We're Still Alive!

Where has the time gone? Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's have passed and 2007 is well under way. Thanks so much for the encouraging comments on the blog, and we apologize for allowing so much time to pass before posting.

Maybe life has become normal to us, and we don't really know what all of you are interested in hearing as there hasn't been anything monumental to report until now. We have visited some doctors recently as Shea prepares for her next surgery, and yesterday's appointment was to get a 3D CT scan of her skull. They are making a model of Shea's skull for the plastic surgeons to use, and the technician explained to Shea, by using a quarter, that they can get to 1/10 the thickness of a quarter in accuracy.

Shea's surgery is scheduled for February 27th at 7:30 am at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. Her left cheekbone will be rebroken and repaired again. Shea's eye needs to be raised higher, and we're hoping that this will alleviate the double vision in her left eye. Both jaw bones will be broken and the bottom jaw will be pulled out farther. Bone from Shea's hip will be grafted to the area above where her front teeth should be.

Shea is seeing a nutritionist who is helping her get her body as healthy as possible before the next surgery. Evidently she still has about 25% of the toxins in her organs from the last surgery. Anesthesia and lots of strong meds take a toll on the body. Shea still requires about 12 hours of sleep a night and is experiencing jaw pain and headaches.

On our last post there was a comment from Paula Richardson. We have never met, but thank you, Paula, for encouraging our family in a huge way. Unfortunately, your husband was the doctor we dreaded seeing as he was the doctor who worked on Shea in the emergency room. We sat in the Family Counseling Room and Dr. Richardson had to share the grim news with us that our daughter was not expected to live through the day. He said that she was not responding to the oxygen and they were doing all they could. One time he walked into the room, and his face was solemn. I looked at him, trying to read his expression, fearing what he would say to us and our boys. "Is she alive?" I blurted out. "Yes." I remember clapping my hands and Dr. Richardson put out his palms to us and said, "It is very grim." We only knew to pray and so we continued. Now that we hear the words from his wife, of her love for the Lord Jesus, we wonder if Dr. Richardson prayed over our daughter as God used him to miraculousy bring our Shea back to life. Thank you from the depths of our hearts for not giving up on our girl.

It's hard to imagine that a year ago we were just coming home from the Acquired Brain Injury Unit and settling Shea at home. It's birthday time in our family, Jess' was today, Steve in a few days and Shea will be 20 on February 7th. What a difference a year makes as last year we were just trying to get through each day. Lying in bed, sleeping for hours on end, doctors' appointments almost daily. Last Wednesday Shea joined our Bible Study at church. As we sat side by side, she took my hand, squeezed it and whispered, "I love you, Mommy." You can imagine the emotion that welled up in me as I looked into the eyes of our only daughter, even though her appearance isn't exactly the same as before, it's her. She's alive, beautiful and will one day be very well.

Thanks for listening and praying --

The Hickoks