It just hurts, it’s confusing, emotional, and something I have to deal with one moment at a time. I know we are headed in the right direction so for now I am going to just keep looking up ^^^^^!

I wanted to go to church today but it is raining outside and I am nervous to take David out in this weather. Although, I got to sleep in my own bed last night, I didn’t sleep much. I have such anxiety about David getting sick. Every time he moves, turns, coughs, shakes, anything I wake up.


 David is on new seizure medication since his last hour long seizure, it is suppose to have much better effects, but until his body adjust there are some side affects (like shaking and drooling) and they scare me.


 It so different in the Hospital, if anything goes wrong I have a nurse button I can push, but at home… well I am on my own. I do trust God, but my mommy nervous and anxiety is making it hard for me to adjust and enjoy being home!

Home Sweet Home!

We are home =)  I can't not wait to take a nice hot bath, sleep in my own bed, eat whatever I want from my own fridge, and wake up and pick out whatever I want to wear to church tomorrow from my own closet.  Oh the simple things in life...

and then of course the not so simple things, like God's miraculous wonders.  I have longed for this day for weeks now, at one point I was told by doctors that David probably would not make it and if he did taking David  home would problably take weeks or even months.  


Although, this has been a long and tiresome journey I have become ever so close to you Lord, and I have needed that for quite some time now!  Thanks I can truly appreciate the journey because we have completed the battle victorious and the perspective gained through this journey has made me ever so thankful!

A recent swallow study revealed that David is aspirating while eating and drinking. This means that the fluid and or food he intakes can and is going into the respiratory tract during inhalation. The potential effects of his aspiration is that it can cause Pneumonia, which doctors do not feel his little body could handle or fight right now. We will be remaining residence of PCH for at least one more day.


When we get home David will be receiving speech therapy so that he can learn to eat and drink again. I know that sounds crazy to anyone who knows David because besides smiling, eating and drinking are the two things he enjoys most and does best!


 He will go home on a special "soft diet" and we will be supplementing his meals with liquid formula which we will be thickening with a special thickening gel. The study showed that David did not aspirate while drinking "nectar thick" fluids.


 All and all he is doing amazing and back to his flirty bubbly self. God has been so amazingly faithful and gracious to us throughout this adventure.


I have been facing some anxiety about going home, David returning to school, and the both of us returning to "our realities". I am excited yet nervous at the same time. Our world has been put on hold for the last month, but the rest of the world has continued on, and somehow we have to figure out a way to jump back in as if "our world" never stoped.


As far as my anxiety, I know that they are natural motherly concerns and I also know that my God is greater than my anxieties and any fears I might have.

♥♥ I think David has fallen in love with Bridget from HopeKids ♥♥ It must be that amazing heart of hers. Sorry son she is taken ;) Awww they are enjoy there first dance, he must have given her 100 plus kisses!!!!!


 

A special message for David from our precious little Clowie!

This message brought tears to my eyes. This is the daughter of dear friends of ours. Clowie had a message she wanted to share with her friend Dayday!  They shared with me that when she found out that David was taken off the ventilator she jumped up and down yelling "David is breathing again". ;,)


What a remarkable young girl with an amazing spirit.  God job mom and dad! Lots of love little Miss. Clowie, we miss you and you welcome to come over everyday if you would like, once we get home. Xoxoxoxo


 

Tube Free Dayday =)

David is officially “tube” free! They took out his IV this morning and his feeding tube about 30 minutes ago. I thought this day would never come. It is not official but we might, just might get discharged tomorrow. Yep, going home only 22 days after being told that David would not make it through the night =)


 Life truly is too short to focus on insignificant things that you can’t change and that don’t matter. We should be spending our time appreciating life and the smallest things about life that matter so very much… Like David enjoying his first Twix Bar and Jamming out to Bruno Mars! Life itself is Amazing and Living it with God by my side makes it even Greater!

 

God is Love!

I just wanted to thank everyone for their love and support over the last few weeks. I also would lake to make a few statements about my last few post. All of you came to my defense. Some of your were angry, hurt, surprised, and appalled by the behaviors of a few individuals I once called “friends". I too was extremely hurt by some of the things that have been said to me via email, post, or messages (by numerous people). Allowing those hurtful words to make me or anyone else angry is giving Satan the power he wants.


 That being said… what I am called to do is pray for these people, and I would ask all of you to do the same. I do not and have not ever wished them ill and I pray that they may find compassion and empathy for others. If their responses/reactions were out of their own wounds I pray they may be healed from that pain.


 This story is about love, faith, God, and a courageous little boy named David (who BTW is Smiling as I type). While focusing on peoples negative comments I lost sight of that. May God bless everyone today especial those who have wounded me with their words.

For God sake I have just begun to enjoy his smile again! Please let me do so in peace!

To all of you who have a negative opinion about my blog or facebook updates, its really quite simple…delete me, block me, don’t read my post, or don’t follow me! But please do not ridicule me, judge me, or kick me while I am down.

     I cordially invite you into my world, not via media and/or social networking but I invite you to take a real walk in my shoes, my real everyday life. Once you have taken a few steps in my shoes (which most of you will never be willing to do) then and only than will your opinion on how I handle myself, live my life, and raise my son matter!
      I am human, never have I claimed to be perfect, and I have spent the last three weeks fighting a battle that has physically and emotionally drained me. I do not need to be attacked by people who have never had to endure or experiences my experiences, my life.
     No one can predict how they will react in crisis until they are actually in crisis. I have handled things to the best of my ability and if for some reason that has not met your standards don’t judge me, step up to the plate and see what you can do to help!
      This battle has not only been a three week battle, it has been a 15 year battle. Although, it is David with the medical challenges, I as his mother have had to fight this battle with him. My heart is pure, my goal is to touch life’s, and inspire others that odds are made to be beaten, but don’t for one second forget that I am human, with a heart and feelings!
      If you can’t respect my heart and feelings or understand that I am tired and have better things to worry about than rude, inconsiderate, and insensitive comments or messages than please just leave me alone. I have learned in the last few weeks that life is short, too short to be spending time or energy crying over people who are heartless and do not and will not ever matter in our lives.

 For God sake I have just begun to enjoy his smile again! Please let me do so in peace!

I Share because I believe it would be selfish of me to to keep the blessing of David and his Miracles to myself!

Every video I share, picture I post, story I share, proves we serve a kind & loving God! 18 days ago my son was on 100% life support, his organs were failing, & doctors had done all they could do. I was told to say my goodbyes " and Know David had fought a good fight". I got on my knees and begged my God, Abba Father, to intervene and complete the work the doctors could no longer do! Many of you  joined me in that request. 


3 days ago David whispered mom, he has giggled, given nose kisses, & even danced. To be honest some days I have not wanted to blog, talk, or recap our daily events, but I knew that our followers, our prayer warriors, and our supporters were waiting for updates.


Everyone who has faithful followed us throughout this event, has been given an amazing opportunity to witness & experience our Miracles along side us. How could I not share that? 


Our God is a big & Mighty God, but sometimes, that is hard to see when the challenges around us seem just as big and mighty. David proved that NOTHING is to big or small for our God. Just call on him, I promise he'll be there! (no matter what time it is) lol


When you begin to feel defeated, weary, or can only see how big your challenges are, my advice would be; praise God in the mist of the storm, understand that he has a plan and a purpose for all things & sometimes we just need to get out of his way, & when all else fails let David remind you to Smile your way through it!


The news we have all be patiently waiting for: 

Today he is back.... David has giggled all morning, even through a blood draw! He gets histarical when we move the bed, and the blood pressure cuff hugging his arm tickles him to no end.   When we have to do anything uncomfortable to him (pokes, pricks, and/or placing a tube down his nose) we just put on a little Bruno Mars, and it gets him through.  He even dances his way through his treatments no =)   He has also decided that he will flirt with his respiratory therapists but doesn't really need their help... He has decided he can hold his own mask and do their job, he has it all under control!!!!!

Every time he giggles I am reminded that God loves me, his smile reminds me that God will never leave me nor forsake me, his joy reminds me to appreciate the small things we so often take for granted, and when David dances it reminds me that worshiping and praising God is the only way to survive challenges like the one we have just survived!

If David could talk I truly believe he would be honored to know that his story is inspiring others!

I have recently had someone suggest that my blogging, sharing, and posting of photos gave the impression that I was exploiting and/or putting my son on display. The thought that anyone would think those are or ever have been my intentions greatly hurts me. I am sorry if I have been to honest, graphic, or real in my post. If I offended you in any way please accept my sincere apology. I have tried to crop most of our photos, but my attempts have not always been successful. So if the pictures of David in diapers made anyone uncomfortable again I am sorry and those were never my intentions.


Sharing our story is not always easy or fun, because as most of you have seen our life is not always pretty and filled with roses. I share our story (raw and uncut) so people know that serving God, remaining faithful, and raising children is painful and overwhelming at times. I may not always be easy, but “he never said it would be easy he only said it would be worth it”


I would not share our story if I felt that sharing our journey... David's life and even suffering wasn’t changing lives, inspiring people around the world, building faith and even bringing people to Christ. That is what has made sharing/blogging/posting worth the time and effort throughout this long hard journey. For the most part that is the feedback I have received




David’s story can remind us all that God is capable of using all things to his glory! That has been the intention of my continuous updates!