My Other Two Heroes.......

........ are big brothers John and Ben. They have been INCREDIBLE during our whole adoption process. I hug their neck every chance I get and tell them how proud I am of them and of how they've handled this past year.

I consider them my heroes because they have relentlessly exhibited such great character, love, compassion, patience, and understanding in the past year.

They :
         : first of all faithfully prayed for us to find the child God had chosen to join our family.
          (It took a few years but God's timing was and is absolutely perfect!)

         : endured A LOT of doctor appts and shots to prepare for our trip to China (a few tears too)

         : then endured a very loooooong trip to China (7 different flights) - it was rough at times

         : never complained while in China about the water conditions, food, lack of sleep, etc..
.
         : were over the top with excitement and unconditional love when they first met Zhi Da :)

         : graciously, willingly and understandingly shared mom and dad to take care of their new brother

         : have been compassionate and empathetic to all that Jaydon has gone through in 3 short years

         : help out whenever asked and will do anything to make Jaydon feel loved

         : play with Jaydon, read to Jaydon, sleep with Jaydon, love on Jaydon

         : give mom a minute to cry alone when she needs it :)

         : tell Jaydon how special he is and how much he is loved

         : continue to be very patient, understanding and compassionate

         : are very protective of Jaydon and would do anything for him

         : frequently tell Jaydon how wonderful his leg looks and how PROUD they are of him

I just love my boys. They make me a better person. They make me smile. They are my heart!

Recovery

Whew! What a relief for Jaydon to finally be cast free after 9 1/2 weeks! My back is happy too.
His recovery is going very well. He had a few bouts of pain/crying yesterday but today he hasn't cried about pain at all. He is one tuff little cookie as I've stated before and not much can hold him back.
He obviously isn't putting any pressure or weight on his leg yet, but it won't be long I can assure you :)

We are so excited for him that he will finally get to take a tub bath tomorrow and splash and play in the water as long as he wants. I must admit I'm quite happy about giving him a good ol' head to toe scrubbing too!

Right now he wears compressions socks on his leg to keep down any swelling. We will return to Shriners in two weeks (Aug 1) to let the doctor evaluate his leg and determine if it's ready to be molded for his prosthesis. We hope he'll be up and running on his new leg by the first of September.
Talk about a celebration!

Thank you again for your support and concern for our sweet little Jaydon!
Much love.
Jill for all

Done!

Dr. Westbury just came in and surgery is over. "Bye bye cast" as Jaydon would say!
Everything went well, bones are healed, incisions look good. PTL! PTL!
Thank you so much for your prayers! Will keep you posted on his recovery.
Much love and many blessings.

Surgery #2

So glad to be back at the wonderful Shriners Hospital. They take such wonderful care of Jaydon! It's 9:55 a.m. & they just took him into surgery to remove the cast and take the rods out. It should only take about half an hour. He was so brave and unafraid when they took him back :).

2 Timothy 1:7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control.

'Look fear in the face. You gain strength and courage by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing that you think you cannot do.' Eleanor Roosevelt

This kiddo is something else and God is already using him in so many ways! He has tackled this whole thing with such strength and courage. He is truly our hero!!!

Thank you for taking time to read our blog and for all of your support. God is so good ALL the time!

Countdown #2 :)

Cast #2 is coming off next Wednesday, July 20th at ~ 8:00 a.m. Yahoo!! This kiddo is raring to go let me tell you. Oh the energy he has to release when he's completely mobile again! He's been 'confined' in one way or another since May and def. has ants in his pants :). Can't wait to see that sweet youngin' running around the house again.
Next Wed. we will return to Shriners at 7:00 a.m. and Jaydon will have surgery at 8:00 a.m. to have the rods removed from his leg. He will have to be put to sleep to have this done and there will be some pain involved. The surgery will only last ~20 minutes. When he wakes up he will be cast free. We should be dismissed from the hospital the same day as long as his pain is manageable.
Thank you again for all of your prayers and encouragement for our family. We are so very grateful.
We will post again next Wed. after Jaydon's surgery.