Over The Hump

Our hearts are so very grateful that Jaydon seems to now be 'over the hump' with his pain and recovery. Last week was a week of ups and downs but of course that was to be expected considering his extensive surgery. He has had several really good days in a row now and we can now stretch his pain medicine out to twice a day - PTL! This kid is truly amazing, let me tell you. I love his guts, his stamina, his perseverance, his zeal, his zest for life.......... His smile melts me down to a puddle and boy is it good to see that smile so often now!

We now have 2 weeks of recovery under our belt - yea! Jaydon and I spend our summer days playing with play doh, cars, puzzles, legos, reading books, listening to music, videos, etc.. He just recently discovered light sabers so we've had a couple of 'fights' today. You should hear him giggle and laugh when I pretend that he knocks me out. John and Ben play with him a lot too in the mornings and then they go play/swim with friends in the afternoons. Bob comes in and takes the evening shift so I can get out sometimes and take a walk or get some groceries. We seem to have a decent schedule down for now. :)

SO many of you have blessed us during this time and we are forever grateful - thank you! Our family has been so blessed with your prayers, cards, emails, calls, visits and meals. John and Ben have also had so many play dates to help them have a fun and active summer. Jaydon has been surprised with visits, balloons, candy, legos, toys and even a homemade strawberry milkshake:). A very special friend of mine even took his shorts and put buttons in the crotch so he can wear clothes again. These wonderful blessings really do help him get through each day and we thank all of you (you know who you are!!).

We also appreciate your continued prayers for our sweet little fella. Your prayers for his continued healing and for his emotional state are greatly welcomed and appreciated. Overall he is handling his situation very well (much better than I'm sure that I would) but there are obviously some difficult and frustrating moments that we have to help him push through. Our prayer is that God will grant us the wisdom we need to take care of him and encourage hm on a daily basis. We are just so blessed, humbled and honored that God chose us to be the parents of 3 wonderful sons!

Hope all of you are well and enjoying your summer so far!

Much love and every blessing to you and yours.

Watch Out World

I'm in the driver's seat now.

His precious face says it all doesn't it? As you can tell, Jaydon was so excited to ride in his new wheel chair. It only took one time showing him how to make it go forward and backward. He had quite a fun time crashing into me (mom) while cooking lunch today - little rascal.

So far so good on his recovery. As expected, he has very good moments and very tough moments. He courageously tackles those tough moments though with an incredibly positive attitude (esp. for a 3 year old). He is one tough little cookie and his determination is highly admirable. He is without a doubt our modern day hero. His zeal and love for life is incredibly contagious. Several times a day (and with the biggest smile on his face) he says, "Zhi Da (his Chinese name) walk one day" which is what we tell him over and over throughout the day. That day is coming soon. As of tomorrow, we have one week behind us and we are so very grateful.

Thank you again for caring about Jaydon (Zhi Da) & our family and for taking time to read our blog. We appreciate every single thought and prayer. Our prayer is that our family's journey will be an encouragement and a blessing to you in some way.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord..... to give you a future and a hope.

Much love and every blessing to each of you.

Our little hero.....

is so happy to be home!

Whew! It is so good to have our little fella back at home so he can rest and heal in his own bed. He was so excited to sit down to his favorite breakfast of sausage/eggs, toast and a fruit smoothie. Unfort. though after the 3rd bite he threw up all in his plate - poor fella. We knew it was just a matter of time that all the meds would upset his tummy. Hopefully we can try some more solids in just a little while.

The ride home went well overall. Jaydon slept the first 2 hours but then he had about 45 minutes of pain spasms. He had a really good nights sleep (we all did) for which we are so grateful. He is now sitting up in our bed watching Toy Story 3 and grinning from ear to ear.

Upon arriving home, we were greeted with a wonderful meal of salad, enchiladas and delicious bread (thank you Higdon family)! We have been so blessed with such wonderful food this past week.

Well, that's all for now. We will update Jaydon's recovery every couple of days. Thank you all for your messages, emails, comments, calls, and mostly your prayers. We so appreciate you walking through this season of life with our family.

Homeward bound!

Yep! Can't believe it but we should be home late this evening - yahoo!
Shriners is letting us borrow a special car seat so Jaydon will have a comfy ride home.
Jaydon is still having quite a bit of pain but it is more tolerable now as long as the pain elixir is given on time.
He is having a little bout of pain right now but hopefully the meds will kick in soon.
Our prayer is that he can sleep most or all the way home.
Thanks again for all your prayers!
Jill for all

2 amazing brothers and 2 wonderful grannies

Just want to update how John and Ben have been doing this week. One word - fabulous!
They are just so patient and supportive of Jaydon and what he's going through. It has been difficult for them to watch him in pain so they usually go play somewhere when the pain gets too bad. Haven't heard one word of complaint about anything out of either of them. It does help though that they can play ping pong, pool, Wii, and watch a movie or two.........They have both become quite the pool sharks this week. Or so they think - ha.

My mom has been here all week as well helping us with whatever is needed. I've mostly needed her for emotional support. What a blessing to each one of us to have her here! I've used her shoulder quite a bit this week. Bob's mother would be here doing the same thing if she could. They are both incredible grannies!

Oh, and I can't forgot to thank Karen and Jeff for sending down the most incredible basket of goodies you've ever seen! I'm esp. loving those chocolates! Thanks guys.

Getting Relief

Ps. 9:1 I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.


Thank you so very much for your prayers for Jaydon today. God has truly blessed him and allowed his pain to ease and become more tolerable. He has also gotten some much needed sleep and rest b/c he's had a break from the intense pain. To God be the glory! The nurses are incredible and have a good system down now to prevent spikes in his pain levels. Thankfully he is now being weaned off of the morphine and just on an oral pain elixir.

Most of his pain is a result of all of the bone work they had to do. He had to have 3 different bones cut/moved and then 'stitched' back together with pins and rods. These will come out in 6 weeks when we return to Shriners.

There are several kids here with similar situations to Jaydons and some of them even worse. I know they would also appreciate any prayers said on their behalf.

Bob and I are starting to come back to life now after getting some fresh air, a wonderful lunch and a nice warm shower. There is a golf tournament here this week and some of the wives had a catered lunch sent over to the RM House. It was the perfect meal for our weary bodies : fresh salad, broccoli salad, pasta salad and baked chicken. The sweet southern tea didn't hurt either. We are just so grateful for this ministry.

As I close, I would like to share a verse with you that I just 'happened' to stumble across while Jaydon was resting.

Matthew 6:31-32 Therefore take no thought saying,"What shall we eat or what shall we drink or where shall we be clothed?.....for the heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."
We are totally humbled how God has taken care of us (and others here) by meeting our every single need (and then some!). Oh praise the name of the Lord!

God bless you all and thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers,
The Hinton Family

Pain

Last night was very, very hard on Jaydon. He had extreme pain and discomfort. They administered morphine as often as they could to give him some relief. His worst bout was about 1/2 hour ago. He is in way too much pain to eat right now. They put a 10mm wedge in his cast to hopefully relieve some pressure. He does have drainage which is expected.
Please pray for relief from this pain for this sweet little boy. He is still as sweet as ever even amidst the unbearable pain. Please also pray for no infection and for the drainage to be minimal at the this time.
We are holding up good. We're just overcome with emotion watching Jaydon suffer so much.
I must say though that I am so honored that I got to witness first hand the best daddy in the world taking care of the sweetest, bravest, most courageous kid I know.
Thank you again for your prayers.

Resting for now

Again, our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for your prayers. Thank you prayer warriors!
Jaydon is finally sleeping for the first time since his surgery earlier today. He is doing as good as he can be and is such a trooper and such a sweet patient! The nurses just love him. We even got a few smiles this afternoon while watching Pooh (those smiles were medicine for mama's heart).  He has had a couple bouts of pain this evening so these sweet nurses here are dosing him every 3 hours until they can get the pain managed. His nerve block should wear off sometime between 10 and midnight tonight so they're trying to keep the pain killer flowing to avoid any worse pain. He is drinking lots of fluids and ate a nice dinner. His vitals are good but he does have a low grade fever. He is on iv antibiotics to help prevent any infection.

Earlier this evening we did get him out in the wagon and wheeled him around for a while. He also got to go play with the trains which he loved. John played trains with him for a little while Ben painted a cute little wooden car for him. They are doing great and being the best big brothers in the world.

Again, I must say I have never been so impressed with a hospital in all my life. They are incredible here. We are so very grateful that Jaydon's experience is as positive as it can be during this time. There are several play areas for the children and lots and lots of books as well. The older kids can play pool, ping pong and Wii. The walls are beautifully painted with murals of animals in the jungle. The cafe has good food and good prices (nothing over $3.00). They are truly here to serve these kids and their families and make a difference in their lives. Our whole family has decided we'd like to work here one day :)

The Ronald McDonald House is also equally wonderful! Of course we wake up to free McDonald's coffee each morning but they also serve us free dinner in the evenings. Tonight we had a meal of creamed taters, mac n cheese, green beans, baked chicken and dessert - for free of course. These meals are donations coming from different people/sources/charities. We have been so well taken care of and incredibly blessed by both of these charitable organizations. God has truly blessed us in so many, many ways and our hearts are FULL of gratitude to Him and to each of you.

Gotta get some rest. Will update in the morning. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Out of Surgery

Jaydon is out of surgery - PTL! He is in recovery and we're just waiting for them to call us up. The doctor told us the surgery went well. He had to make several cuts to remove some crooked bone pieces but Jaydon now has a straight leg. He has several pins in his leg and heel so they will heal properly. He has both legs in casts and they are hooked together with a rod to prevent Jaydon from standing for 6 weeks.
Thank you all for praying for this sweet little boy. God truly has a special plan for his life. We are just grateful He chose us to be a part of it!
We would greatly appreciate your prayers for the adjustment period for Jaydon during this time. He most likely will wake up in recovery quite upset - can't blame him a bit!!
Thanks again for your prayers!

3:00PM:
Yep, he was very upset, but who can blame him. It took a while and a little morphine to calm him down, but after about 30 minutes in the recovery room (seemed like hours) he rode down in dad's lap in the wheel chair. He has been sipping juice, water and popcicles. He is settled into his room and seems to be comfortable for now, watching a Thomas video and surrounded by his family. He's some kid and we are all so proud of him.

In surgery

The nurse just called and Jaydon is now in surgery. She said Jaydon is a real trooper and went to sleep peacefully. We just couldn't hug and kiss him enough when they took him back! Thankfully Granny Nunn got here just in time to see him and kiss him too. Will update when we can. Thanks so much.

Pre-surgery Day

After a restful night, we made our way to Shriners Hospital in Greenville, SC. While Bob was checking in, Jaydon ran right over to the play center, grabbed the little plastic shopping cart and took off - vrooooom! Nothing stops that little fella. I love his spunk.

We could not be happier here at Shriners. We have such great respect and appreciation for this incredible hospital and the people who work here. Everyone has been so kind and loving to sweet little Jaydon. He got to pick out his own little Build A Bear bear to snuggle with after his surgery. Of course his idea of snugglin' with him is slinging him across the room and laughing. He actually loves to snuggle with us but poor bear doesn't stand much of a chance.

Here's a picture of the animals that we brought down that the Build A Bear at Crabtree Mall donated. 

Back to Shriners, this place is just amazing, really. They work very hard to make you feel welcome and at ease. It is absolutely incredible what they do and have done for children over the past several years. We are truly grateful for this place and the staff here. 

Here are the details of Jaydon's surgery tomorrow. He will go into surgery at ~10:30 and the surgery should last about 90 minutes. Dr. Westbury will amputate half of Jaydon's foot, break the heel area and reconstruct with pins, and possibly put a rod in his leg- this will be determined when he gets into surgery. The doctor has decided with Jaydon's 'energy' that he will need to put a cast on both legs and connect them with a rod so he can't walk for 6 weeks - whew. It is so important that he not put any pressure on this leg while healing so as not to risk the bones/pins moving. If they did we would have to have surgery again. After the 6 week healing time, Jaydon will have the cast cut off, the pins taken out and it will be wrapped tightly for 2 weeks to reduce swelling. We will then return to have him fitted for a new leg/foot! His prosthetic should be ready about 3 weeks after that. What a glorious day that will be!

Again, thank you for praying for all of us during this time. Jaydon is doing good and understands as much as he can that he will be getting a new leg and foot soon. He is excited about that but concerned about the 'very big boo boo' that is coming tomorrow. I can only imagine his fear.  We know God has gone before us though and this is His work. May he be glorified through each of us.

Family Fun Day

What a beautiful day God gave us to enjoy together at Carowinds! We had such a great time and the weather was just beautiful. Our hope is that these wonderful memories will stay fresh in all of our minds as we head into Jaydon's surgery on Tuesday. 

Carowinds now has a newly opened kids section called Planet Snoopy and it is great fun for the little kiddos.  I (Jill) looked a little funny riding the boats over and over and over and over but I'd do anything for this little guy. Jaydon and I spent most of our time on the boats and airplanes while the bigger 'kids' rode the insanely wild rides.

 

'"Hey mama, hey papa, hey John, hey Ben" (repeat)...... he was so excited to be riding in the Red Baron.

 

 

Of course having a big brother like Ben to ride with you and hold your hand made it even more fun!

Here are the red -headed twins riding the Carolina Cobra. I passed as I was busy watching cute little Jaydon take a nap in the stroller. (grin) The boys did finally get me on the new Dale Earnhardt Intimidator before we left for the day. I usually don't hesitate to get on roller coasters but this one was well, intimidating. I screamed like a girl on that thing. I'm not sure if Ben was laughing at me or if he was trying to hide is embarrassment. 

Overall, a very fun day of laughs, smiles and screams thanks to Bob!

Let's Try This Blogging Thing Again

Hi Friends - Thanks for stopping by to read our new blog. We are obviously newbies at blogging but we're out to prove that old dogs really can learn new tricks! Here goes.