Day 4 - He's got a message for you!

Hello everybody -

Really quick I wanted to say that he is doing just FINE! Here is a video that I was going to post yesterday but the computer was being really weird.

It is of Noah telling you guys that he loves you! Also he is giving you all a big smile and a big wave : )
We all love you lots from the Kubica and McClanahan familes, and we are thrilled and so thankful to have the prayers and support that you guys have given us the past couple of months!

Have a great day and God bless you all!

Love Noah & Lindsay & Nonnie!

P.S. Adam and Seth send their love too!

Day 3 - Post Surgery

Hello everyone!

I wanted to write a quick update to let you all know that your prayers have worked many many wonders. Noah is still laying flat on his back. He has two more days of it. This is because they do not want the spinal fluid to rush down the spinal cord where they had to insert the tube into his spine and where they incision is. He has been on pain meds and tylenol on a regular basis, but today the pain meds seem as if they don't HAVE to come every 4 hours. We will probably be stretching that time line out more and more until we leave the hospital! Nonnie (my mom) spent the night at the hospital with him last night so that I could go home and get a good nights rest. I think from the night before his surgery until last night when I went to bed I had only had like 6 hours of sleep in the 48 hour time span. I am so thankful that she is here with me since Adam can't be. The day of the surgery the internet in Afghanistan would not work for Adam so up until late last night all he knew was that Noah had the surgery and that he was okay. So, I gave him the link to the blog and he was just overwhelmed with joy that he is doing okay. We also got to skype from the hospital and while Noah was sleeping I was able to show Adam Noah in his crib. This is a very upsetting time for him right now because he can't be here for Noah and with me. So please send out a few extra prayers for him so that God will give him the peace and strength he needs to focus on his mission in Afghanistan!
The only rough part about Noah since his surgery is the changing diapers part. He does not like that at all. He is so stiff from lying down for so long and the discomfort from the incision makes changing his diapers a living nightmare. Thank God for bottles because we give him one right after and it soothes his pain just fine! He has been up this morning playing with toys and his little chew bear. He's quiet vocal as well! So, all together he is doing great. On day 6 he will start to gradually sit up and hopefully he does well so that once he sits all the way up he will be able to go home. YAY! Thanks for the prayers AGAIN!
Below I am posting some pictures from the past two days of him playing! There are also a couple of videos : )... I love the videos!

Love always,
Lindsay K.

Day 2 - Noah's hospital band.


Day 2 - Playing in the hospital is serious business!


Day 2 - Spinning Toys!


Day 2 - Daddy...Seth...LOOK - It's a helicopter...My daddy flies helicopters!!! YAY


Day 2 - Hold still....wiggle wiggle wiggle yo!


Day 3 - Still loving my helicopter! (The playroom brings toys to the kids so they can play and take their minds off of laying flat)


Day 3 - BIG Smiles : ) See everybody - Your prayers are working! †


Day 2 - Video of Noah playing with his toys!


WELL SHEESH... my other videos wouldn't upload!!! I'll try again later!!!

Love you all,
XOXO

Play Time with Noah

I didn't mean to post SOOOO quick again, but I just had too. He woke up after Nonnie (my mom) and Papa (Adam's dad) left because he dropped his passy. He was whiney but right as I walked up to him in the dark, his face his smile lit up the room. So, I have a couple of pictures from our play session. Oh and also a very cool surprise at the end! Please enjoy!

With love,
Lindsay K.

Noah waving at me! I think he was more worried about the IV in his hand!


I got a smile! Good mood for once : )


The blurriness of the photo is to show yall that he was playing patty cake!


He doesn't like his IV...


ET PHONE HOME TOE...this one is for you daddy! : )


Ohhh nakey baby!!! Relaxing...


Noah's hospital gown


What are you doing mommy?


NOW FOR THE BIG SURPRISE!!! Please enjoy...my little angel has a message for you all to thank you all for your prayers and thoughts today! : ) †

"Operation Spinal Cord Freedom" - Day

Well, at 0445 this morning. We all got up to get ready for Noah's surgery. Everything went smooth getting to the hospital. It was still dark outside when we arrived to Duke Children's Hospital, but to my surprise when we checked into the 3rd floor, we were not the only ones there for surgery. First, we checked in and the receptionist said they would call us back around 0615 to start prep for surgery. Once we were called back, got his clothes changed into a "tired little tiger" gown and got him familiar with his crib (hospital bed). They checked his vital signs to make sure that everything was good to go for the operation. Dr. Fuch's and the anesthesiologist team came by to see if we had any last minute questions before the surgery. There wasn't really much I could think of because they did such a great job at our pre-op appointment, I wasn't really in need of anymore information that I had not already heard. Well, the anesthesiologist told me to put on a suit, booties, hat and mask because they said I would be able to go back into the operating room until they put him to sleep. BAD IDEA! I told my mother and father-in-law that if they ever ask what we can do to "improve" our services and information given to you here at Duke University, I would definitely tell them to: a. NEVER LET A PARENT GO INTO THE OR that their child is being operated in. b: tell them to write at least a three page pamphlet on the things a parent is to expect emotionally and physically before taking that that trip with them. The real reason they wanted me to go back there is because if any child experiences separation anxiety, they want the child to feel as comfy as possible, so to fix that they keep a parent by their sides until they are knocked out. Like, I said - BAD IDEA... I walked in the OR (operating room) and the anesthesiologist team was preparing their gear, the mask, etc. to put him to sleep. The table was so tiny in the middle of the room and then all around were monitors and I swear I think I saw like 8 million surgical knives and tools that would be cutting the incision into my baby's back. I think that is what did it for me. Those shiny, sharp tools are the LAST THING I wanted to see today. Especially with my vivid imagination. They finally got started with the mask and gas putting him to sleep. Next, BAD IDEA. Don't watch your child be put to sleep when they hold the mask to his face. Although what they say is very normal to see for me not so much - as he was breathing in the gas he started breathing like he had a sunken chest wound. AHHH, I shouldn't be writing all of the details out but I hated seeing that. The nurse, Ruth led me back out into the waiting room. I saw the clock and it was 0730 when he fell asleep. They started surgery at 0835 and at 930 the receptionist told me they were still working in surgery and then at 1030 the receptionist then told me they were finishing up in surgery. HOLY COW - this surgery was supposed to take 3-4 hours. Not just 2. I do admit, I really didn't mind. I was relieved when they told me he was coming out of surgery. Dr. Fuch's then met us in a conference room and told us that everything was right in one area, and that it was all tethered pretty bad: 1. where the dimple was on his back that was a sinus all the way through to his spinal cord. 2. It was also tethered from his philemon or syrnx. I hope I have those details right, but that's what I got from it. When they were operating they also found a cyst and removed it so it wouldn't be a problem later. They also inserted the tube into the syrnx and then said once they deflated the spinal cord it just went flat and was a big relief. After the conference, Ken (father in-law) and I went to the recovery room. The receptionist led us back to "Noah" but NOT MY NOAH - I freaked out and all I could think was that this kid had my kids chart and my kid had someone elses chart... O M G... what did they do to my child if this was the wrong NOAH... Noah Brooks was his name. Then when we started walking out of the recovery room to go back into the waiting room Noah's recovery nurse, yes Noah Kubica's recovery nurse pulled us to his crib area and all was calm again. They hospital had not in fact messed up...THANK GOD! When we got to the recovery area she was inserting pain meds into his IV. He was crying bloody murder and his heart rate was high and his respirations were high. OKAY - here I go, gonna freak out again. I had to walk away until the monitors stopped pounding in my head and everything was calm and normal. SHEWWWWW - well he recovered quiet fast, and rested for about an 1.5 hours under their watch. The recovery nurse was named Crystal and she was GREAT. Her knick-name for Noah was "Turkey". LOL - but he will always be my "booger". Anyways, after he did well there, we were moved to the 5th floor room # 5320. He has been doing VERY WELL with the exception of one pain/crying spell. He is sleeping as I type this. He isn't supposed to move much and he's supposed to lay flat for 5 days strait. LOL - we will see how long that lasts. He is already kicking his legs around. So - thank you all SOOO much for the prayers and thoughts this morning. I definitely felt them as did my mother and father-in-law. You guys are so great and I'm so thankful to have the family and friends I do. I will be staying at the hospital 24/7 with him. Below I am posting some pictures from before the operation this morning - to his room here at the Children's hospital. Please enjoy and THANK YOU all so much again! Words will never be able to express!
Please if there is ANYTHING I can do for you, just call and I will. Just know that!

















Have a wonderful day!
XOXO -
Lindsay K.

Day before surgery - Chapel and Dress up!

Today was a very good day! We woke up and went to the Duke University Chapel. It was amazing. I was so glad we went because it was exactly the inspiration I needed today! I walked in that chapel breathless and I got to pray for my little Noah the whole time I was in there! It was beautiful. I think I was so distracted because I was just snapping pictures so fast like it was going to fall down at any minute!

Here are some pictures from the Chapel:











I absolutely loved the Chapel... I have so many more I want to post but did not have time right now!
Then later in the day, we went back in the room and the nurses suggested at the pre-op that we play dress up before the surgery, so we had about 15 minutes of fun with the gear the hospital gave us! I hope you enjoy these!

















We have had a lot of fun here so far considering the reason why we are here. I'm DREADING tomorrow, but I know that he is a strong little boy and that everything will be just fine. Thank you all for the prayers and love! I love you all.

Lindsay K.

Pre-Op

This picture is a picture I took before his Pre-Op appointment. Such a dern cutie!

Well, today Noah's pre-op went well.
- We got to take a tour of the hospital area where the surgery will be
- We sat down with an information nurse and she answered any questions we had about the surgery etc.
- He was weighed and had his vitals taken to see if they were doing well for the surgery
- He also had blood drawn to check the electrolytes
- They even gave us play masks and head pieces to play with on Sunday so that he would be use to seeing it when surgery came on Monday! (Pictures to come with our play session soon!)

He did sooo good. The first time he was poked with the needle he didnt even cry. He jerked his arm and the needed came out and the nurse yelled "OH SHOOT" and I think that scared him because the second time he was poked he screamed and was very mad at her!

Other than that, everything is A O K!

Surgery is scheduled for Monday at 0730 (in the morning), we have to be there are 0600.

Please continue to pray! We love you all!

Lindsay K.

Noah Cooper

For those of you who know or who may not know, I am still going to write to you about his condition. After giving birth to Noah on October 5, 2009, and after bringing him home from the hospital, I noticed that right above his butt crack on his lower back he had a strawberry. Right in the middle of the strawberry there was also a little dimple. Right away, I was alarmed because I was worried that the strawberry wouldn't go away and I didn't want anything that my child may one day be insecure about. Three days after he was born, we went for a check up. I mentioned the strawberry and the dimple to the doctor because I wanted to know what it was. At first, I didn't worry about it because the dimple was so small it looked like the size of a tear duct hole. I thought that was what it was. Well, the first doctor that looked at it said that it was nothing. I think he was focused more on the strawberry around the dimple than the dimple itself. So, a couple of months went by and I didn't worry too much about it other than the fact that the dimple was getting bigger. I thought to myself that maybe it's because he is growing, but why not ask again at his next check up. Well, at his next check up we saw a different doctor (same practice). Right away he walked out of the room to get another doctor's opinion. Well, who do you think he brought in? Yep, the same doctor that originally said it was nothing. Well, as they were looking and talking they were spitting out a lot of medical terms that sounded greek to me, but one that struck my attention was Spina Bifida. Immediately my heart sank. The second doctor said "Okay, well we will just monitor it and make sure it doesn't open all the way to the skin". I interrupted and said you mean like monitor it like Spina Bifida monitor it? They said yes and right then the red flag went up in my momma brain and I made sure to ask about it EVERY check up after that. Well, at his 6 month check up I asked about it again, and the doctor said he's really not worried about it but if he wasn't crawling at 9 months then we would have an ultrasound done. I said alright good to go, but I know he will not be crawling by then, because Seth didn't start crawling until he was 11 months old. Not that he would be the same as his brother, but I was only assuming. Well, not even a week later I was called by the doctor's and the head doctor from the practice was informed about Noah's dimple and he said NO we are not waiting, let's get this dimple checked out now! Well, the ultrasound went alright. The ultrasound did not show any signs of Spina Bifida, and the only thing the doctor told me when he gave me the results was that they wanted to do an MRI because it appeared that he had a tethered spinal cord. So, 2 weeks leter we had the MRI done and the radiologist in fact confirmed that he had a tethered spinal cord. So, the referral was put in for us to go to Greenville, NC. At our first appointment, the only thing the doctor's said to us at Greenville was that it was "complicated" and that they were referring us to Duke University to see Dr. Fuch's. I was kind of upset when I didn't find out anything about Noah's situation then, but I had a real peace about it. I went home and I googled everything I could about tethered spinal cord, and other neurology diseases came up like Spina Bifida (there are 3 types) one serious case and two you can go your whole life and never know you have; tethered spinal cord was often identified by a dimple or a hemangia (strawberry) on the lower back, there was also other spinal diseases like Chairi Malformation etc. All of the information was too much, but I tried to understand as much as I possibly could, that way if there was something definitely wrong with Noah, at least I could kind of follow what the doctor was saying. Well, I also googled who Dr. Fuch's was. He is actually the Division Chief of Neurology and Neuro-surgeon for pediatrics at Duke University. When Noah's pediatrician's told me who he was, they said be glad he is doing the surgery because people fly in from all over the United States to have surgery done by him. This made me feel very good about the whole situation. Well on 26 July 2010, we had Noah's first consultation with Dr. Fuch's. Sadly, Adam could not be with me because he left for Afghanistan on 19 July. My mother and I were prepared to take good notes and hopefully find out when the surgery would be etc. When Dr. Fuch's came in he brought it pictures of Noah's MRI for me to look at as he explained what was wrong with Noah. It wasn't just a tethered spinal cord, but also the following:
- Tethered Spinal Cord
- Spina Bifida Occulta
- Syrnx (baloon like fatty tissue inside of Noah's spine that needs to be deflated)
- Low-lying spinal cord
Definitely more than what we had expected. So, they scheduled our surgery and pre-op that day. The Pre-Op is August 6th and the surgery will be on Monday 9 August.

I hope this helps inform you guys a little bit on what is going on with Noah. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I love you all so much and thank you for your prayers and support during this time.

XOXO-
Lindsay K.