Noah's Story
Noah was a typical toddler. He loved to run, climb, slide, play in the dirt, and "drive" Daddy's lawn mower. His favorite tv show was Seasame Street, and he adored Elmo. He was very strong-willed, and has been known to throw a tantrum or two! He had always been on track with every aspect of his development, until the beginning of November, 2009. I noticed that he acquired a limp on his right side. Several days later John mentioned that Noah had stopped running when he chased him around the house. As we noticed Noah becoming more unstable, falling more often, and walking into walls/doors, worry began to set in. On Monday November 16, 2016, I took him to his pediatrician, suspecting he had an ear infection, which could possibly explain his problems. There was no infection, so we were told to come back in a week if the problems persisted. That Thursday I watched him play with children several months his junior and my heart began to break. He would wobble around the room with his eyes set on a particular toy, but before he could reach it another child would run and scoop it up. The frustration in his eyes was enough for me to realize something wasn't right. I scheduled an appointment with his doctor for the next day. Friday morning he woke up vomiting, and continued until we came to the doctors office. He was dehydrated so she had him admitted to Huntsville Hospital, and asked them to evaluate his leg also. Through several conversations with nurses and doctors John and I began to realize this was a much bigger problem than a stomach virus and an injured leg.
We thought Noah was going to be left-handed; he was beginning use that hand more and more. His right eye began to turn in slightly. And of course there was the issue with his leg not working as well. As we began to look back over the past few weeks we realized our normal, perfectly healthy baby boy had not been himself at all. When the doctor on call couldn't give us any answers she ordered a CT scan of his brain.
You know that "gut-feeling" that something really bad was happening? That's when I got it. I interpret that feeling as the Holy Spirit trying to prepare me for the news that was coming. We waited and waited. The sweet nurse on call, Katie, came in and informed us Noah didn't need to eat or drink anything else. That was all she said. John and I assumed they needed to do an MRI which meant either a) they couldn't get a good read of his brain w/ the CT or b) they were able to read it and it was bad. We waited and waited some more. Family and friends had come and gone, and John, myself, my mom, and sweet Noah were the ones present when we got the news.
When the doctor pulls up a chair and looks like she's going to cry it's never a good sign. So I was as ready as I could be. "This is not good. The CT scan shows a mass on his brain. We need to get him to Birmingham as soon as possible." It was like something from a movie, or an out of body experience. From that moment on, we knew this was out of our control. We are weak, but He is strong, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness. To God be the glory. Noah had his first helicopter ride to Children's Hospital that night, with His angles following close beside.
Read his full story through the blog.
