Prayers for Surgery

Hello, friends. Today was a good day with our little man, replete with morning and afternoon holds from mommy and daddy. (Jude sacked out both times we held him. His modus operandi is to squirm a little bit at first, then burrow down in our arms until he's in his desired position for sleeping.) We got in some good snuggle time with our little monkey, as after tomorrow we may have to wait a little while before we can take him in our arms and love on him. As always, we're very thankful for these little moments with our son.

So, tomorrow is the big day. Hernia repair surgery at 1 pm. (We were previously told it would start at noon, but it has apparently been pushed back an hour.)

So what can we expect tomorrow?

We're anticipating that Jude will probably be readied and transported down to some sort of surgery holding area a short while before his actual procedure is scheduled to start. At some point before surgery actually begins, Jude will be given some perioperative antibiotics to guard against possible infection that could develop as a result of the surgery.

Please pray with us that Jude's antibiotics will be effective and he'll be protected from infection as he undergoes surgery.

One of Jude's primary nurses, Lesley, will be accompanying him to the operating room and will remain with him while he's in surgery.

Please pray for Lesley with us as she accompanies Jude to surgery, that she will be equipped with everything she needs to provide assistance to the other medical staff in the operating room and that she can be a comfort to Jude and advocate for him when his parents can't be with him.

Before the surgery begins, Jude will be given some anesthetic and paralytic drugs, which will render him unconscious and immobile for the surgery. One or more anesthesiologists and/or nurse anesthetists will administer these drugs and, I think, will remain for the duration of the surgery until Jude returns to the NICU to recover.

Please pray with us for the anesthesiologists that will be assisting in tomorrow's surgery. Please pray that God will accord them wisdom as they make decisions about Jude's anesthesia. Also, please pray that Jude's body will respond well to the anesthesia and that he'll experience no complications.

Dr. Andre Hebra will carry out Jude's hernia repair operation. As we have been told, Dr. Chris Streck will accompany Dr. Hebra and will assist in the procedure. I'll forgo all of the details, but Dr. Hebra has communicated to us that he feels some nervousness about the surgery, as it will pose some technical challenges. Jude's insides may be laced with scar tissue as a consequence of past infection and of the first hernia repair operation.

Please pray with us that the Lord our God would grant wisdom, discernment, and skill to Dr. Hebra and Dr. Streck; that, through Him, they would surmount any technical challenges or obstacles that might be present; and that the surgery would be a success. Pray with us that Jude's insides would be in the best condition possible for the surgery, and that the doctors and other staff would be amazed. Pray also that God would strengthen and fortify Jude's little body against the trauma of being cut open and having his organs moved around.

God willing, after the surgery is over, Jude will be transported back to the NICU for recovery.

Please pray with us that Jude will be brought safely through the surgery and be granted a head start on the road to recovery.

We will be posting to the blog tomorrow to keep everyone updated as Jude progresses through surgery. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for Jude and for our family.