Kai's Lip

Kai's lip....long story, but not one I wanted to forget. It was kind of a big deal for this little 4-year-old. In February (while still living in Peru), Kai came home from school with a little bump on this lip. At first I just thought it was a bug bite (because those are common there), but it never went away. And, eventually it got bigger and vascular. After going to the doctor a couple times (in Peru and the States) and being told it was nothing to worry about and would go away on its own...it started bleeding.

We went to the doctor again and got a referral to a dermatologist but it started bleeding again and wasn't stopping very easy. At that point the doctor told us the best thing to do was to take him to the emergency room at Seattle Children's Hospital. We left right away and headed over to Seattle. Can I just say...best move ever. Seattle Children's was awesome. It was a long, long day. But they were awesome. Because we had been in Peru, they brought in an Infectious Disease Team. It was sort of freaky, but they thought it might be a parasite from a sand fly. If this was the case it was very serious and would involve a lengthy, in depth treatment. They wanted to do a biopsy and asked if we thought Kai would stay still for it. At this point he was basically flailing around in the hospital bed because he hadn't eaten or slept all day. Let's just say, I was skeptical. Tyson on the other hand didn't hesitate in his answ

er. Absolutely. He could do it. So, we came back the next day, preparing Kai the whole way...YOU HAVE TO STAY STILL! They put a little numbing medicine on before hand so he wouldn't feel the shots and then they needed to shave off the lesion. Here he is after the numbing medicine and before the procedure..all smiles.

Grady and I headed to the hall so that we wouldn't be a distraction for Kai or the doctors....we ate lots of Cherrios to stay quiet:)

The doctors came out a few minutes later and said "your son is a rockstar". We have adults that move more and make more of a fuss. I was so proud of him. Daddy was in there with him and was incredibly proud as well. He was numb but good and we left to wait for the results of the biopsy.

Less than a week later it began to grow back. Even bigger. We got the initial results back and the diagnosis was pyogenic granuloma...basically excessive healing tissue.

In the end we scheduled surgery with a plastic surgeon to remove the growth. This time he would have to be put under and they would have to go much deeper to get all of it. Here is Kai saying goodbye to his granuloma....he named it Joshua 1:9. Maybe because he knew he needed to be strong and courageous. I have no idea what made him come up with that name...but it was adorable.

And here he is after the surgery. He did great and was very brave. Love this kid. And love those doctors. It is no fun to have a kid in need of a hospital. And I can't even imagine being there for some of the serious things so many of those kiddos were there for. But we are thankful for Seattle Children's and the staff. We are especially thankful for the Lord and his timing and his hand on this whole situation. Kai's insurance began the day we had to take him to the emergency room. Don't know what we would have done had this happened a couple months earlier. Praise the Lord for his provision! And thank you Lord for our sweet boy Kai. He constantly amazes me and makes me such a proud mama.