Josiah's naked face!

Posted by Erin Wilson On Friday, October 30, 2009 3 comments
Josiah has his trach and g-tube now. He is recovering fairly well, but he had a lot done today and seems to be in quite a bit of pain. He is so tolerant of his pain meds these days that normal dosages don't do much for him. This picture is of him when he was still paralyzed right after surgery.
These next two are after he woke up. It was amazing to see his entire face. I don't think anyone can understand what it meant to me to see his face with no tubes or tape anywhere. Josiah is 5 months and 5 days old, 162 days in total and this is the first time we have seen his beautiful face. I broke down sobbing when I got to see him. All that kept going through my head was, "Thank you God, Thank you God, Thank you God." He is beautiful.



Josiah is now paralyzed again (like in the first picture) because about 30 minutes after the 2nd pictures were taken you could tell he was in a lot of pain. Milo and I and an RT had to hold him down until they could get more medication for him. It was awful for us. He needs the increased dosages of Morphine and Ativan and the paralytic. I hate to see him without it, but I hate to see him get that many drugs. It's a no win situation. I think that watching him after surgery this time has been much more difficult for me because Josiah did not need to have these surgeries today to save his life. We kind of had a choice in the matter. Every surgery he's had so far he has needed to save his life, no options, so it's easier to endure. It's harder to watch him be in pain today knowing that had he not had this done today he'd be the same as he was yesterday and not in pain. I know that his surgeries today will improve the quality of his life so I'm trying to stay focused on that as I continue to gaze at his beautiful face.

One step closer to home.

-A Heart that Holds On


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3 comments to Josiah's naked face!

  1. says:
    October 31, 2009 at 3:53 AM

    Rene I remember the first time I saw Tommy without something covering his face. It was a very emotional and very happy day. I know exactly how you feel.

    You're very blessed to be at MUSC with the teams surrounding Josiah. We knew nothing but love from every staff member there. Now begins the countdown for home! Congratulations! You're almost there!

    Rene Dereksen

  1. says:
    October 31, 2009 at 10:21 AM

    Anonymous He looks so much like you Erin. He is beautiful, I love the fingers in his mouth...just like a 5 month old! You are right....Quality of life. Definitely stay focused on that...Stay strong!

    Sending much love to you and your family on this new road!

  1. says:
    October 31, 2009 at 10:58 AM

    Wodzisz Family He is absolutely gorgeous! I know how you feel about seeing his face for the first time...it is such a special feeling.

    I am continuing to pray for you and your family that you can bring Josiah home soon. You are wonderful parents and the decisions you are making would probably need to be made at some point in the future and doing it now just means you get him home sooner. Hope has shown remarkable improvement since she has been home and I have heard that most heart babies do, so I think your decision was perfect and you are one step closer to bringing Josiah home.

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