10 Years Ago

On August 18, 1999 Trent Alexander Bauman was born. But nothing could have prepared us for this: After a beautiful pregnancy, I became toxic and Trent was delievered by emergecy C-section. He did not breathe, he could not cry and he was purple. Trent suffered from A-genesis of the Left-Hemi-Diaphragm. The left side of his diaphragm never developed, causing all his abdominal organs to grow into his left chest cavity, push his heart and stomach to the right side, wrap his right lung around his back and crush his left lung to the size of a raisin.

48 hours after birth, Trent underwent his first surgery to construct a diaphragm out of Gortex and place all the abdominal organs back in the abdomen. But that was the easy part. The next two years would be filled with hospitalizations, life-threatening complications, mechanical ventilators, oxygen, feeding ports, countless sleepless nights, ambulance rides and more surgeries.

The night before Trent was born, I was in a Bible study with a friend. During that study, Psalm 18:30 seemed to leap off the page: "As for God, His way is perfect;The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him." Little did I know how much I would have to trust Him and His way.

This is how I spent the first two months of Trent's life - camping at the NICU, holding a baby so wrapped in tubes that neither of us could move. With each complication, each new low, God kept reminding me: My way is perfect. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." I cannot say that I was never anxious. I was. But I can say that I have never known a peace like I did then. It was a supernatural peace that words cannot describe.

God did not take us out of the trial. He held our hand, and led us through. He was faithful, even when I doubted.

The song writer, Don Moen, penned this song. I clung to it through those dark days. Even today I cannot sing it without tears running down my cheeks. And on Trent's birthday, my soul sings it as a sweet offering of praise to Him alone.

God will make a way

Where there seems to be no way

He works in ways we cannot see

He will make a way for me.

He will be my guide.

Hold me closely to His side.

With love and strength for each new day

He will make a way.

God will make a way

Happy 10th Birthday Trent. You are a miracle. God has a purpose for you and He will use you in ways we can only dream about. I love you. XOXO, Mommy

Happy 5th Birthday Brooke!

It is hard to believe that you are FIVE years old, Princess. I love you so much. In some ways, I wish I could keep you little forever. I love your innocence, imagination, and joy. I am thankful for your congenial spirit and determination despite your vision challenges. I love to hear you sing your created songs about everything under the sun. I love to watch as you "read books" to your dollies with the book turned out like you are the teacher. I love how you can dress up and play pretend with absolutely no one else around.
But even though I mourn the loss of my "baby-girl", I celebrate each milestone and step of independence. You make me look forward to each day like it is a new adventure. Thank you for blessing my life with the gift of YOU.
XOXO,
Mommy

Brooke celebrated her 5th birthday on Sunday evening, August 16th. She invited 5 friends to share her special day. I made a small 8x8 cake. The theme was "Tinkerbell". Daddy bought her a beautiful costume to wear at her party.

Mckenzie, Jenna, Sophia, Brooke, Brooklynn, and Maia

This was such a fun "girly" party. I always enjoy the little girls. They are very easy to entertain. After dinner, we decorated fairy wings. I cut wing shapes from pink poster board. The girls glued on sequins, beads, bells, glitter, and stickers. I punched holes in the posterboard and tied them on with grosgrain ribbon. None of the pictures turned out of the wings. They were so cute. Then we played some outdoor games like "Pixie Parade" (cake walk concept - winner got a bottle of bubbles to blow and the game continued.) and "Tinkerbell Tag" (if you were tagged, you had to go to Neverland and say "I do believe in fairies" five times in order to be set free.)

Then we came inside for "Fairy Flutter" (musicial chairs - except when a girl got "out" she got to get a Tinkerbell tattoo).

We finished with presents and cake. Then the wings were dry so the girls put them on and went outside to blow bubbles and "flutter" around as the parents arrived. It was so much fun and the girls were all so adorable.

Surgery Story

No sooner did we get back from our family vacation to Florida did we turn around and load-up the van to head for Des Moines, Iowa. Trent' surgery was on July 23 at 10:00am. Trent was so positive, calm, and confident about the surgery. In some ways, I think he was blissfully ignorant. But he did know, in general, what was going to happen. He never showed any fear, which amazed us.

We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 to get Trent ready and meet with his surgeon, Dr. Buchi, and anesthesiologist, Dr. Anderson. Surgery got underway as scheduled. It took Dr. Buchi 2 hours just to get through the mountain of scar tissue that cemented Trent's left lung to his prosthetic diaphragm and find the hole. Once inside and at the problem, Dr. Buchi found more intestine in the chest than originally thought. But the tissues all looked good and the diaphragm hole was about the size of an egg. Dr. Buchi pulled the instesine back down where it belonged and attached a new type of biological patch that Trent's own tissues can grow into. The incision is under Trent's left arm, between a couple ribs and about 5-6 inches long. A painful incision indeed. The anesthesiologist put in an epidural to help with post-op pain. But the epidural failed and Trent was very, very uncomfortable. He had to rely on other pain meds like morphine which had several adverse side effects. The first 24 hours were rough. But the next 24 were much, much better. The third day he got his chest tube out and the fourth day he visited the playroom and played video games. Even Dr. Buchi was amazed with his progress and rapid recovery. Trent was discharged four days post-op and sent home to rest.

We all love Dr. Buchi. He is a very special man. He and Trent share a special bond and we are so thankful God put him in our lives. He has used Dr. Buchi and worked through him to accomplish what seemed to be humanly impossible. "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?" (Jeremiah 32:27)

People are amazed when I tell them about our summer this year. People wonder "how we could make it through such stress and trauma." But after all we have been through with Trent, this surgery was by far the best (as surgeries go.) He was strong and healthy going into this one. He had lung tissue and a developed immune system this time - so much different than when he was tiny and so very critical. This surgery, although major and genuinely invasive and traumatic, was so much easier to go through. God has always given us His peace, His grace and His strength just at the very moment we need it. "And the peace of God, which goes beyond all understanding, will gaurd your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus," (Philippians 4:7) He is so good to us.

As for Trent, God has a plan for this boy. I don't know what it is. But God has worked overtime to see that Trent stay here, on this earth, to serve Him. "I know the plans I have for you...plans to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11)

Panama City Beach, Florida July 2009

Forty years ago my parents went to Panama City Beach, Florida for their honeymoon. They fell in love with the white sand and clear water. They have been returning regularly ever since. Even as a girl, we would load up the station wagon and make the DRIVE from southern Iowa to PCB almost every summer. Now, my parents have brought their children, children's spouses and grandchildren back to Panama City Beach. We had a wonderful vacation to Panama City Beach, Florida. It was very relaxing. No schedules, no pressure. Our biggest decision of the day was "Do you want to go to the beach or pool first?" We love the Gulf of Mexico. We stayed in a resort right on the beach. The sand was white and soft. The ocean was very clear, warm and calm for the first few days we were there. What made it extra special is just being together. My parents, Doug and Debbi, their twins Ben and Joe were all with us for the week. We LOVED being with those precious babies so much. In fact, Grant loved being with his cousins so much he cried the night before we left because he was going to miss Ben and Joe!

Here are Doug and Debbi. Debbi is holding Benjamin and Doug is holding Joseph. They were a little overwhelmed by the ocean. But the last day (of course) they started to warm up to it and loved crawling around the sand and into the waves.

One evening we all went to Pier Park. It is a very nice shopping boardwalk right near the ocean. We sampled fudge and bought gourmet popcorn. The kids all wore their Florida airbrushed t-shirts.

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. It just embodies summer, youth, love, joy, and energy. Brooke is definately "Daddy's Girl".

I hope someday my children look back on these trips to the ocean with fond memories.

Blue Snowcone. Enough said.

Grant could boogie board for hours. He slept well at night needless to say. Too much fun!

Panama City Beach will always have a special place in our hearts.

Iowa/Omaha Roadtrip and A Difficult Blessing Part 1

I have been away from the Blog for a while because our lives have taken an unexpected turn this summer. So, this is part 1 of 3. It's a long story and I have lots of photos to post.

In late June our family set off on a roadtrip through Iowa to see our friends and family. We had been on the road for only a day when Brooke came down with a fever. It was short lived and she was back to normal in a couple days. Then Grant got the fever and he too improved in a couple days.
On Friday, June 25, we made a joyous stop at Blank Children's Hospital to see Trent's surgeon, Dr. Buchi. It has been nearly 10 years since God used Dr. Buchi to reconstruct Trent's diaphragm and perform 5 other repairs and reconstruction surgeries on Trent. Dr. Buchi walked through some very rough waters with our family. He was DELIGHTED to see and hug Trent. We reminised and praised God for his work in Trent's life. Little did we know at the time how ironic this meeting would be.

We drove on to Omaha and visited Alex's brothers and their families. Trent got the fever on Friday night, but it was low and with Tylenol he was still able to go to the Zoo with all of us.
By Sunday, the fever was higher and Trent had developed a tight cough. We drove on to Alex's parents in south-central Iowa to spend the night. Trent's cough was getting worse. I began to worry about an ER trip and asked my mother in law where the nearest hospital was. Then we went to bed. (Well, I laid in bed at least, but my Mommy-radar heard every cough and moan from Trent.)

Trent coughed all night and woke up Monday morning at 3:00 am with a 104.5 fever and violent coughing fits. He did not look well. He was holding his left side and crying everytime he inhaled. Alex and I decided he needed real help. I volunteered to make the drive to the ER while Al stayed with the other two kids. As I drove along the rural highway I prayed, "Lord, should I go to the little local hospital or make the longer drive north to Blank Children's Hospital?" In a last minute decision, I turned the car north to DesMoines.

Trent had stabalized in the car and was talking and pink. I knew he was not critical, but still, I knew something was wrong.

The Children's Hospital was amazing. They were very quick. Trent got a breathing treatment and felt better. He got an x-ray which showed pnuemonia in the lower left lung. It also showed something suspicious at the bottom of his left lung.
I knew Dr. Buchi would want to know what was going on so I went up to his 3rd floor office and left a message for his nurse. Buchi called me shortly, wanting to know what was going on. Trent was sent for a CAT scan.

An hour later Dr. Buchi came into the ER room to tell me the patch on Trent's diaphragm had torn loose and a section of intesine has come up into his chest. Trent would need surgery. I think Buchi was more devastated than me. But I again experienced God's peace that goes beyond human comprehension. Even though I was not happy, I had a calm peace that this all was part of God's Soveriegn timing. God placed us in Iowa, with Trent's surgeon at just the right time. Who better to loving care for and be attentive to Trent's unique needs? Buchi assured us that Trent was stable and the intestine was not compromised. Trent started antibiotics and steriod and was sent home.

We cut the trip short and headed for home. Trent still was having trouble coughing and couldn't keep his inhaler in. We stopped in Davenport to sleep and ended up in the ER the Tuesday morning for two more breathing treatments on Tuesday. We made it home Tuesday afternoon. Trent was still working hard to breathe and his coughing was worse. He saw the pediatrician and was admitted to St. Alexius hospital in Barrington for two nights. I was relieved. He needed IV steriod and antibiotics, oxygen and breathing treatments round the clock. After two days he perked up and felt great. His test for Whooping Cough came back positive. So not only did he have pneumonia, he had Whooping Cough and a torn diaphragm too! No wonder the kid felt rotten!

Trent is stable. He wants to roller blade but I won't let him. We have been cleared to travel this next week to Florida for our extended Rose Family vacation. We are returning to DesMoines and Dr. Buchi for the surgery after vacation.

Read on to parts two and three of this very long post for the "happy part" of our roadtrip. God is good, all the time.

Iowa/Omaha Roadtrip and A Difficult Blessing Part 2

Our entire trip wasn't a bust. We were able to visit many family and friends. Our first stop was to see the world's most adorable twins. They just happen to be my nephews! As much as my brother Doug and sis-in-law Debbi don't want to admit it, they are going to be hosting a FIRST BIRTHDAY party next month. So we came bearing Ben and Joe's birthday gifts.

"Hey, I have a shirt just like that!" Trent and Grant gave Ben and Joe shorts outfits that match the ones they were wearing. Hopefully my boys' outfits will still fit next year when Ben and Joe grow into theirs.

Trent had just started learning how to roller blade before the trip. (Needless to say - rollerblading has been put on hold for a while.) He was so determined and brought his skates with him. Imagine his delight when Aunt Debbi put on her skates and went outside to skate with him! However - It was BLAZING hot, so they didn't last long.

Here are the Rose cousins. We did not get nearly enough time together. But thankfully we will be together in Florida soon. Can't wait!

Read on to see the rest of our Roadtrip.

Iowa/Omaha Roadtrip and A Difficult Blessing Part 3

Besides seeing the most adorable twins on the planet, we also had the joy of visiting more of our friends and family. After we stopped in at Doug and Debbi's we went to our friends, Josh and Dana Craighead, to spend a couple nights. Adam and Trent, Brandon and Grant, Carley and Brooke all picked up where they left off! They might as well be family. Its like they are cousins. Adam and Trent used scrap wood to build this table together. Of course, I think someone tried to jump on it and it was smashed. We were able to spend a couple hours at the pool all together. Dana served us Iowa chops for lunch! Yummy.

Then we went to our friends Kate and Gary Hydorn's house. Guess what, Kate served Iowa Chops too! Bring it on - we have to stock up while we are there! I miss my best friends Dana and Kate so much. Every moment we get together is precious.

This cracks me up. Kate's son Brennan and my boys hit it off like long lost friends. They played Wrestling video games and then strapped on their championship belts to act it out. It was a riot! I am so glad they had such a great time. It only makes me sad that we can't be together more often.

Then on to Omaha. We stayed with Alex's brother, Craig and his wife Carolyn and their little girl Reagan. On Saturday we went to the Henry Doorley Zoo with Craig's family and Tim's (another brother) family. Trent got the fever the night before, but it wasn't high and he felt okay with a dose of Tylenol. He didn't want to miss the zoo and he did very well.

Here are Brooke and Reagan ready for Sunday School. Aren't they sweet? They love to be together and Brooke treats Reagan like a baby sister. Trent's fever was higher, so we kept him home from church.

That afternoon we drove to Alex's folks in Murray, Iowa. Trent's cough was getting worse and well..... you know the rest of the story. So we canceled our stop in Ottumwa and missed seeing my folks and Grandma Jennings.

We are getting ready to leave for Florida soon. I am so thankful we can travel and keep our vacation plans. We are ready for a rest.