On Friday, July 16th Andrew finally had surgery t make his knee better. We left by 5:30 in the morning with Aunt TT and Luke. We got down to the surgery center only to find out he wasn't on the schedule. They quickly figured out that his surgery was in the children's center at the hospital, so we drove over there. Andrew was feeling scared and nervous so we were anxious to get settled in to our spot. Once we got to the hospital he got checked in and put on the "itchy" pjs. They let him watch Happy Feet and he snuggled in his bed with his new stuffed doggy from Lauren, Jacob, and Austin. He would get sad and nervous when he would hear the nurse talking about the procedure. At about 7:30 they gave him some juice that pretty much knocked him out. When they wheeled him away he wasn't really with it. This was the hardest part for daddy and mommy to watch their little boy be wheeled off, knowing we had no control over the situation. We waited in the waiting room with TT and Luke. Luke was a great brother and visited Andrew before surgery and went and bought him a stuffed dog at the gift shop during surgery. We gave Luke the option to come along with us because we knew this was hard on him and we wanted him to feel like he was apart of the process. Around 8:40 they came and got us and the news was good. The nerve tumor was removed and they didn't need to cut any nerves. This was the best news we could have gotten. We went back to see Andrew and hung out for about an hour while he woke up. When the lady asked if they could wheel him out in a wheelchair, he quickly responded, "no, my dad can just carry me." He must get that from his great grandma E, who never wants to be in a wheelchair. TT almost fell over when we got to the car and he jumped in on one leg , like nothing had happened. We got home to a huge banner from the DeJongs and Andrew was feeling pretty good. He had morphine and tummy medicine in his system, so he was doing well. He didn't want to walk on his leg, so he was hopping around the house. Friday he rested most the day and Saturday he had a bad fever and threw up from the pain medication. Sunday he started to move more and our goal was to straighten his leg more. He was walking pretty good by Sunday evening. On Monday the boy went bowling and decided that he thought he was ok to bowl and he managed to get the high score of 101 and bowl a strike on his first turn. We know this healing will be a slow process, but he is already doing great and we are trying to keep a positive attitude. He has been blessed with so many friends and family who have stopped by and brought him goodies. Coloring books, movies, treats, games, stuffed animals, and a homemade pillow by Ben, are some of the things that he has been enjoying. He says, "mom, it's almost like my birthday." We have felt so loved and blessed during this whole process. Grandma has been a huge help with watching the kiddos, bringing food, and just being with us. Friends have continually been praying for us and Andrew and checking in on his progress. Our prayer is that we are nearing the end of this road and Andrew will be free from pain in his knee as he starts 1st grade and his 2nd soccer season. We love you buddy and we are so proud of the BRAVE boy you have been....you are amazing!!!
Our friends Gavin, Ezekiel, and Violet spent the day and night at our house. They live in Seal Beach and we usually visit them down there. It was fun to have them at our house...we really enjoy hanging out with their dad and mom as well. All of our kids are the same ages and they play awesome together We went to the park, played in the backyard, ate hamburgers for dinner, went to the Fountains, and the boys all had a slumber party in their room. We loved our visit with them and our boys always say they wished that Gavin and Ezekiel lived by us!!! Thanks for coming over Prince family and hanging out!!!
