Dr. Daddy (and other adventures!)

The day we having been waiting for finally arrived. After 4 long, long years....Michael graduated medical school! Okay, so it may have been a bit harder on him, but I was still there for the ride. :)

I am so incredibly proud of Michael and all that he has become. Surviving medical school alone is no small feat, but surviving medical school while overcoming the battles and struggles our family has faced the passed couple of years is nothing short of amazing. Michael's perseverance and determination to reach his goals, serve and guide our family, and continue to be a God honoring father daily blesses me.

Since Owen is still in what is considered "protective isolation", meaning he cannot be in public areas (unless going to the hospital, in which he is under his "bubble") my parents graciously offered to babysit so I could attend the ceremony.

Michael's family made the trip up and after our necessary photo shoots we made our way to Michael's favorite restaurant, Regatta.

After lunch Michael headed over to the school and I ran home to catheterize Owen, hook up his tube feeding and lay him down for a nap. Everything was going as planned, completely normal, and I didn't worry one bit leaving him with my parents. After all, how much trouble can a sleeping baby really get in to? Oh boy, was I ever wrong!

Once I made it to the ceremony I let my Mom know she could text me if she needed anything. About 10 minutes into the ceremony she texted me to let me know he was fussing, but his eyes were closed. I assured her he would fall asleep, just make sure he was comfy and his music was playing.

Then, 5 minutes later I get this: call me. ASAP.

Not exactly the text I was hoping to receive. I tried to quietly call her from my seat, but all I heard was blood curdling screams and she was yelling something about Owen's g tube. Believe me, I moved my pregnant body through the (forever long) aisle of seats as fast as I could go! I was panicked, to say the least. I left my camera with Michael's sister and her husband graciously rushed me back home. While on the way, I was trying to give my Dad instructions as to placing the tube back into Owen's belly. Let's just say there is a reason the Lord did not call me into ER nursing....I don't exactly handle emergency situations that well. Especially when they involve my precious babe!

By the time I made it home the hole in Owen's belly that holds the g tube was quickly closing. I tried a few times to replace the old one, and then I opened a new one, hoping it would work. We immediately decided a trip to the ER was necessary. Michael had driven our van to school, so I didn't have access to Owen's car seat. However, Michael's sister had just returned Owen's infant carrier that she had borrowed for her son. So, I packed my 30lb boy into the infant seat and we jumped into the car and sped off. My Dad kindly reminded me a few times that getting into an accident wasn't going to solve anyone's problems. (It's possible I was driving a bit fast for his liking!)

My panic continued to escalate upon our arrival to the ER. Let's just say, they weren't quite in the same hurry we were in. After weighing him, trying to get his medication lists, checking his temperature and going through what felt like a thousand procedures that had nothing to do with replacing his g tube, I was quickly loosing it. They finally got the message when the tears started flowing and my voicing started raising. I should say, my Mom was amazing at working with the nurses and giving them all the information she knew at the time. My Dad-cool as a cucumber. :)

So, all in all, things worked themselves out. They were unable to replace the tube immediately, as his hole was getting too small. It took about an hour to use some different replacements to stretch it back to normal size and they were finally about to successfully replace his button.

Unfortunately I missed graduation. I longed so badly to stand and cheer for my husband as he walked across that stage, so deserving of the honor he was receiving. My wonderful sister in laws video taped the walk though:

 I'm grateful for the memories I'll have, and of course will never, ever forget the events that took place on Michael's graduation day. I'm so happy Owen is safe (my fear was that he would need surgery to replace the tube.) and that Michael was not aware of the crazy happenings going on and was able to enjoy his ceremony.

While I probably overreacted (okay, seriously overreacted) I know we will be better prepared if this happens again the future. I can only imagine how my poor parents felt while waiting for me to get home! I am so grateful for them and wouldn't have made it through the whole ordeal without them. Hopefully we haven't scared them off forever....our babysitters are few and far between!

So in all, a huge congratulations to my amazing, hard working husband who has officially earned those two lovey initials behind his name, thank you to our family for making the drive up to celebrate, and a million thank yous to my Mom and Dad for trying to make a stressful situation a little more bearable!

Cheers to you, Michael Daugherty, M.D.