Sometimes life gets a little more challenging...

That is certainly the case for our family this week. Wyndham will be having major surgery on Wednesday, Sept. 29th. She isn't fully aware of what is to come, nor what to expect. As you can see from her photos here, she is doing well right now and is very happy and healthy!
We (Chip and I) have known this day was coming for a long while now, but that doesn't make it any easier. I know that many of you will be praying for her, for her doctors, and for all our family as we help care for Wyndham during her recovery. It will be a long process and I just wanted to share what is involved.
Wyndham will be undergoing double-foot realignment surgery which will hopefully resolve the issue of her feet turning more and more outward. Left untreated, she faces problems with bone formation as well as ongoing and long-term chronic pain in her joints, back, spine and neck.
The surgery itself will take approximately 5 hours. It involves taking a bone graft from her pelvic bone and placing a wedge of that bone on the outer side of both her feet, and then the tendons in the back of each leg will be lengthened too.
We are most concerned with how Wyndham will come out of the recovery itself and then in order to be discharged from the hospital she needs to be taking oral meds for managing her pain. On both counts we have concerns because of how Wyndham has done in the past. She typically has a weak stomach and can have extreme nauseau. She also has issues with swallowing pills
and so we anticpate that she may have a longer hospital stay than the expected 2 day stay.
Once she comes home we are not totally sure what to expect as far as how challenging her needs will be. She will be in casts for a minimum of 8 weeks, and could face another 4 weeks beyond that, and then she will be fitted for orthodics. We will be her primary caregivers and know that it is going to be demanding on her and the rest of us. That is why we so appreciate your prayers in the coming days and weeks.
This all stems from her original brain injury sustained as a young infant in the Old Depot tragedy. We have watched Wyndham go through so many medical procedures and therapy/rehab for over 9 years now and sometimes we just feel tired and sad when we
think about what she has yet to face. Still, we are trusting in the God that has healed her in the past and hoping that He will give her more grace and mercy as she endures more pain and recovery.
Sometimes it just feels so unfair and it definitely tugs at our hearts to have to be at her side as she undergoes yet another struggle. But we're thankful to be her parents and family; we feel lucky that this will be her first major surgery since her shunt was placed and she's enjoyed many happy days that some doctors wondered if she'd ever have at all.
We hope that the next couple of months will be opportunity for our family to become stronger, to lean harder on the God in whom we trust, and a good reminder to never take the simple, "ordinary days" we have for granted. They are special and we look forward to having many more of them with Wyndham and all our other kids too.
I will be posting frequent updates on my Face Book wall as well as occasional blogposts here too. Fell free to stay in-the-loop with us as we go through these challenges with Wyndham.
We appreciate your love, prayers, thoughts and cares every step of the way!
Jody & Chip and family too