Healing

It’s hard to believe that Sam and I arrived in Minnesota four weeks ago. We had thought this would be a much shorter visit, but we’re thankful to have been able to get all the medical care Sam has needed. In my previous post, I shared that Sam was scheduled to get his tonsils and adenoids removed and that the ENT would also check his ears at that time. Surgery went well and we’re incredibly happy that Sam simply needed a new set of tubes to fix his hearing. Praise God!

We moved out of our hotel and into a house we found on Airbnb two days before the surgery. My mom was in town, so she helped us move everything. It would have been tough in an Uber! It was so much nicer to come back to a quiet house instead of a small hotel room for Sam’s recovery.

Surgery to remove tonsils and adenoids is known to have a rough recovery. We stayed one night in the hospital and were released the following day after Sam ate a tiny bit of food. Pete’s parents come to help us move out of the hospital back into our little house. They took me to the grocery store for plenty of kids’ Tylenol and to fill the fridge with soft foods for Sam’s two weeks of healing.

Those first few days at the house were hard. I made sure we stuck to scheduled Tylenol and lots of cuddles to keep Sam as comfortable as possible. He didn’t want to eat much and fought hard every time I gave him meds, but we made it through.

We watched lots of Fixer Upper and Disney Jr.

Six days after surgery, Sam was playing and begging to ‘go.’ I was happy to get out, too. We took an Uber to the mall and explored for a few hours.

We spent most of our time looking at toys at Barnes and Noble. We even found a couple books to take back for Ella! We were both happy to be out for a bit. The weather is so cold here, we can’t just head out the door for a walk around town.

Unfortunately, though, the night after our outing, Sam woke at 3am with a small amount of blood in his mouth. I knew this could happen at any time during his two weeks of healing, so I called a cab and took him to the Emergency Room.  We discovered one of his scabs had come off, so the surgeon cauterized the area again. Later, the room was filled with doctors and residents for morning rounds when I asked the question if this would mean we’d need to start our two-week countdown over before we traveling back to Kenya. I already knew what the answer would be, but when the attending said yes, I cried. I was exhausted. After a week of challenging healing with Sam, a night of very little sleep, and being half a world away from Ella and Pete, and I didn’t want to have to start over. After some really good sleep, I felt much better. The wait has been long, but Sam’s health is so very important.

One more night in the hospital and we were able to head back to the house.

The week of healing after the second surgery was far easier than the first. Praise God. And we had visitors! My friend, Kim, came for lunch, and then my mom, brother Jake, and Pete’s sister, Kristin, all came for the weekend. It was wonderful to have the company!

On Sunday, we watched the Super Bowl with Auntie Kristin. It was pretty exciting knowing the game was just an hour away from us!

Sam was really into JT’s halftime show. (And yes, so was I.)

On Monday, Kristin took us around to run errands and then we found a great indoor play area. Sam played and played and played while we sat on a bench and drank coffee. A lovely way to spend the morning.

We then stopped in at the clinic so the surgeon could take a look at Sam’s healing. Everything looks great! Know what that means? We get to fly home next week!! My mom and dad came to town yesterday to see us one more time. I squeezed in one more trip to Target with my mama.

It’s been four long weeks, but it’s all been worth it for Sam’s health. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and sending sweet messages. Please continue to pray for our travels in the next week. We’re so excited to be with Ella and Pete again!