My ways are not His ways!

Lately this question has been asked a lot.....  Juddah's head looks so normal now, what did Juddah's head look like to make you think something was wrong with it when he was born? This is such a great question, because his head does look so normal now. And now you have to look close to realize that something is not quite right with his head and eyes. I did take pictures of his skull just days after meeting Juddah, but the pictures just don't do it justice, here are two of them

I don't think from the pictures you can really tell how bad it looked in person. You can see the ridges across the top of his skull and on the back of his head, and what you can't see in the pictures is the two bulges that appeared in two places under his skin on the side of his head. The other issue that concerned us was the fact that he had no soft spot on the top of his head.

Something else was different about Juddah than Sarah, his twin. Developmentally, he was different, less responsive, and didn't eat as well, and his eyes seemed to bulge more with each passing day. So that is why we first began to seek a doctors care for Juddah. 

Here is a picture I never posted of Sarah and Juddah, they were about a month old here, and on clean water and formula for about 3 weeks.

Now on to the update for present tense. Juddah and I just returned from a week on the West Coast. We had a week in between his doctor appointments, and his surgeon cleared him for travel, so off we headed for Seattle to visit my husband Rick, Ben our youngest son who attends Seattle Pacific University and had not met Juddah, and Cuddles our little dog! Rick drove up to Seattle and we all spent a wonderful week together. While we were there, a good friends from north of the border, Canada, drove down to meet our little miracle baby. Eve Pohl and her husband Dave have a heart for Korah and are headed there very soon and blessed us by coming for a visit. Juddah met some new friends, rode on the trolley, walked the dog, and got to see a little bit of snow! The week went by too quick, and we took the red-eye back to VA on Wednesday. Juddah is quite the traveler, he boards the plane, drinks his bottle, and when we are able to put down our tray table, Juddah stretches out across it and sleeps wrapped snuggy in his blanket for the entire trip, waking only if he needs another bottle, or someone stops to look at him and say hi! He always seems to know when someone is talking about him as he will squint his eyes open as if to say hello, and sometimes even give a little smile, before falling back asleep. This trip he fit perfectly the width of the tray table... I'm guessing that the next trip he may be a bit long to fit across the tray table!

We meet with the neurosurgeon again on Monday, for another head measurement and eye check. They will also check his soft spot to see if it has grown at all making it possible to do the pressure test inside his head. The day before we left, Juddah went to a pediatrician to receive his first round of immunizations and have a general check-up... aside from a rash, and other small issues, he did great. 

The schedule of events for Juddah during his time here in the USA has not been what I imagined it to be. In the orginal plan Juddah would have been in the hospital, had surgery by now, and be in the recovery phase of his treatment. 

But those were not HIS plans....

Patience and obedience are again two of the themes that seem to run thru my time together with Juddah.

Today I read this about patience.... 

Patience loosens the choking grip of anxiety and worry. 

My prayers have since the beginning been that of a miracle healing for Juddah, and that 'His will be done'  I cannot let myself stress in the fact that Juddah's treatment is not following my time frame, or worry about the future... all I can do is rest in His perfect plan and timing for Juddah, and be obedient to that still small voice. 

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 

neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord.

As the heavens are higher than the earth, 

so are my ways higher than your ways.

Isaiah 55:8

Prayer Warriors still needed!
here is a quick shot from tonight, Juddah is quite animated these days, and he was telling me a very lengthly story here, which included a few loud shouts and a lot of drool! He is a heartbreaker!