Lauren Shea Hickok

Final Surgery!

2008-12-14T22:22:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note with an update on Shea -- she is having her last and, hopefully, final surgery tomorrow at 12:30 pm. Dr. McKay will be performing a rhinoplasty, repairing Shea's collapsed nose with cartilage from her ear. He will also do more repair work on her lower jaw and a number of scar grafts. If all goes as expected the surgery should last about 3 1/2 hours.

We are asking you once again to lift our girl up to Jesus in prayer. Please pray for the doctor's wisdom and steady hands, for everything to go smoothly and better than we could even expect.

We love you all and will update you again soon.

The Hickoks

Home Stretch!

2008-09-24T20:11:00.004-05:00

We're excited to tell all of you that Shea is on the home stretch . . . at least we think! You never know, but we're excited to see a glimpse of the end.

Shea has a surgery tomorrow morning at 8:30. This time they will implant the posts into the bone that she has grown over the last number of months. They will also graft more bone and do skin grafts as well. Hopefully, if all goes well, this operation will last about three to four hours.

Last week we met with Dr. McKay, one of Shea's plastic surgeons, and instead of waiting six months after tomorrow's surgery, he is confident that in eight weeks they should be able to procede with the final surgery -- a rhinoplasty, fixing Shea's collapsed nose, reconstructing deteriorated bone in her jaw and repairing a number of scars. It's hard not to get too excited because we're always fearful of a setback, but we're praying that all will go well. In November, it will be three years since the accident, and although Shea has been unbelievably patient, she's ready to move on with her life.

This morning I heard an explanation of Proverbs 14:10, and it reminded me of Shea and all that she has suffered. "Each heart knows its own bitterness and no one else can share its joy." Sometimes she meets others who have endured similar sufferings -- car accidents, diseases, loss of teeth, anxiety, etc. As they share their experiences, no one has the same story -- each suffers differently, and even though we have walked this road with our girl from the very beginning, we will never really know the deepness of her suffering. It has changed Shea profoundly. She understands the preciousness of life, and desires to know her purpose. "No one else can share its joy." The uphill climb is extremely overwhelming at times, but this downward (yet bumpy!) ride is a joy that is truly hers.

A friend of ours who has been by her husband's side as he endures the final stages of cancer, shared a great quote with us -- we don't know who wrote it, but it was just what Shea needed the other day. "It is not what I would choose, but it is what I will use to bring honor and glory to Jesus." We are grateful that beauty grows from despair no matter how hard it is to see -- we have to look with squinty eyes sometimes, but it's there.

Thanks for enduring with us, for standing in the wings and cheering Shea on to the home stretch!

We love you --

The Hickoks

"A New Kind of Normal"

2008-06-05T21:24:00.003-05:00

It has been a long time since we posted. I guess it's because things don't seem out of the ordinary for us anymore. Shea doesn't wear her teeth around home more than she does, and we don't really notice anymore. She keeps her Super Glue and Fixodent close by in case there's a mishap, but there isn't a big reaction from any of us anymore when the teeth are dropped, broken or falling out! Shea has a number of doctors' appointments, but it's just what she's gotten used to, so to us it's like the title of a book by Carol Kent -- "A New Kind of Normal."

The appliance that was surgically implanted in Shea's hard palate was intended to grow bone vertically and horizontally so that there would be bone in which to implant her three front teeth. As some of you may remember, she had a surgery where they grafted bone from her hip, and it was unsuccessful. At another surgery they grafted bone from her skull, and it was also unsuccessful. This was Dr. Nunn's and Dr. Mill's last resort and was a surgery neither of them had ever performed before. After looking at the x-rays, it looks like Shea has grown some good hard bone! We are thrilled and grateful that it appears this surgery was successful.

This Saturday, June 7th at 9 am Shea will have another surgery where this appliance will be removed. We're praying that it will be a quick and uneventful procedure, but there is the chance that her bone has grown around the appliance which could make it difficult for them to remove. Thankfully, Shea will have anesthesia for this operation. Please pray for a quick removal of this appliance and for a great recovery. Shea has had a number of long and major surgeries, and so it's exciting for us to see the end of the road that slants somewhat downhill -- easier and much closer to the finish line! If all goes as planned, Shea's final surgery should be in November sometime!

Thank you for your love and faithful prayers.

The Hickoks

God Bless You

2008-02-12T21:41:00.002-05:00

Shea is settled, so I'm finally taking a few minutes to update everyone. What a day.

Dr. Mills wanted Shea to take a strong sedative last night, and strong it was! When we put her to bed (yes, she's twenty-one, I know, but this pill was debilitating!) we prayed for her doctors -- that they would have peace in their homes, no distractions and amazing sleep.

This morning Dr. Mills called and said, "Guess what? Last night I dreamed Shea's entire surgery from start to finish -- it's as if I've already done it!" He was excited and ready to get started.

We didn't mention in the previous post that Shea decided to forego anesthesia for this surgery. In her past surgeries she has struggled for months afterwards -- anxiety, irritability, etc. so she felt that if she had medication and plenty of numbing she would be fine. Well, it was a rough one, and I doubt she would ever brave it again. We were able to watch the entire surgery on a huge screen -- we actually only peeked once in awhile, because it was too difficult to watch, but we could hear her crying at times and that about did us in.

When the surgery was over Dr. Mills and Dr. Nunn said that the surgery went much better than they expected. Shea's bone was thicker and harder than they realized, and they are very hopeful that the procedure was very successful. Dr. Mills looked at Dr. Nunn and said, "You know, there were a lot of friends and family praying for Shea today."

As Shea was recovering, Dr. Mills came in and told her that a lady had just come in who had an accident this morning and had knocked out her teeth. He asked Shea if she would go to that lady's room to encourage her. When Dr. Mills left the room, Shea looked at me with tears in her eyes and I said, "No, you don't have to go talk to that lady -- sometimes it's okay to just take care of yourself." She seemed relieved. Awhile later Dr. Mills came back and once again urged Shea to come with him to this lady's room. Shea was so emotional from all the medicine that it was hard for her to keep from crying, but Dr. Mills seemed to know how far he could push her, and he did! We all followed as Shea went to the woman's room. We peeked in and saw that her face was all swollen and bloody -- a number of cuts too. She had been crying. Shea walked up to her and began talking softly. I couldn't hear everything that was said, but I saw the two embrace, I heard Shea say, "Jesus loves you and He'll take care of you." -- "You're going to be all right." Shea began to stroke the woman's long hair, and they both cried. At the end, Shea (with her bloody swollen lips) kissed her on the forehead and said, "God bless you," We could hardly compose ourselves, and Dr. Mills just smiled and nodded.

Thank you again for your notes, calls and especially your fervent prayers.

We love you --

The Hickoks

God in My Healing

2008-02-11T20:09:00.000-05:00

We haven't posted for a number of months, but things have been relatively quiet. Shea has continued to see her doctors and tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1:30 she will have her next surgery.

Dr. Nunn, Shea's plastic surgeon and Dr. Mills, Shea's dental surgeon, will perform the surgery together.

The goal of this surgery is to implant a device that will grow bone because grafting bone from her hip and skull in previous surgeries shrunk away and was unsuccessful. Shea needs to have five front teeth implants, but at this point there is no bone in which to implant the teeth.

This procedure is similar to Vertical Angular Distraction, but the plan they have is much more involved and to their knowledge has never been done before. They will implant a device in Shea's mouth under her nose and cut her maxillary bone vertically on either side and horizontally as well. Then they will place several screws in each side of the divided bone. A bar will stick out of her mouth where her eye tooth should be. Each day for the next month, Shea will need to go to Dr. Mills' office so he can turn the bar. In doing so, this should grow a half millimeter of bone each day. The difficulty is trying to grow bone both vertically and horizontally.

This afternoon Shea went for her pre-op appointment with Dr. Mills. He says her prognosis is on the lower side of fair, and the only way she could have a 100% successful surgery is with a lot of prayer. So once again we call on you, our friends and family, to pray again on Shea's behalf. We have seen miracle after miracle in her life and we will pray for faith to believe that God wants to bless Shea even more with His healing hand.

Yesterday Shea sang in church and the song was certainly a testimony of God's continuing work in her life. As parents, it's hard to watch your child (no matter what age) go through painful surgeries, but we are so proud of our girl and are seeing in her a deep love for Jesus like never before.

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping
God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
God in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting
God in my laughing
God in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Be my everything
Be my everything

Christ in me
The hope of glory
You are everything
Christ in me
The hope of glory
Be my everything
Be my everything

You are everything
Jesus everything.

Love to you --

The Hickoks

2007-08-20T16:20:00.000-05:00

He sat for hours on the cold linoleum floor with only a gum wrapper and time to kill. Entertaining a nervous nine-year-old boy with a paper football, waiting to hear the plight of his sister, was no small feat, but he did it with ease and gentleness. Hearing the news of the accident that early morning of November nineteenth, he came to Macon with his parents to be a support and comfort to his pastor and family. A few days later he came back to Macon to visit Shea although she was unconscious and completely unaware of his presence. He stepped closer to her bed and touched her cold swollen hand. Looking up at the monitors, reading the stats and then down at her lifeless body, he thought this might be the last time he would ever see her. Knowing music was a big part of Shea's life, he left his ipod for her to find comfort in familiar song.

Months after Shea came home from the hospital he came over for church band practice. Afraid of being seen, Shea hid in her room while the guys rehearsed. Week after week she isolated herself. One night after a long day of doctors' appointments, we drove home to find all the cars at our house. Rehearsal was already in progress. What should we do? Wait in the car? "I can't keep hiding. I need to go in," Shea said. As she walked in the front door, the music stopped. Their expressions said it all. She was alive and back with us. Jason, sitting on the floor with his guitar, carefully reached up and once again, touched her hand -- this time soft and warm. Few words were exchanged, but there was an undeniable connection for sure. The next day Jason left a message on Steve's cell phone where he poured out his heart about how unbelievably moved he was to witness this miracle. He wondered if he had experienced maybe a fraction of what the disciples felt when they touched Jesus again.

Phone calls became more and more as their friendship developed. Jason was there for every surgery and recovery. Oftentimes showing up with a carton of sorbet and a movie or some probiotics and a homemade shake. The flowers came later! Last August, Shea and Jason Baker declared their love for each other! We couldn't be happier for our little girl. Jason told Shea, "This is the face I fell in love with." Her scars he loves too -- they tell a story of character and a strength which only deepens their relationship more. Sometimes holding her teeth during meals or passing them to her quickly when people ask her a question. They've got it down! Quietly but attentively he attends to Shea's needs. With numbness on parts of her face, food seems to gravitate to those areas, but Jason nonchalantly wipes them away without a thought. They have had a different start from most couples. With the laughter that fills our home, you would never know the dark times these two have together shared.

What a bright spot this love relationship is in our family! Thanks for sharing in our joy.

Steve and Susan

2007-08-20T15:09:00.000-05:00

A Note From Shea

2007-07-05T17:10:00.000-05:00

This is the first time I have posted and I have really wanted to write all of you. I told my parents that I was writing the next blog. Problem is . . . four months later I am finally gathering up the courage to do it! I was nervous to write because I have a lot to live up to considering some of the writers on this blog have actually published books! They say I'm dealing with a lot of anxiety that will hopefully diminish with time, so I'm sorry that I haven't at least written something. I guess I don't see my life as all that interesting right now, so I don't want to blab on and on about my life when things are, what I perceive as somewhat normal now.

First of all, I want to thank all of you who are still following this blog for continuing to remember me in prayer. I wish I could thank each of you personally. It seems kind of trite to thank you via a blog and I will never know how many people prayed for me. It's pretty overwhelming. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your earnest prayers for me. If it weren't for all of you lifting me up to Jesus I don't know if I would be here today.

A number of people have asked how different my life is now since the accident. I was going to school and working so my family pretty much saw me flying in and out the door. Life was busy, stressful and crazy. I don't remember much about the day of the accident except that morning I used Crest White Strips. I looked in the mirror, smiled and thought, "My teeth look goooood." Over a month later I woke up, looked in a mirror and didn't recognize myself. A couple days later I was taken to a brain injury unit, and I felt like I was living the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Actually, I've never seen the movie, but I've heard a lot about it! Ever since then I have had various surgeries, recuperated and pretty much stayed home with my family most of the time.

I have had the opportunity to visit some of my extended family which has been really good for me. When you have to take out five teeth when eating, family is the best crowd to be around! I have had many close calls with my teeth - almost throwing them away at restaurants and asking the waiter to bring back my plate. A couple weeks ago our family went to Connecticut to visit my aunts, uncles and cousins. We took a boat out for the day, and I was relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. All of a sudden, my brother lost his footing and I screamed, "Luke!" Down fell my teeth, sliding down the side of the boat practically in slow motion, they slipped into the Long Island Sound. Once again, a great crowd to be around when you have to spend the rest of your vacation toothless! I got another set of teeth and sang in church recently. Betweeen the services I laughed backstage and out shot my teeth. Unfortunately, they broke into pieces. We gathered up the teeth, ran to Walgreens for Super Glue, glued them back together and walked on stage just in time for the next service to start. Just this weekend it happened again! I was at our family reunion and was outside in the woods walking to my cabin. I sneezed and out they came. It was midnight and I couldn't see a thing. Minutes later, the whole Anderson search party arrived with cell phones, lap tops and car headlights to help me find my dentures! They only broke in two places this time, but fortunately, I now carry Super Glue in my purse along with my lip gloss!

In a few minutes I am heading off to another surgery. This time they are detaching my upper lip from my gums. In my last surgery they had to use my lip to cover over the new bone they grafted. Now that it is healing they can separate the lip from the gums. They will also graft skin from the roof of my mouth to place on my gums where the previously grafted bone has shrunk. I guess it will appear to look like bone but gum tissue works as well too.

Thanks so much for all your love and prayers for me. I am so blessed and I know God is using all that has happened in my life to deepen me spiritually and to allow me opportunities that never would have happened.

"And we know that in all things God works to the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Love,

Shea

Sweet Smelling Incense

2007-03-05T10:46:00.000-05:00

We are home, and all is well. We weren't able to post any news at the hospital, and we thank David Pippenger, Steve's brother-in-law, for helping us out then.

Tuesday morning our whole family was up at 4:30 and out the door shortly thereafter. They whisked us into the pre-op room, and Shea was soon hooked up and ready for a long nap! Dr. Nunn came in and Shea said, "Did you have a good night's sleep?" "Well, as a matter of fact I did." Shea shared with him that many of us were praying that her surgeons would sleep well the night before. Dr. Nunn smiled and said, "Hey, would you please pray that I sleep that well every night?"

As they wheeled Shea away, Dr. McKay yelled over his shoulder, "See you in three or four hours." We saw Shea twelve hours later! The surgery took much longer than all the surgeons anticipated, but we are thankful they were able to take their time. At about noon Dr. Mills, Shea's dental surgeon, came out to report that all was well. He was able to direct the plastic surgeons and tell them exactly where to place the bone in her jaw so that he would have the exact amount of bone he needs to eventually do her implants. He reminded us again that Dr. Nunn and Dr. McKay are unbelievably talented and artistic. So waiting the rest of the afternoon and into the evening wasn't as difficult as you might think since we knew Shea was in great hands. After the surgery both doctors commented that all went better than they ever imagined. Dr. McKay said, "I felt like I had an angel on my shoulder the whole time."

The first few nights at the hospital were very rough as they had a difficult time regulating the morphine. Shea was in great pain the first night and the nurses were trying to convince her to relax and allow the drug to take effect. When the shift changed and the night nurse came in, she informed us that the morphine pump machine had been turned off for over an hour! So glad to have a nurse with 35 years experience watch over Shea all night!

Shea is home and improving every day. She has been seeing an alternative health care specialist, Dr. Marc D'Andrea, weekly for the past number of months. He called on Saturday and asked if he could make a house call! We couldn't believe it. He is working hard to give Shea the proper nutrition her body needs to rid her body of all the toxins, boost her energy and speed healing.

Once again, we thank all of you for your faithful prayers. There's a song by Matt Redman taken from Revelation 8:4 that Steve and I have been singing lately, - here's a line of the lyrics: "May the prayers of the saints be like sweet smelling incense to You, Lord." There are many of you whom we may never meet, but you continue to pray for our girl's continued healing; so many have not stopped praying. How could it be that doctors sense an angel's presense, that they are in awe of their own God-given abilities except for the prayers of the saints? Thank you again . . . and again.

Love,

The Hickoks

Report from Steve (with photo)

2007-02-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

I just got this email from Steve:

"Shea is doing well this am she has a slight fever and a scratched cornea in her good eye other than that she is hanging in there. She is so thankful for getting thru this surgery. Pray that no infection sets in."

Steve also said I could post this pic...

Success!

2007-02-27T18:49:00.000-05:00

The surgery took twice as long as expected, but the doctors feel this may be the last major surgery! Steve and Susan still have not seen Shea but they have talked to the doctors and the report was that the surgery went better than they had even hoped for.

Susan says there will not be any more posts tonight, but we will keep you up to date tomorrow.

Thanks to all for all of your thoughts and prayers.

David Pippenger

Surgery Update

2007-02-27T13:27:00.000-05:00

Susan just called with an update:

The surgery is still ongoing but so far all news is good. Her blood pressure is great and they are now working on getting the bone from her hip for the grafts in her teeth.

They are removing a lot of plates and screws which we hope will result in less pain for Shea.

They have raised her left eye a full centimeter and have injected her own blood and stem cells into the bone of the upper jaw to speed healing. They still don't know whether they are going to break her lower jaw, since they don't want to affect her singing.

Dr. Mills came out and said that Shea has the absolute very best doctors in the world for this surgery. He stated that if he was in an accident, these would be the doctors he would hope for.

Surgery Tuesday Morning

2007-02-26T23:24:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for all the encouraging comments on the blog. At dinner tonight, Shea said that she wasn't at all nervous about the surgery tomorrow. "Should I be?" she said, and we all laughed. The outpouring of love and prayers is truly carrying all of us, and we are actually excited about tomorrow.

We had a pre-op appointment with Dr. Nunn last week, and he explained all the procedures they will be performing. Rebreaking the cheek bone, grafting bone from Shea's hip to use above her front gums, breaking both sides of her jaw, pulling out her chin, raising the left eye a little more and maybe even a brow lift! Just what you want when you're twenty! Shea asked Dr. Nunn if anything could be done for the pain in her jaw. He had another x-ray done of her skull and saw a metal plate that the first surgeon had used to hold her crushed jaw together. At this point, the plate has no purpose and is hitting Shea's jaw every time she closes her mouth. Dr. Nunn said that it hurt him to even look at her x-ray. He thinks he can remove it, but there is the concern that bone has grown around the plate.

Please pray that all will go as planned and that Dr. Nunn, Dr. McKay and Dr. Mills will be absolutely amazed at the miraculous results of this surgery.

We love and appreciate all of you --

The Hickoks

We're Still Alive!

2007-01-28T00:01:00.000-05:00

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

One Year

2006-11-18T23:11:00.002-05:00

Something about seasons reminds us of our past. For us, fall is a beautiful season with the myriad of colors ranging from flaming red to yellow, gold and even some still green. As the leaves continue to fall until almost all the trees are bare, we are reminded of that ride home from the Shepherd Center last year. Where had fall gone? It was stark winter. Cold and scary. We had been inside hospitals for six weeks without any notice to the changes outside. Maybe we'll always be reminded of that date in November every time the leaves fall, but today we rejoice. Our children are alive and under our roof. They are not the same kids they were one year ago. Things are different -- our conversations are longer and deeper, time doesn't matter. Talking sometimes begins in the middle of the night and ends whenever they've said it all. Physical and emotional healing doesn't care about time.

Today our hearts ache for Bill and Kyle, Anna and the girls and Deborah. One year ago today they lost their son, their brother. We see the strain on their faces as they go about each day and simply try to get through it. We don't always know whether to talk with them about Mike or if we should talk about the weather. It's hard. We can't imagine the emptiness they feel. That night our kids were given back to us and theirs was taken. We don't have any answers, and sometimes there's a tinge of guilt that we have so much hope. They've heard it all --- it was his time, it's God's will, he lived a full life, he was a great kid. But it must take time --and lots of it -- to even begin to sense healing. Our hearts go out to all of you as you walk this difficult road. We love you all and will continue to pray.

To all those in the accident -- Kyle, Blair, Will and Rachel. We haven't forgotten your pain. Each one of you suffers similarly yet in different ways, but you all still suffer. Even though our roads have taken different paths, that cold November night still unites us. There is a special bond that is there every time you see each other -- the tragic memories play like horror movies in your mind, and that is what we pray will diminish with time -- there it is again -- time. Maybe there will come a day when this event is not the first thing you think about each morning. And maybe God's Word is true when it says, " I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. So we can say with confidence,'The LORD is my helper, I will have no fear.'" . . ."Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

With love and thankful hearts ---

The Hickoks

Shalom

2006-10-14T23:17:00.000-05:00

This week Shea saw her orthodontist and received the word that her hard palate needs to be rebroken at her next surgery as it has expanded too far on one side. The week before, Shea found out that her cheekbone needs to be rebroken as well. Shea was so strong the first day as she was trying to be strong for the rest of us. The last three days or so she has been very tired and listless, and the emotion of it all seems to be affecting her physically. Some discouragement has set in, and it's understandable as Shea doesn't know how long the road is ahead of her. Your comments have meant so much to her and all of us. Thanks for your encouraging words and continued prayers.

In Numbers 6 the Lord asked Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing. Today we pray this blessing for our sweet Shea as she bravely faces the trials ahead --

"May the LORD bless you
and protect you.
May the LORD smile on you
and be gracious to you.
May the LORD show you his favor
and give you his peace."

We love you, sweet girl --

Mom and Dad

"My Offering"

2006-10-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

This month Shea had an appointment with Dr. McKay, one of her plastic surgeons. He was encouraged by the symmetry of her eyes and doesn't think she will need a brow lift or an eye tack, which is putting a stitch or two at the outer eye area to lift it up. He believes that as the swelling continues to go down, the eye will naturally go up on its own. Yes, after almost three months Shea still has quite a bit of swelling. The not so good news is that Shea will have to have her cheekbone rebroken as it still has not healed properly. At her next surgery (we don't know when that will be), they will do a complete headband incision from ear to ear, actually pulling down her face to see the true symmetry of both cheekbones. The doctors tried not to be as invasive at her recent surgery but realize now that it is necessary.

The last few days for Shea have been a little down. She was pulling back her hair tonight and caught a glimpse of her face -- not like she doesn't see it every day, but it was one of those times when the reality of all that has happened became real again. Sometimes she is so busy that she doesn't take time to analyze her face -- much like most of us. The realization of all that she has endured and all that lies ahead can be a little discouraging.

Shea has braces again. She got the tooth-colored kind so it really isn't noticeable. Since her three front teeth are not her own, she only has a thin wire that goes across the front, so it looks pretty much like a retainer. She was just showing me her bite, and I can't believe she has never complained before. I couldn't see any teeth that meet. Shea is having some stomach problems as she can't chew her food properly, so we are discussing cutting meat from her diet and other chewy foods that are hard for the system to digest. Shea meets with Dr. Salama, her orthodontist, tomorrow and we will know more then.

Some of you have asked us about Shea's vision in her left eye. The spot was originally big and black, then it turned to grey, and now it is transparent in some areas -- like looking through a cloud, she says. Sometimes it makes her dizzy, and it also causes her to have problems with depth perception. The good news is, it continues to diminish. Shea wants to see it clear up naturally as opposed to another surgery.

Steve asked Shea when she would be ready to sing at church again. She has not sung since before the accident and just took up voice lessons again. Shea has been very hesitant to sing since she doesn't like what she hears. With all the plates and screws and the fact that her sinus cavities were shattered, her voice sounds foreign to her. We felt she was ready to sing again and needed the confidence to do it. Steve gave her a song to practice -- a duet with her special friend, Jason Baker. They practiced and practiced and finally on Saturday night when we thought they would just run through it a few more times, Shea began to cry. "I can't do it." -- almost like how some describe a panic attack. We tried to encourage her and pray with her but she decided it would be better to have someone else sing in her place. It wasn't until one in the morning that Shea recognized that she was being prideful (her word, not mine!) in not doing what she knew in her heart God wanted her to do. It was her offering to Him. No matter how she sounded, she would sing it to Him! Everyone at church was so excited as they have walked with our family through this most difficult time. They stood and clapped with gratitude at what God has done in Shea's life. As Luke watched his sister sing, he became emotional as just ten months ago Shea was on life support, not expected to live and now she was singing again -- doing what she loves most. One proud brother!

"My Offering"

I lay it all down, my dreams and my crown
Lord I surrender
I lay it all down, my fear and my doubt
Lord I surrender

My heart like never before
My heart like never before
Lord I want to give you everything
i want to give you everything
This is my offering

Give me the strength, enough for today
Lord I surrender
Show me your way
Give me your grace
Lord to surrender
Lord I surrender

My heart like never before
My heart like never before
Lord I want to give you everything
I want to give you everything
This is my offering

The Hickoks

Beautiful Plan

2006-09-02T23:01:00.000-05:00

Shea's surgery was almost eight weeks ago. It's hard to believe the time has passed so quickly, and even though it seems slow, it's good to see the healing take place from week to week.

Shea spent the first four weeks without her three front teeth, but surprisingly that didn't stop her from living life. She went to an Atlanta Braves game, church, Salon 124 to get her hair trimmed and out to coffee with friends. This may be a little crass, but sometimes we all just need a little comic relief! We were driving to an appointment on the 85 and passed a trucker who had a sign taped to his window -- "FLASH ME!" Do you dare me, mom? Next thing I knew Shea smashed her face to the window and flashed the biggest toothless smile!! She loved his reaction -- "Scared him to death!"

Shea finally got temporary teeth again. Dr. Mills did an excellent job, and just this week Shea went to Dr. Salama's to get braces . . . again! We did have trouble with the palate expander as it expanded her palate too far, especially on one side. So now she has to turn the "key" the opposite direction every other day. The concern is that if this does not work, they will have to rebreak her hard palate.

We are surprised that Shea has considerable swelling in her face. Her left cheek bone still appears to jut out, making it appear that her cheek bones still are not symmetrical. According to the x-rays it looks good, and we probably won't really see much change until after her jaw surgery. Shea has an appointment soon with Dr. Nunn who will give us an honest evaluation of her progress.

None of this seems to be of much concern to Shea. She continues to surprise and delight us. God has blessed her life with the most amazing and unexpected blessing, and even now, Shea continues to say that all she has endured, even though the path has twisted and turned, is part of God's beautiful plan for her life. Psalm 119:71 -- "The suffering you sent was good for me . . ."

Love and thanks to all of you --

The Hickoks

No Teeth . . . No Problem!

2006-07-30T09:15:00.000-05:00

It has been a few days since we last posted as things have been beautifully quiet around here. Shea had a few appointments last week. Dr. Nunn removed the staples from Shea's head which she said was painless. Dr. Mills had his theater full of dentists again, and Shea was the subject. She stood before the doctors and answered questions all while missing three front teeth. Shea sat in the front row and was surprised as Dr. Mills proceeded to show the graphic photographs of her surgery, and for this she was completely unprepared. She did fine though and was actually quite fascinated with it all!

Shea was determined to get some temporary teeth last week, but Dr. Mills said she would probably need to wait a month. That was not a good day. Shea pretty much had a meltdown as she has recovered so quickly and wants to get out yet the lack of teeth is holding her back . . . or so we thought! It's Sunday morning, and I can hear Shea getting ready for church! We never dreamed that she would allow those she loves and strangers as well to see her for who she is physically right now. So proud of our girl today!

I must close or Shea and I will be late for church!

Love,

The Hickoks

One Miracle at a Time

2006-07-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Shea had an appointment with Dr. Nunn who was very pleased with his work! He removed the stitches from Shea's left eye so that she could open it. The staples in her head can't be removed for a few more days, so Shea still can't use a blow dryer -- she wouldn't want to heat up the staples! Her left eye was raised one centimeter, and even though it's still hard to really tell what she's going to look like, it's almost level with her right eye.

Our next stop was Dr. Mills' office. He wanted to take pictures of her and document everything as he will use Shea's case in his teaching classes. When she walked in, Dr. Mills, the nurses and the assistants gathered around Shea and could not believe how good she looks after only one week. Dr. Mills had patients in the dental chairs waiting to be worked on, and so he asked Shea if she minded being introduced to his patients. He shared the story with everyone and they were all amazed at how well she is doing after only seven days. Then Shea begged Dr Mills for her three front teeth -- "I'll even bake you cookies!" He high fived her and said, "One miracle at a time, Shea."

Last of all we went to see Dr. Salama, the orthodontist. Since Shea's hard palate was also broken and expanded a centimeter during surgery, they had to broaden it even more. We will turn the "key" a couple turns each day for the next month and then the braces can be put on her teeth. How long this will all last, we don't know. Shea tries to be lighthearted about getting braces again --"Oh, it's going to be so much more fun the second time around!"

The recovery time is supposed to be six weeks, but after one week we are amazed at Shea's quick improvement. Thank you again for your interest and prayers on Shea's behalf.

Love,

S & S

Soggy Crackers

2006-07-23T06:43:00.000-05:00

Most of Friday Shea stayed in bed and slept off and on. We brought her meals to her --nothing too interesting -- different pureed soups, yogurt, applesauce, etc. We talked some, and then Shea took her meds and drifted back to sleep. Her face has become more swollen, but yesterday we noticed a crease in her eyelid, so the swelling is already going down! Her left eye is sewn shut for now, and she has a number of stitches in her mouth too. On Monday we have an appointment with the plastic surgeons.

It's interesting how one person's mood affects others. They say " a mother is as happy as her unhappiest child," and I know that goes for dads as well. Steve and I are trying to keep the morale up in our home. We have two boys who need their parents and they respond differently. The hospital, the surgery, the recovery brings back all the memories of the accident for Luke, and he talks about it some, but I know he also wants this event to finally be behind him even though it has shaped him and will always be a part of him. Jess, at ten years old, has been through the trauma with us and although we wish he never had to go through what he did and see what he did, God knew, and it will be used for good in his life somehow.

Last night Steve and I slowly walked up the stairs after a long day. As we got to the top, Shea opened her door and said, "Hey, do you guys want to go downstairs for a snack and talk?" YES!! She was her old self. It's interesting that her Nepridine ran out and Dr. MacKay said he would not refill it. Alleve, Tylenol and others will have to work for now. Being off the narcotics so quickly was a surprise to us, but we're happy to help her manage the pain in different ways and have Shea back. Shea dipped graham crackers in milk until they practically fell apart, and you would think we served her a gourmet meal!

"O, taste and see that the Lord is good!"

Steve and Susan

Shea's Home

2006-07-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

We didn't post last night as we had no internet connection. All of the posts have been very encouraging as we have had a tough time making Shea comfortable. As soon as we think we have the perfect med mix, she surprises us with intense pain.

Today Shea has pretty much slept all day and is now in bed for the night. It has been three days since the surgery, and her spirits are way down. She sat at the table and drank her broth and yogurt and didn't speak. When we asked her things she didn't answer. Then after awhile in Shea's sweet style she apologized for not being "up" for us, and we assured her that this is her time to heal and be quiet if she needs to be. Of course, being on a narcotic alters your mind, and she has had a few hallucinations which bother her since it takes her back to the drug withdrawal horror in Macon. We're praying that the Meperidine can be reduced soon.

Thank you for praying for healing, strength . . . and maybe joy in the morning too.

Love,

Steve and Susan

Quick Update

2006-07-18T22:54:00.000-05:00

Thank you for uttering "Shea" throughout the night and today. We loved all the comments you shared with us. As I sat by Shea's bedside this morning she asked me to read the blog. As we read one after another we both cried. There were many long pauses as I just couldn't get through them. Shea is utterly amazed that all of you are steadfast prayer warriors who are not giving up. To those of you whom Shea has not even met before, she wanted me to give you a special, "Thank you" for allowing God to "enlarge your hearts" to pray fervently for her.

I guess you could say it was a "newborn baby" night. Up and down quite a bit. They started Shea on four mg of Morphine, and it didn't quite last the two hours that it is supposed to. The last twenty minutes or so before she could receive her medicine I tried to keep her mind occupied -- sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. By morning though, Shea was up to six mg and she was doing very well. She stayed in ICU until late this afternoon and was then wheeled to a regular pediatric floor. What a difference. As soon as we got there it was time for her medicine. They gave her a lower dose of a different medicine! It wasn't working, and Shea was beside herself. The doctor was called and he said she could have the morphine but a lower dosage. It seems that the change was too abrupt and we tried our best to get the doctor called again and keep Shea comfortable at the same time, but it was a tough few hours. Steve is spending the night with her, and he just called to say that everything is fine and she's finally resting well.

Shea is more swollen today but not as much as we thought she would be. Dr. McKay came in today and said, "Shea, I thought you would be a pumpkin head this morning." She is wearing an elastic bandage that looks like a stocking cap around her neck and head as a compression for the cranial incision. When we ask her where the pain is, she says, my head, my face and my mouth. We're trusting that each day will get easier and the pain will be manageable as they gradually lower the dosage over the next few weeks.

Love and thanks to all of you --

The Hickoks

Surgery Successful!

2006-07-17T17:56:00.000-05:00

This morning we awakened Shea and when she looked at us we thought she would groan and roll over, but she smiled and said, "Good morning." As she prepared to go to the hospital we heard her singing in her room. It was surprising to us as she has been very nervous the last few days. On our eleven-hour flight home from Italy her leg nervously shook. We had kept busy for two weeks and now the reality was setting in as she realized the surgery was in a couple days. So it was encouraging to all of us that she was in such high spirits.

Our whole family went together to the hospital this morning, and Shea chatted with the nurses as they prepped her for surgery. She said that she was excited about the party. When we asked her, "What party?" She said, "You know, the party in my room tonight"! We all prayed together again, and then the doctors came in. We asked her if she was nervous and she said, "Not at all -- I don't know why I'm so calm." Then we all smiled as she realized a host of friends and family were already busy uttering her name to our Lord. Thank you so much for your prayers. As the nurse wheeled her away I heard her ask Shea is she was nervous and Shea said, "No, I'm really excited." So when emotions would normally be really high, the four of us had a restful time this afternoon. Some of our great friends stopped by to pray with us and help time fly, and it did.

After 4 1/2 hours, Dr. Nunn and Dr. McKay came out to say that the surgery was very successful! Dr. Mills, Shea's dental surgeon, and his assistant observed the surgery and took many pictures of the different procedures. They grafted bone from her skull and utilized it in the eye orbit area. They broke her cheek bone and eye orbit area in three different places. Dr. Nunn also broke her hard palate and expanded it a centimeter. Unfortunately Shea's three front temporary teeth could not be saved, and we're not sure yet how long she'll have to go without them. This is tough for a nineteen-year-old.

They wheeled Shea out of recovery, and we were able to see her for a short while. We were surprised that she looks somewhat swollen but so good. The nurse said that she'll be more swollen tomorrow, but it was nice to hear her voice. She whispered to us, "Jesus got me through it." She was in a lot of pain and still is. They are trying to regulate her medication with morphine, but since her body has built up such a tolerance to medication, they're having a hard time keeping Shea comfortable. She is in ICU so we know she will be watched very carefully. One parent is allowed to spend the night in the room, so it's Mom's night tonight! Please pray for a pain-free restful night.

Before Shea's surgery she talked to us about "the peace that passes all understanding." She related that she would never begin to understand that verse if she had never known suffering. So even though it's hard to watch your child suffer, we continue to thank God for the trials as He "breaks" and molds our little girl and prepares her for a deeper walk with Him.

We cannot thank you enough for your kind words and prayers. We read the latest comments to Shea this morning, and we could tell she was hanging onto every word. Thank you!

Much love,

The Hickoks

Waiting

2006-07-02T21:52:00.000-05:00

"Since ancient times no one has heard, no one has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him." Isaiah 64:4

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a long time since we last posted. We have enjoyed reading different family members share their experiences with Shea as they have recently spent time with her.

The past month has consisted of doctors' appointments almost daily. A couple weeks ago we went to an endodontist that Dr. Mills, Shea's dental surgeon, recommended to us. He was to give Shea a root canal, but after about twenty minutes Dr. Rousseau came out to tell me that he would not be able to save the tooth. He had already called Dr. Mills who said to send her over immediately to have the tooth pulled. We drove to Dr. Mills' office, and after awhile he came out to the waiting room to talk to me. He said that he might not be able to pull the tooth after all, and we may need to send her to another doctor who can completely sedate her and pull the tooth. Dr. MIlls said, "We cannot underestimate the seriousness of this as the roots of the tooth are right by the plate and screws holding her jaw together." I told him that I trusted his judgment and knew he would make the right decision. A little later Dr. MIlls came out with his head down -- I asked him if he pulled it. "I did." I was thrilled and told him that I had prayed for him. He looked away and I thought it was a little strange even though he had told us many visits before that he is not a religious man. I asked him what he was thinking and he looked at me, blinking his eyes and said, "Thanks for praying."

We went to see Dr. Nunn, one of the plastic surgeons who will be performing Shea's surgery. This was our last pre-op visit, and Shea had a lot of questions for him. They have changed some of the plans for the surgeries. Instead of three surgeries ahead of her, Shea has four. The first surgery this month they will do the headband incision from the top of her head down to her ear. They will then graft bone from her skull to place in the eye orbit area. Her left eye needs to be raised one centimeter. He could see that Shea does not have complete use of the nerves in her forehead even though we, with the untrained eye, cannot tell. He said that it could still come with time but that may be as good as it will get. They will also break her hard palette and an expander has already been placed in the roof of her mouth. At this point, her bottom jaw is wider than her top jaw, and of course, the top jaw should be wider than the bottom.

Last Saturday we had an appointment with Dr. Mills for a bone graft. Shea was lightly complaining about it and asked if we could just cancel our appointment this one time. I thought it was strange that our appointment was for 4:00 on Saturday, but he has been so good to work us into his busy schedule, so off we went. I decided that I would just drop Shea off and do some shopping down the street and wait for her to call me when she was finished. About fifteen minutes later Shea called and said, "Mom, you might want to come back here. There are 68 doctors here who are going to observe my bone graft, and Dr. Mills wants me to share my story with all of them." I chucked my shopping basket, drove back to the office and opened the door to the office to hear the first song on Shea's CD blaring! On the second floor Dr. Mills has a 90-seat theater and a glassed-in area with a dental chair. After Shea and Dr. Mills spoke they suited up for the surgery. Shea saw me standing in the back and we both shook our heads and rolled our eyes. Always drama!! The attention was a little overwhelming, and she begged Dr. Mills to turn off the CD but he just carried on! And here we thought it was just another routine dental appointment! A screen came down from the ceiling and Dr. Mills wore a camera on his head and a microphone. He taught as he worked, mixing together synthetic bone, Shea's own blood and a saline solution. It was fascinating to see his skillful work. The two teeth that had to be pulled now have synthetic bone waiting to heal for eventual implants. Many of the dentists gathered around me in the back and asked a lot of questions about the accident. Once again, I was asked how we got Dr. Mills as our dental surgeon. Shea and I laughed as we wondered if we really looked that down and out! One dentist told me that Dr. Mills is the best in his field and probably the top 1% in the world in dental surgery. We are blessed with who we believe are the best doctors possible for the work that needs to be done in Shea's body.

Shea's great friend, Kelly Limmer from Scottsdale, AZ, has been here the last ten days with Shea. Kelly and her mom flew to Macon the day after the accident to be by Shea's side and to be a support to our family. It has been great to hear the girls laughing in Shea's room just like old times. They have filled every minute with fun times, and we know this has helped Shea's nerves as the date of her surgery gets closer and closer. Kelly, we have loved having you here!

Tonight we got back from the annual Anderson family reunion in TN. It was great to be with family and once again share our appreciation for our family's loving help during our most difficult time. Tomorrow morning all five of us are leaving on a trip of a lifetime -- we're going to Italy! All of us are excited about this amazing opportunity. We get back July 14th and Shea's surgery is scheduled for Monday, July 17th at 12:45 pm at Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta. We have waited for many months for this next surgery, and now we are seeing the date quickly approaching. We appreciate your prayers for Shea's good health and for the doctors as they perform the surgery. We are told that the surgery will last from 4-5 hours. Dr. Salama, Shea's orthodontic specialist and Dr. Mills will be observing as Dr. Nunn and Dr. McKay perform the surgery.

Kelly Limmer will write the next update from AZ after she gets home, and we will update all of you as to the outcome of the surgery. Thank you for your continued interest and prayers for Shea. The waiting gets long for her, but she has seen God's faithfulness each day.

Love to all of you --

The Hickoks