Our meeting

Jack was born with a cleft lip and palate. So we have to meet with several different types of doctors in order to correct the problem. He will need a plastic surgeon, a ENT, a pediatrician, a pediatric dentist, an orthodontist, a speech therapist, and an audiologist.

As you can imagine even the thought of dealing with setting up appointments with so many different doctors, going to each appointment, and figuring out how the different treatments need to correspond is overwhelming at best.

But when God made it clear to me that we were to say yes to Jack, that he was indeed the son we were waiting for, He asked me to trust Him and just let go of the situation. And from that moment on in a very real way I have felt the Lord pick me up and carry me through all that has followed in the past two months.

We now in our small town have our very own cleft team. That means that all those doctors listed above get together once every other month to meet with you and then together make a plan for Jack. We had our first meeting with the cleft team this past week, it was amazing. We sat in the same room the entire time and each doctor comes to us one by one, looked at Jack, answered our questions, and told us what is they think needs to happen. Then when it was all over they got together and made a treatment plan for Jack which we'll get in a couple of days.

We were told a lot of information. We were told of a lot of surgeries that Jack would need, a lot of treatment, and follow-ups he would need for the rest of his childhood. Twice a doctor could tell that I was becoming overwhelmed and made sure to reassure me that he'll be just fine, everything is treatable, it is not as bad as it sounds. What I couldn't find the words to tell them was that I was indeed overwhelmed, but not in the way they thought. I was overwhelmed by the way the Lord used every moment of that meeting to say, See...this is how much I love, I will carry you throughout this process, I will take this all upon me, you will have nothing to worry about I got this under control, I love you, I love you, I love you.

Weird I know. But here I was in my small town, I didn't have to drive more than five minutes to get to the meeting. And the first doctor that walks in goes to my church and knows Kyle. He is an orthodontist so really he has nothing that needs to be said to us now, but he talks with us and tells us everything he knows about his treatment and made it clear, he will treat Jack well but more so that he will love us well. Then in walks the pediatrician, and I knew he was a believer just by looking into his eyes, and he goes on to take the time to learn everything there is to know about Jack and his history, he examines him and treats him for an ear infection he has now. He made it so clear how much he loves the Lord and how well he will love Jack. Then in walks the ENT, I was blown away by his knowledge in this area, the number of years he has treated cleft palate paitents, and just how okay Jack is going to be once he has some work done. And on and on it goes from there. We had a dear friend come and check on us who knew we'd be there, we had medical students come in because they said, "Everyone says I have to come in here and meet this adorable little boy and his devoted parents". The social worker who coordinates the team is beyond amazing, I have never been taken care of the way she takes care of us, she does all the arrangements for us, finds all the best workers, calls us to check on things I would never have expected her to remember.

By the end I had to stop my self from crying, I was overwhelmed by what I had just been a part of. I understood fully that this will be a long process and will take much of our time and resources, but this will be a process where I get to experience God's love and peace on a new level. Because I'm walking through this "trial" I get to be held by my savior. God showed off for me that day, He said to me so loudly and clearly, this is how much I love you, keep on trusting and obeying, it may not be what you had planned, but it will be better.