Micah's Surgery and the Wonderful Dr. Keller

I met Dr. Keller on January 18th, the day after Micah was born. I was still processing the fact that Micah needed surgery, and Andy and I had many questions. She came into the NICU and found us by Micah's bedside (where most of our time was spent), and introduced herself. We began talking, and she described in a lot of detail the procedure she would be performing on Micah.

She described that his duodenum was completely closed (an "atresia) and the site was very high, right past the point of his stomach. She would go in and make incisions on the duodenum above and below the atresia, and attach those two sites, and leave the atresia there and off to the side. She explained the reason for this is that there are many connections and ducts to the pancreas and gallbladder from that portion of the duodenum, and removal of that section would disrupt a lot of those (if that makes sense...she explained it a lot better!). She also mentioned that there was a potential that once she saw inside, that Micah could have what is called malrotation, or twisting of the intestines, which is often seen with duodenal atresia (although neither one causes the other).

After talking with Dr. Keller, Andy and I felt a lot more comfortable. As much as we did not want to be in the situation we were in, she truly made it as easy as it could have been, she was truly a God-send. Noah also loved her from the beginning! She was so good with him, and always included him in the whole journey. She always took time to give him a high five and joke around with him.

The morning of Friday, January 20th came around, and Micah was scheduled to go to surgery sometime mid-morning. I spent most of Thursday night off and on at his bedside holding him, talking to him, praying for him. Andy, Noah, Grandma Eileen, Grandma Heidie, and Papa Bill all arrived that morning to spend time with him before his surgery. Shortly before he was sent to surgery, Pastor Eddy, the senior pastor of our church, arrived and we all prayed for Micah. I also asked him to read a portion of Psalm 139, which has always been a favorite of mine, and just something I wanted to hear read over Micah before he had to leave:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." -Psalm 139: 13-16

Everyone gathering around to pray for Micah before surgery.

Noah saying goodbye to his baby brother!

Our last look at Micah before he was wheeled to the OR.

Daddy saying goodbye.


Dr. Keller allowed us all to stay in my post-partum room as opposed to the surgical waiting room (another reason I loved her, she was so thoughtful!). She said as long as she knew where we were, she would come find us to update us after the surgery. Andy and I walked with Micah as they wheeled his isolette to the pre-op room. I must admit, that was definitely hard squeezing his tiny finger one last time before they wheeled him down the hall to the operating room...

The surgery lasted about two and a half hours, and our time was spent hanging out in my room. This was especially nice for Noah because he got to just sit with me and cuddle and we watched movies on the iPad. We had been updating everyone at this point, through facebook, phone, and the prayer chain at our church. So many people told us that they were praying, and I have to say, we FELT it. It's hard to explain, but there was an overwhelming PEACE in that room. Not to say it wasn't hard, wasn't emotional...it definitely was. But I just really felt at peace in the midst of it.

Dr. Keller came to my room after the surgery was finished. Grandma Eileen and Grandma Heidie took Noah to get some lunch while she talked to Andy and I. She said the surgery went GREAT, and that Micah did GREAT! What an amazing thing to hear, and what a relief! One story we loved was when she told us that she made the incision above the atresia and was having a hard time finding the spot to make the incision below. Right after that, she said a small portion of bowel literally popped up, as if to say, "Pick me!".

She also told us that Micah did in fact also have malrotation, on top of the duodenal atresia. She corrected this by performing a "Ladd" procedure, where the intestine is straightened out, the small intestine is folded into the right side of the abdomen, and the colon is placed on the left side. So Micah's entire large intestine is on his left side, where normally it wraps around the outside of the abdomen. Because of this, she removed his appendix because if he ever developed appendicitis, he would experience left upper abdominal pain instead of right lower, and some doctors would not know to check for that. Crazy!

They said there was a chance Micah would stay on the ventilator after surgery, and he did end up coming back to the NICU still on it. It was definitely hard seeing our baby intubated...but it was amazing getting to see him, hold his hands, talk to him and tell him how strong he was and how proud we were of him.

This was the devotion from "Jesus Calling" on January 20, the day of Micah's surgery:

"Approach this day with awareness of who is Boss. As you make plans for the day, remember that it is I who orchestrate the events of your life. On days when things go smoothly, according to your plans, you may be unaware of My sovereign Presence. On days when your plans are thwarted, be on the lookout for Me! I may be doing something important in your life, something quite different from what you expected. It is essential at such times to stay in communication with Me, accepting My way as better than yours. Don't try to figure out what is happenning. Simply trust Me and thank Me in advance for the good that will come out of it all. I know the plans I have for you, and they are good."