Until next year....

Sooooo good news! At the beginning of November we made the trek to Charleston to see Dr. Hochman. It was a wonderful trip and he was thrilled with Conner's progress. We got to see the actual laser treatment this time, they did it in office. I was amazed it took less than a minute! There are two very small spots, one on his lip and one on his temple that Dr. H wants to keep an eye on. BUT we don't have to go back until next year!!!! WOOOOHOOOO! I am so thrilled! : )

Protective Grace

I have been way to emotional and guiltridden to even attempt this post until today. My heart is full of joy at the protective hand God placed on our sweet baby boy Saturday night. Let me explain...

I was dusting and found a penny on my dresser. The kids were all happily playing in the girls room. I thought I would just place it on the bed and put it in the change bowl when I was finished dusting. And then I did the unthinkable! I FORGOT about it...Conner comes in and starts cruising around the edge of the bed. The next thing I know I look down and he is not breathing! He had swallowed the penny and it got stuck in his airway. I was able to move him around and dislodge it so that he could breath. Thank God for allowing it to move to a more suitable position for survival. I don't know what we would have done if he had been taken from us now. God is so good! I took him on to the ER with his sweet sisters giving me progress reports along the way...Daddy and Mamaw Judy met us at the hospital. Once we got there the xray showed the penny stuck in his esophagus. The OR team was called in and an ENT retrieved the penny during a 45 minute surgery. There was no damage done. He has had a sore throat and cough but other than that is his usual happy self. I cannot say enough how stupid I feel for leaving it laying there for him to grab....but I am sooooooo thankful that God saw fit (YET AGAIN!) to protect our son. Thank you Lord for your blessings on our family!

Happy 1st Birthday!!!

It is hard to imagine that this journey began a year ago. Some days it seems like we just began and others it feels like forever. I am assured that God has been guiding us each step of the way! Our hearts are overjoyed at the progress Conner has made this year. What a blessing to see our sweet baby boy go from this:

To this:


Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Boy! We are so blessed to have you in our lives. So thankful God chose us to be your family. I pray that the plan He has for you won't be hindered by the humanity of your parents but enriched by the sheer miracle that you are! I am so proud to be your momma!

Quick Pic

Often I am overwhelmed at the amazing mercy God has shown to Conner and our family. Everything, every step, every problem and solution came directly from the will of our Father. I look at Conner's face now and I don't see his hemangioma, I only see a miracle. In just one short month Conner will be a year old and I don't want to forget to praise the Lord for all the goodness He has placed in our lives this past year. So many times, HE has stepped in and been the solution to the problem even before I had time to sort it out. Hope you are all well. Sending all our love!

Pictures!

This is Conner with Jackie right before leaving for Charleston!
The morning of the surgery...lil man was tuckered out!
Hamming it up for all the great nurses in the OR!
After surgery and still as cuddly as ever!
Leaving the OR for possibly the last time!!!

AMAZED!!!!

Can I just say that my heart is overflowing with joy? For those of you who haven't already heard....Conner is done with surgery for awhile. At his last surgery on July 8th, Dr. Hochman came in during pre-op and said that everything was looking so good that we could cancel the appointments for August, September, and just come in for an office visit in October! Praise God that is such an answer to our prayers. Conner is looking so good and the hemangioma has shrunk and is no longer a threat to his eye or his airway! Thank you Lord for all of your answered prayers!!!! Speaking of answered prayers I would like to repost a part of the very first post on this blog. It was our prayer list and I just wanted to show you how many of these have already been answered!


***There are several ways you can help us pray. Please pray specifically that:
A. Conner will be convicted and come to trust in Jesus at a young age. (Still praying for this one!)
B. God will use Conner's journey to bring others to HIM! (Family members that weren't even in church before this journey began have come to know our Saviour and His saving power!)
C. Conner will always wake up after his surgery. General anesthesia is a scary thing for mommy and daddy to understand! (Praise God after every surgery we anxiously waited for them to tell us Conner was awake and there was never even a scare...he always woke up with no side effects from the anesthesia!)
D. The doctors will guide us in making the right desicions for Conner regarding his medical care. (God led us to exactly the right place at the right time to help us make the correct desicions!)
E. Conner's ulcerations will heal and there will be no infection. The rate at which an infection would spread through his little body is alarming at best. (There was not any spread of infection! Conner is completely healthy! Glory to HIS name!!!!)
F. No matter the outcome, that our family and Conner will continue to know that God has and will continue to keep us SAFE THUS FAR!
(Our God IS able to do exceeding and abundantly above anything I could ever ask or imagine! Thank you Father for all of your guidance through this incredible journey!) **

:)

This is Conner about three hours after his surgery...Isn't he just adorable? We will be headed to Charleston on Wednesday with my bestie...Jackie! YAY! So thrilled to have the opportunity to spend time with her and let her hang with Conner! We spoke with Dr. Hochman's office this week and were able to schedule his surgeries from now until September. Conner's face is looking wonderful. It is just amazing to see how God is working in his life. I am convinced that God has a huge plan for Conner's life and is going to use him in a mighty way. As we celebrated Independence Day I was reminded that God has been our strength throughout this whole journey. He has protected us and blessed us. Just as He protects and blesses this great nation!

Still Blessed

We are battling some summer colds but I wanted to let everyone know Conner's last surgery went wonderfully! He had minimal swelling and we were able to come home quickly! I am so thankful for all of God's blessings in our lives. I will post pictures soon! :)

Growing Daily

So I have typed this post three different times and each time I have lost it to the internet at large. Apparently I am having a technically challenged week. LOL!

Conner is doing wonderful. His last surgery, although dramatic in appearance was a huge success and we are just thrilled with the progress. We went to Charleston late Wednesday night. Arrived at the hospital and the girls were ecstatic about seeing the hospital. Although they have been to Charleston with us this was the first time they actually got to go with us to the hospital. They were very well behaved and I was so proud!


Conner was taking back to preop and the nurses were just wonderful as always. I don't know how God saw fit to bless us with such a wonderful team. But I am so grateful for them all. And ofcourse Dr. Hochman came in to check on us...and to be honest there are just no words to share my feelings for the love and compassion of this man!



In recovery I noticed that Conner's face looked more tender than normal. But I was not prepared for what happened next. His face started swelling. ALOT! Within an hour his eye was almost completely swollen shut and within two hours he had a huge bulge underneath that eye. With a little reassurance from Dr. Hochmans' nurse Brooke (we love you Brooke!) and alot of reassurance from the VBF family advocate and my friend Corrine (thank you for all your support Corrine!) we opted to stay in Charleston for an extra night just to observe him. The hotel we were staying at was so sweet. They sent us to the SC aquarium for free and checked on us a ton. IF you are ever in the Charleston area please stay at the Hampton Inn. You won't get better service anywhere I promise!




Once we got home Conner spiked a fever. Thankfully it was unrelated to the surgery and was simply another ear infection. Poor baby! All in all despite alot of stress on me and Billy it was a wonderful trip and we are excited to see such a change in Conner's face.

Our daily prayer is of thanksgiving. We cannot thank God enough for sparing our son more damage to his eyes...not allowing the hemangioma to block his airway...and for sending us to the correct care provider at the right time. Please remember us as you pray. That our attitude will be right, and that we will remember to be thankful! Thanks again for all your love and prayers!

Easter and other news!

We are so blessed as always. I say that alot but really there is not another phrase that could sum up our life better. We are today and always SOOOO blessed. We celebrated our Risen Saviour today, (the kiddos were sick on national Easter, so we had Carswell Easter.) It was such a blessing watching our children devour the truth of Jesus' death, burial and ressurrection. Conner wasn't quite old enough to get it but he will and we pray daily for all three childrens' salvation.

Conner's third surgery went really well. It was the first time we haven't tried to do the 10 hour drive in a 24 hour time frame. (5 hours there, hospital for 2 hours and then 5 hours back makes for a long day!) We took Mallory and Makenna along and it was such a blessing even if we were only there for a little under 48 hours. Dr. Hochman said Conner looked wonderful. We are scheduled again for the beginning of May.

We also were encouraged to have a benefit for Conner this weekend. A dear friend at work hosted a benefit at her church and it was such a blessing. Lots of wonderful friends came and the singing (minus me lol) was wonderful. We were given a little over $1000 in donations and it was just amazing. Thank you to our families, friends and the wonderful people at Crossroads Community Church.

I also just wanted to share a tidbit....Conner is making words!!! He says "Boom-Boom" which the girls insist come from the many times they recite "Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom", their favorite book, to him. He also says DADADADADADA! I guess momma will come later and it will be wonderful! He wants to roll everywhere and is still the happiest little boy I have ever seen.

Thank you as always for your prayers, love, support and encouragment....and without further ado....SOME PICTURES for your viewing enjoyment!!!

Finally Pictures!!!

Just a real quick update for those of you who don't know already.  Conner did not get to have surgery on March 11.  He had RSV and they didn't feel comfortable putting him to sleep while he was sick.  So we are rescheduled for April 1.  Please help us pray that things will go smoothly.  Also, we met the ENT this week and he verified that Conner definetly did not have an airway hemangioma!  Thank you Lord.  There was some other slight drama while we were at the ENT, but I am chosing to forget about it and blame it on the fact that even doctors are human.  Have a blessed day and enjoy the pictures!  : )

This is Little Man the night before his second surgery back in January.  Such a handome boy!

Right out of surgery!  Looks like a painful sunburn to me!

This Mickey is Conner's favorite toy.  He cuddles with it all the time!

I can't believe he is almost 6 months old!

Right before they put him to sleep for sugery number three.  Too bad the laser didn't work this time!

Good News!

Dear friends, I feel like we have been granted a reprieve from all the drama with Conner.  : ) We went to see his pediatrician today and were told that he was "fairly certain" Conner did not have an airway hemangioma or one on his ear drum.  However, simply as a precaution we will be following up with an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor in the coming weeks.  I am simply thrilled that God heard our prayers and chose to steer our direction away from this particular path, at least for now and hopefully forever.  It is very true that HE always knows exactly how much you can handle.  Thank you so much for all your kind words, thoughts, and most of all prayers sent up in the past 24 hours.  It is amazing to know that I have such a wonderful family of believers praying for us and for Conner's well being.  He is rescheduled for his third surgery on March 11.  Hopefully everything will work this time.  : ) Also, we had a wonderful service at church tonight.  I only hope it doesn't snow so that we can finish out this revival and see just how God might work in our church.  Pictures soon I promise....I finally found the camera.  (It was hiding!!! LOL)  Love, Heather

Slight Delays...

So we had a very uneventful trip to Charleston on Thursday.  First off let me say I hate the fact that all of Conner's surgeries have been scheduled on Thursday.  We have to leave around 1 am on Wednesday night/Thursday morning and because of this we always miss church that Wednesday night in order to get enough sleep to actually make the five hour drive.  ICK...so after missing church Wednesday night we got up around midnight and got on the road right at 1am.  I was impressed considering we are habitually late to everything we do.  Once we parked and got out in Charleston it was very apparent that Conner did not appreciate having no food since 11 pm the night before.  He was one hungry five month old.  I don't know if you have ever tried it, but there is really no reasoning with a hungry baby.  He was having none of my excuses.  LOL!  After a short wait the doctors came in, everyone made sure they were on the same page and Conner was taken back to the OR.  Normally the doctor is only gone for about 10 minutes.  At around 15 minutes Dr. Hochman came out with a strange look on his face.  He stepped in our room and said "He's fine BUT..."  (No mom wants to hear the but word when their child is in surgery...AHHH!) Apparently the laser did not work.  They got Conner put under the general anesthesia and then started the laser which promptly stopped working.  Basically we were in the car for 10 hours so that Conner could take a highly medicated nap...A technician was going to fly in from Boston to fix the laser, and we will head back sometime in the near future to do a make-up surgery.  OH well, guess if we haven't learned it by now our Lord is just trying to teach us more patience.  

In other news, Conner's pediatrician has reason to believe that Conner might have some internal hemangiomas.  Anyone that has been around us lately and has held little man knows his breathing sounds awful.  He kind of rattles and pants as he breaths.  I have had him to the ped office 5 times for this, and each time we have been told his lungs are clear and that he has an ear infection.  He has had three rounds of antibiotics and still has a "red ear".  The ped office rotates so Conner has seen three different docs.  But on Friday when I talked to his main ped about it he asked me to bring Conner in again Monday.  He is concerned that the breathing could be caused by an H in his airway and that the ear infection could simply be a H behind the ear drum.  Pray that God's will be done.  Ofcourse we want for none of this to be true and Conner to simply have a never ending cold.  But we will go where God leads on this incredible journey.  I will try to update later tonight and let you all know what the ped says!  

We start revival at our church tonight so that should be exciting.  Plus one of my uncles and his family  drove down from TN to see us this weekend.  We actually got to attend church with them this morning and eat lunch together.  They brought a donation from their church which was such a blessing in this otherwise difficult week!  : )  As always we are so blessed.  Much love to you all!   

Hearts of Thanksgiving!

I am simply astonished at God's amazing love.  He provides for everything we need all the time.  Looking back at that first time Dr. Hochman told us the $25,000.00 figure I was floored.  In my meager mind there was NO WAY we could ever raise that kind of money.  God knows how to take the impossible and make it the possible and I am just stunned everytime I see Him working in our lives.
Before we ever left this week, we recieved a substantial donation from Pilgrims Freewill Baptist Church in Erwin, TN.  As I read the card from them I was simply awed at the humble love sent to us.  For each of you at Pilgrim, let me just say again thank you and I hope that the Lord will richly bless your church! 

For all of you that were able to attend our benefit in TN Friday night; Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  With all the snow on our way up the mountain I would have been pleased to have our family and the preacher to show.  But there were almost 50 people there.  We had a wonderful service with singing, shouting and old-fashion preaching.  (The girls and Conner even got to hear my Papaw preach a little.  That is a memory that I hope they will cherish forever.)   Then when the offering was counted I was simply speechless.  This little church family who didn't even know us, only knew our extended family, raised $1,200.  Isn't God good?  Our family will never be able to adequately express our gratitude to each and every person who has sacrificed to help with Conner's medical expenses.  Our love goes out to each of you...and hope that someday we will be able to bless another family the way we are being blessed now!!! 

Little is much!

I am constantly amazed at the outpouring of love from our family, friends, coworkers and yes even strangers.  For all of you that have been used to bless our lives recently let me just say thank you!  Conner is doing well.  He has had an ear infection that we just can't seem to get rid of despite antibiotics, but is still has the sweetest temperment.
 I don't talk a lot on here about Conner's big sisters but let me just ask you all to please say a special prayer for Mallory and Makenna.  I know that their little hearts are hurting, but it is not quite so easy for them to express.  Mallory has tried to rub her face long enought to make it red so that she can have a "tumor called e-man-g-oma" too and Conner won't be lonely.  (her words) And she is always requesting prayer for Conner at Wednesday night prayer meeting.  Plus just two days ago I found Makenna's My Little Pony (her fave Christmas present that just happens to be white) with ketchup smeared across its face.  Ofcourse me being quick to jump to conclusions I fussed at her for eating with her toys and getting food on things, and she very calmly replied "But Momma that's not food, thats Sweetie Belle's birthmark."  I felt ashamed at my attitude, and blessed to have such understanding children.  In their own sweet ways they are reaching out to us every day and I just hope that our Lord continues to comfort their fragile hearts as He has being doing to ours. 
All in all our family is wonderful.  We are getting ready to head to TN on Feb. 12 for a benefit service for Conner at a church my grandparents frequent in Ernestville.  I am ecstatic to meet this fellowship of believers that have been lifting Conner up in prayer. (Also just maybe we will get to see some of my wonderful TN family, that I love so much but don't see quite enough of,  HINT HINT!!! I miss all you Hughes's!)  
Plus one of my very  sweet co-workers, Rosa, has asked her youth group to head a fundraising project.  They discussed it and all the youth agreed that it was something they would like to undertake.  They will be selling the rubber bracelets with inspirational words on them, and the proceeds will go towards Conner's medical expenses.  Rosa told me tonight that as she requested prayer for our family one of their little girls, a 5 year old, came up with $2.00 and asked for her to please give it to that little baby. And then another member of their youth group also gave $5.00.   Talk about the water works from this humbled momma.  If only I could have that same attitude....Little is definetly much when God is in it.  Thank you again to each one of you!   Have a blessed week and please be safe if weather conditions are rough at your house.  : )

Surgery Numero 2

So long about 1 am Wednesday night or I guess you should say EARLY Thursday morning there was a lone blue Camry headed toward Charleston, SC.  That Camry contained a very sleepy mommy, daddy,  and Baby Conner, and ofcourse a semi rested Papaw Robert.  Let me just add we have been very fortunate to have my dad offer his car and his time to drive us to Charleston over the best two months.  For anyone that has a gas hog like the Big Expedition you know that 12 miles a gallon on a 5 hour trip just isn't cutting it.  (More about that later.)  

We arrived in Charleston around 6:30 am and got checked into outpatiend surgery.  Papaw curled up in the car for a nap.  Conner stayed asleep the whole time and when he did wake up he did not seem to mind that he had not eaten in 4 hours.  The nurses absolutely adored our sweet baby boy and his beautiful smile.  There was no blood pressure drama this time.  LOL (the nurses got a good chuckle about that story.) Dr. Hochman came in and gave us a quick pep talk.  Anesthesia came in for the "here are your risks" talk.  All the papers got signed, and two nurses whisked Conner away. 

11 minutes later, Dr. Hochman was back to tell us everything went well. Conner's skin has become "pitted" over his hemangioma and there is no way to tell if that is how the hemangioma is growing or if it came from the first laser treatment.  Normally the penetration of the laser would be increased at every surgery.  However because of the condition of Conner's skin Dr. Hochman chose to use the same level of the laser as the first surgery.  Conner came out from under anesthesia just fine.  He was not crying, just woke up, looked up at the recovery nurse and smiled.  We were back on the road before 9 o'clock, and home before 4!  YAY!!!! 

One more thing, I just wanted to Praise God for the wonderful blessings He gives us. Although we are SOOOO appreciative that dad has been willing to take us back and forth to Charleston we have been praying for a new vehicle with better gas mileage.  God allowed us to finance a 2004 Toyota Sienna that gets almost twice the gas mileage as the Expedition did.  That means half the gas money per trip!!!  Our payments did not go up very much and in the process we were able to pay off a personal loan and allowed that monthly payment to come off of our bills!  Pray that we will continue to be good stewards of our money.  Only God could have worked out all the details so perfectly!!!!

Thank you again for all your prayers and support.  I will be updating soon about some fundraising and benefits we will be having for the Hemangioma Foundation in honor of Conner. Also, stay tuned for pictures pre and post op!!! 

Conner's Prayer Card

We are blessed to know a wonderful lady who is a whiz at graphic design.  Thankfully she volunteered her time to create a beautiful prayer/donation card for Conner's medical expenses.  I am just so proud of it I wanted to share it with all of you.  Please keep us in your thoughts today.  Little man has come down with his first cold/ear infection.  Antibiotics are on their way as soon as his Aunt Jennifer comes back from the pharmacy.  (I am babysitting all six kids, my three and her three, while she runs some errands!)  Have a wonderful rest of the week! 

Isn't it just wonderful?!!!  Thank you Janee'!!!!!! 

Christmas Pictures

We are so thankful that Conner's first surgery was successful and that he was able to be home and healthy  for Christmas!  God has truly blessed our family more than we could ever imagine.  I just wanted to share some beautiful pictures from Christmas morning.  Oh and one more thing Conner's next treatment/surgery is January 21st.  Please mark the dates on your calendar so you will remember to send up a special prayer!  Much love to you all and enjoy the pictures!!! 

Little Man's First Car!  (It is slightly used...Thanks Legina!  LOL)

He can't quite reach the steering wheel! 

Conner Levi "Bubba" Carswell and his beautiful sisters Mallory and Makenna! 

By the way did anyone else besides me notice how much lighter his hemangioma looks?   And this was only two days after his first treatment.  Praise God!