Welcome back to another double dose edition of the one and only The Beat Within. This is the only magazine where everyone speaks their truths, and stories without having to be judged in a negative way. Our editorial note will be written by OT as he shares with our community the final, part three conclusion, about a very daunting medical experience that happened to him and family recently… Thank you for sharing your challenges with us OT!
Continued…part three folks, this is OT back again with the conclusion of my son JD’s surgery. It was a success! But the challenges would only begin from there on. Monday afternoon, I was in the ICU, with about seven other, recently operated little kids. All of them were operated for their appendix. My son was the youngest one out of all of them, (eleven months old) and the one that cried the least.
The next youngest was a four-year-old little girl and the oldest was twelve year old kid, that I would talk to all the time to motivate him. He was a little heavy, so I would help him get up, and scoot his bed up, so he could sit upright, and when they made us all change rooms, I would help every single one of them move their stuff out.
It came to the point that it felt like I worked there. Even the nurses would ask me to help them, which allowed me to stay past the visiting hours. My genius idea to bring all the kid’s chocolates, made their smiley faces turned quickly upside down when the their mother’s (and the doctors) said they couldn’t eat them. Dummy! They are all in there for appendix surgery. Kind of funny now that I look back on it. I should’ve brought them apples instead.
As soon baby JD pooped, they kicked us out from the hospital. They waited for bowl movement. That’s all they wanted to make sure of. The surgery happened Sunday night and we were out by Tuesday afternoon. They didn’t tell us how to clean the wound or tell us what kind of food to give him. They just gave us a prescription and gave us the boot. The hospital was so packed, with really sick kids with viral infections. I was actually kind of glad they took us out, because I didn’t want him catching a viral or bacterial disease.
I called our pediatric and she recommended medication for the fever and the pain, and told us how to clean his wounds. We also had to be really strict with his diet, even though they said he could eat normal. The hardest part was that he was already learning how to walk, so the biggest challenge we had, was to prevent him from hurting himself. We always had to carry him around for the first few weeks because any sudden movements would risk opening up the puncture wounds.
He would cry a lot and sleep a lot. Luckily for me I work from home, so I was able to help my girl with just about everything. My family were supportive, in the fact that they would call a lot and ask me if the baby needed anything. It was an up and down recovery. The wound got infected, but it was a minor infection. The biggest obstacle of all was keeping him from hurting himself, as he was and is still a real active baby.
There were days where he would cry himself to sleep because of the pain, and as a parent you feel helpless, because there is very little that you can do. But things would and did eventually get better.
His wound where they cut him open has healed completely.
We got a recent scare about two weeks (maybe less) ago when we took him to the emergency room because he was throwing up repeatedly. He was in there under observation for two days, and this time I was more prepared for the challenges. Luckily, it was nothing too serious and had nothing to do with his surgery.
So, the challenges don’t stop coming, and frankly that’s how life is. Some people have it easier, some people have it harder, but you can’t sit there and think about everyone else. You have to focus on you, your loved ones and immediate family.
I hardly told anybody what happened with my son. I told one of my best homies, my great friend, Lisa, and my family. My neighbors didn’t even find out what happened.
I don’t like broadcasting my problems. I feel like the people that should know, already know. The reason why I’m sharing my story with you all is to show you that even when you’re free, challenges will always come our way.
Many of you find yourselves in positions where you don’t want to be, but don’t let that make you lose hope. I’m not going to lie. It’s tough trying to stay positive, while going through something like this. It really tested my faith and mental strength, but it didn’t break me.
It’s okay to bend a little bit. There will be moments that make us upset. We will all be tested in life, and continuously, not just once or twice. Remember the struggle, is day to day. That goes with anything you’re doing in life. If you’re trying to get in shape, you won’t get buff overnight. You have to be disciplined in your workouts everyday and your diet (including drinking plenty of water).
If you want to regain your freedom, well there’s a bunch of stuff that goes into that. Everything is a day-to-day struggle and you have to keep working towards whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish. I remember being behind the walls, and it would feel like I was never getting out. But the day eventually came.
One day the majority of you will get out and will have to deal with the problems and issues of the real world. Some of you will have kids of your own and go through certain challenges. Just like you didn’t buckle up inside, don’t fold up when the pressure arises.
Stay solid, have faith, and be positive no matter what. It won’t be easy, but the struggle will help you appreciate your life, and those that you love, that much more! Even through the struggles, there’s always a blessing. Stay smiling. One love to everybody!
Long live David and The Beat keeps going and going…
Thank you Omar, for that inspiring story of patience and resilience. We are so glad to hear that you baby JD is healthy and happy and bouncing right back. We hope he just continues to get stronger and stronger as he gets bigger. Thanks for reminding us that as we share our stories with The Beat Within and build in community, we also help each other to carry our burdens and in that process, we lighten the weight for each other.