February 12, 2011 in Uncategorized with 9 Comments

Gray’s recovery from his recent surgery was difficult, to say the least. Gray was ordered to stay on a clear liquids diet until he met a few requirements set up by the doctors and that took longer then expected. He went without any food and not much more then a few ice chips for two entire days. Talk about miserable. Gray was miserable and whoever was in the room caring for him was miserable too. The poor kid would just whine over and over that he wanted chocolate milk, at times even demanding that someone bring him some of his favorite drink. If we’re not mistaken, we even belive that he tried to trick us into giving him a drink of milk or juice by simply asking for his backpack (where he knew there was a sippy) or whispering to his brother to bring him his cup! He’s so sneaky! During his first night after surgery, Gray didn’t sleep a wink and actually ended up yanking the tube from his nose. Then, on top of everything else, Gray had a reaction to his morphine and became so itchy that he actually scratched his skin raw in several places. He now looks like he fell and scraped his body across the concrete. Poor guy. The nurses switched his pain meds and by the afternon of our second day in the hospital Gray was finally napping and his spirits were  up! Gray has actually recovered from surgery quickly, overall! In fact, today he was able to come home! Originally, he was supposed to stay in the hospital until his sixth chemo treatment but the doctor’s decided he could come home and finish recovering from surgery. We’re  not going to lie, it’s awesome to be home! And during this visit to the hospital Gray kept asking to go home. He too was sick of being  in the hospital. So, as of now, Gray’s treatment plan is to recover at home and then begin his next round of inpatient chemo on Thursday. He has had some pain at home but honestly we think he’s recovering better then the rest of the family! Hospital stays take awhile to recoup from, especially when it comes to sleep. On Gray’s surgery date, some of our close family friends visited to support us during the surgery. As Gray woke from surgery all he talked about, asked for and got upset about was chocolate milk! He had chocolate milk on the brain and nothing else would satisfy his craving! As one of our friends left the hospital that day she promised to return with chocolate milk as soon as the doctors would allow it and she kept her promise! On Friday, she came for another visit and brought Gray a six pack of chocolate  milk and a whole gift bag of “cow themed” goodies! With everything from a farm animal puzzle, a board book featuring cows and even a stuffed cow Gray was stocked up on all things chocolate milk! The best part, though, was the “I Like Chocolate Milk” t-shirt! So cute!

Thank you all for your continued prayers for Gray and our family! Receiving the news, after Gray’s surgery, that his tumors appeared to be nothing more then hardened masses of dead tissue was so relieving and we know, with full faith, that your prayers are being answered! While the road ahead is long and there are many treatments and long hospital stays in our future, we move forward knowing that God hears our cries for our baby boy and He knows what the future holds. He wrote the story of Gray long before he was a dream in our hearts or a thought in our minds and we trust that His healing hand will continue to protect our little boy. We still have not received the results of the biopsy taken from Gray’s tumors during his surgery. We are anxious for the results and are hoping to get them early next week. Please pray for a peace that passes understanding during the wait and in the coming weeks. We also want to thank you all for remembering Grayson tomorrow on Pray4Gray Day. The worldwide support being shown to our family is overwhelming and humbling but we couldn’t be more grateful! We honestly believe we won’t be able to understand or comprehend how far Gray’s story has reached until we get to heaven. We love you all.

“But let all how take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” Psalm 5:11-12