As we enter another Thanksgiving season, I am once again feeling blessed. Another new life has entered our family, for which we are so very thankful to God. She comes to us after much prayer and intercession for her well-being after a very stressful pregnancy for our daughter and son-in-law. A pregnancy which started out with such joy and expectation soon turned into one of dread and apprehension for the future. Doctor's reports after sonograms and MRIs got scarier each month.
The big day came on July 16. Taylor Elizabeth Burns came to us at 7:26 p.m. looking and acting perfectly healthy. Needless to say, there was much rejoicing in the hospital room! Shortly after taking her to the nursery, however, the doctor came back to tell us that there was one unforeseen problem that would require some immediate surgery. It was called imperforate anus. Never heard of that one - but apparently it is not uncommon to the medical professionals. According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), this abnormality is present in about one of every 5,000 births, occurring more often in boys than girls. According to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (CCH), about half of all babies born with imperforate anus have additional abnormalities.
It sounds weird but actually - as bad as this condition sounds and as serious a problem as it is - it was somewhat of a relief in light of what was expected. BUT GOD and Taylor showed off big time and all those expected issues became non-issues! We had to take a little time to recognize the miracle amidst the chaos. Praise God, He does answer prayer!
Two days after birth, Taylor had surgery to create a temporary colostomy. She stayed in NICU for nine long days, but progressed well. Naturally, the inability to keep Taylor with them and take Taylor home with them from the hospital was very hard on mommy and daddy (especially mommy because of what she had just done!) The next day after surgery, Taylor was finally able to eat for the first time! The breastfeeding went well even with the challenge of baby and mommy being separated.
Taylor is now four months old, and has just undergone her second procedure called a perineal anoplasty and pull-through operation, creating the anus and pulling down the rectum to connect it to the new anus. In two or three months, the final operation will take place to reverse the colostomy. The outlook is for Taylor's little body to be back to normal by her first birthday and be right on track for potty training.
Praise the Lord, additional testing after birth has ruled out all other abnormalities that are usually associated with the imperforate anus.
So we are here at the Thanksgiving season once again with much to be thankful for. God has been so good to us.
Look at this little face - aren't we so blessed??
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| Taylor Elizabeth Burns 4 months old |
She is such a beautiful, precious blessing from God! I can't wait to see what God has in store for this adorable blessing and miracle from God!
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