IT'S OVER, IT'S FINAL, HE IS OURS FOREVER!
So with that being said so many people are asking more questions about Jordan and his history and why he is "like he is". Many adoptive parents refrain from telling their child's foster/adoption story because it's their story to tell and while that is so true I feel like its only fair to spread awareness and share his story with those that are praying daily for him, those that have donated time, money, items, oils, clothes, medical supplies and so much more to our family. If you are reading this and are an adoptive parent please know that I am not judging for not sharing your child's story. Jordan's Journey has become a part of so many peoples lives all across the world that we just want to be transparent in the journey. Thank you for supporting Jordan's Journey!
So...how did we get here? Well you can read the last entry to catch up but I will give a little more detail now that everything is final.
November 11, 2015
The unthinkable happened. Jordan suffered abuse at the hands of someone that is supposed to love and care about him more than anyone on this earth. Medical reports show that Jordan had 7 broken ribs and traumatic brain injury, TBI. He was officially diagnoses with Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, HIE, which in laymen's terms means his oxygen was cut off causing brain damage, more than likely being smothered or suffocated. Deep breath. Child abuse is real. Child abuse doesn't only happen to big kids or teenagers when their parents taking discipline to a different level. Child abuse happens to babies, to innocent 12 week old babies too. Paramedics resuscitated Jordan 2 times and again at the hospital. He was in the ICU for almost 4 weeks, during that 4 weeks we were told he most likely wasn't going to get out of the hospital. EVER. We mourned his death in a way. We had only told our closest family about him as we were unsure if we would definitely have the chance to love his baby. I remember getting the phone call and calling my best friend, she reminded me after the adoption that she remembered that day and I told her "I want THAT baby, he is mine!" and we began praying for him from that day on. Little did we know the next week the hospital would call and ask if we would still be willing to take him. We of course said yes. I told you I would be transparent, remember? I thought to myself, are we going to bring this baby home and wait for him to die? Is he going to die? What will that do to my kids? Where will we burry him, since he will be award of the state? Did I really just say yes? More prayers. More tears and a trip to Walmart to buy a car seat and diapers. I walked in his hospital room, signed papers and the nurse briefly told me he has controlled seizures and we think he might have some vision loss. And just like that I packed him up and brought him home. This is the first picture we took of him, just a few minutes after leaving the hospital on December 2, 2015.
The next 14 months were full of ups and down. Full of meetings with teams of doctors, ER visits, close calls, ambulance rides, 911 calls, fights with CPS, investigations over and over, caseworks, case managers, court hearing, heated discussions with attorneys and lots and lots of prayers, tears were a regular thing in our house, either from Jordan or me. We learned a lot over the last 14 months. My boys learned to be flexible, they learned that we don't take one day for granted. They learned that when we pray God hears us. They learned that hospitals are a place we go to get better and that daddy does in fact know how to cook supper and can sign homework. We learned our love for each other is more than we could ever imagine. We learned that we are a team, if one of us is having a bad day they others pick up more of the work. I learned that my husband is incredible, my sons are the most amazing boys I have ever met. I learned they are selfless, they don't question when I will be home during long hospital stays but repeatedly tell me they love me and cant wait until Jordan is better. I learned who our true friends our, the ones that will keep our other boys in the middle of the night, or take off days of work to make it our big day, ones that will jump right in and fix whatever is wrong. I learned what family I can count on in a moments notice, I learned who to call when I need to cry on the way to the ER or to keep me awake following the ambulance. Most importantly I learned the strength that God gives me. Often times people ask "how do you do it?" and my reply is always the same, its not of my strength but of God's. Our family worried a lot about us being so young and taking on so much but I can honestly say God gives us the strength to do this, we don't do this life on our own. We are protected by Him. We are renewed by Him. We are loved by Him. Forever.
For now, he is fed by a G-tube, he is blind, he can not roll over, sit up or crawl. He can smile and laugh and it is glorious. He chokes on his secretions and requires suctioning. He is not able to have bowel movements on his own and we have to occasionally use a catheter to drain his bladder however we haven't done that since December! He has amazing hearing and we do believe he can see light/shadows. He wears a pulse oximeter that measures his heart rate and oxygen level and requires oxygen occasionally. He also has an apnea monitor but hasn't had an apnea episode in 3 weeks. He is immuno-compromised so you may see him with a tiny hospital mask on his face, especially in public and during cold/flu/RSV season. A simple cold will land him in the hospital with pneumonia in a matter of 24 hours. He takes 4 meds 3 times a day, breathing treatments and an inhaler, which isn't to bad for a baby with his difficulties. We spend a lot of time in the hospital.
Today, Jordan is well. Tomorrow may be a different story. He was approved today for 24 hour nursing care, which helps us so much. Many people ask us about his prognosis so here it is: Jordan will write his own story. He is on Palliative care right now, that simply means that if and when we need hospice we will transition very easily over to hospice with the same team of doctors. It also means during the time we have with him this team of doctors will stand by us and celebrate every victory and give us hope for the days, weeks and months to come. His team of doctors have told us that children with the level of brain damage he has don't usually walk or talk. Jordan will write his own story. He can say "mama" and "love you". Children with his level of damage suffer the most because his organ systems will slowly start shutting down the older he gets and his life expectancy is drastically shorter than my healthy kids. Jordan will write his own story. Forever.
Thank you all for praying and supporting us along this journey. The journey is just beginning,
as the days grow longer, milestones, achievements, setbacks come and go we will
need your continued prayers.
We love you. --Jordan's Warriors.
