The Devil Never Wins!: High Risk Surgery and Praying for Dirty Diapers!

In the last post, I was leading up to the first surgery on Avery our daughter. Born with a severely complex cloacal colorectal malformation, she had no exit point for the digestive tract which would mean certain death if not fixed within days of birth. The remaining systems affected by the condition could wait for attention later; they included urinary tract and kidneys, reproductive, vascular, and neurological systems.

Her lung function was far less than ideal, making the risk of attempting surgery even higher than average for a baby who was 10 weeks premature. However, at two days old we had to lay her on the altar and trust that God would protect her in the operating room. Though Dr Rice, head of pediatric surgery at Duke University Hospital, admitted that he had never treated a cloacal condition as complicated as hers, he had confidence after speaking with his colleague and former roommate who was one of the world's leading authorities on these cases, that he could perform a colostomy procedure to carry us for a few months. We had plans to go see the cloaca specialist in Cincinatti, Ohio, just as soon as we could get out of the Duke Neonatal ICU.

More importantly, however, Nicole and I had a Word from God to stand on that Avery would "live and not die, and declare the works of the Lord!" In that moment, I realized the true value of what I had around me: A wife who loved God and stood faithful to Him even when I had doubted, ministers and family willing to travel over 4 hours just to uphold our weary hands in a time of need, God's grace which abounds superabundantly in times of suffering, and the overwhelming peace beyond human understanding which is freely given to us by God's Holy Spirit. Best of all, I had a red-headed fighter of a little girl who was already putting those who would doubt her ability to succeed into their places!

Avery was leaving the NICU for the first time at 2 days old for surgery. The nurses put on headphones and eye covers because she would be experiencing sunlight and possible loud noises for the first time, and they didn't want her to have any additional stresses on her fragile system at that time!

The surgery was long--about 8 hours-- not so much because of the difficulty of the procedure, but because of the amount of swelling and friable tissues resulting from the huge abdominal cyst we had been watching in utero. Dr Rice was relieved when he came to the waiting room after surgery, but warned us that we were not yet clear of danger. The next 24 hours would be critical especially for her lungs. Avery was immediately back on the JET ventilator. Dr Rice then told us that the next critical step would be to see output from the colostomy to prove that her digestive tract was working.

For days we waited to see output from the colostomy. The days turned into a week, and then a week and a half. The doctors were growing more concerned that Avery's digestive tract had suffered too much trauma before, during and after birth in the surgery to function normally. Nicole and I were on our knees praying for a dirty diaper! We had our church and family praying as well. Dr Rice had made it clear, there were no options for additional surgery, Avery's body had to function on its own or she would die. Finally on day 14, she had her first dirty diaper through the colostomy opening--what a time of rejoicing in that NICU room! Nurses, doctors, and Nicole and I were so happy to have crossed the major milestone of a dirty diaper with our daughter!

The challenges were far from over, but the worst of the life threatening conditions seemed to be behind us for a time... More on that later.

I want to take a minute to revisit the moment in which I was realizing all the blessings from God and my friends, family, and ministers in the room with us before the surgery. Another thought crossed my mind shortly after that one which was a turning point for me in my spiritual struggles as a young man in college at UNC. I was taught as a child to put God first, and not to idolize any actor, athlete, doctor, famous businessman, etc., but I had started to falter in this area when in college. As you likely know, UNC Chapel Hill has a very well-respected basketball program which was always the talk of the classroom. Other college and professional sports were constantly a topic of conversation in the classroom as well, and these teams and players certainly held an idol status in the hearts of many of my classmates. At first, I just tried to keep up with wins and losses and highlight plays for the Tarheels so I could participate in conversation. I soon also began following other worldly topics and trends as well. Instead of reading my Bible at night, I was now watching a game or show. It was stealing my heart away from God. But in that one moment, I realized that in a time of desperation, a time of life or death for my newborn child, I didn't want a famous actor or athlete by my side. Those people didn't mean anything to me in that moment, nor could they do anything for me. What I did want was Jesus, my wife, my pastors, my family, my close friends by my side--and they were all right there--everything I needed or wanted.

Avery grew stronger but we would still be in the NICU for another 46 challenging days before we could go home. I'll tell more of the story another day... JL Lowry