Noah's Journeynaj

1. Noah’s Journey Born July 27 th , 2008 5lbs 13oz Noah’s Journey

3. We soon realized Noah’s health was not what we thought. At 6wks he started projectile vomiting & after 3wks of testing he was placed on a predigested formula. This helped the vomiting but he would still randomly vomit with no known illness.

4. He developed a kidney infection at 4 months old. He was then tested for kidney reflux & also had an ultrasound to make sure his kidneys were properly developed. All tests were normal. Noah was placed on high dose antibiotics.

5. Other than your occasional cold & ear infections Noah seemed to be doing much better. He always had a smile on his face!

6. Before we knew it he was turning one! Wow how fast time passes!

7. We took Noah on his 1 st trip to the ocean! He had lots of fun but developed a nasty cyst on his gum. By the end of the week we were ready to get him home to the dentist!

8. Once we got home things changed. Noah began spacing out & moving his hands in front of his face. The first time I saw him do this I was overwhelmed with this horrible feeling that there was something seriously wrong with my little bug. I videoed his new behavior & took him to the pediatrician. She thought this might be seizures & wanted to do an EEG & MRI. She scheduled the tests & an appointment with a pediatric neurologist. That day in the office was the day that Noah’s journey began.

9. Noah had a 30 minute sleep deprived EEG. His arms were wrapped tight in a blanket to help restrain him. He screamed & cried until he finally feel asleep. We were terrified! We had never seen Noah so scared. Little did we know this was just the beginning.

11. He then had a MRI of the brain. He was sedated for the MRI.

18. He was such a trooper!

19. His head was so itchy from the glue!

20. But the Playroom made everything better!

21. Today was the day for his CT Scan. He had to get an IV to be sedated. Took forever to get the IV. Once they got it he was sedated & had a reaction to the sedation. Was out of it for almost 10 hours! Very scary!

26. Noah woke up one day from his nap & after taking a couple steps he clasped to the floor screaming in pain. He refused to walk. I took him to the pediatrician who ordered an x-ray of his hip & knee. Again the tests showed nothing! What was happening to my son? Everyone looked at me as if I was crazy & no one could give me answers!

35. On September 22, 2010 our lives were forever changed. I did something I never thought I could do. I laid my son on the operating table & watched as they sedated him. I was then taken out of the operating room. Thank God for the nurse who held me tightly in her arms & walked me very quickly down the hall. For the first time it hit me what was really happening & there was nothing I could do to stop it! This fear no one should every have to feel.

36. We sat in the waiting room with our family by our side. Time stood still. Finally they called & said we are starting the surgery. I didn’t want to know when it started just when it was over. 2 ½ hours later they called & the neurosurgeon said everything went well. He said “Noah should have a much happier brain.” Ah this was music to my ears! We finally get to see our little bug!

37. We went to the PICU & after seeing Noah we quickly realized he was having issues. He had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia & had developed strider causing him to stop breathing. We were terrified! He was repositioned all night to help him breath.

38. The second day we thought would be better but Noah had developed to much acid in his blood & again he was struggling to breath. On top of the breathing difficulties Noah was alert & in lots of pain. He started vomiting mid day. His blood pressure spiked to 188/120 & he began running a low grade fever. I actually thought to myself “what did we let them do to our son!”

39. By the third day he was feeling some better & we were ready to take him home. He did his physical therapy but was still having problems walking. He had difficulty walking for almost 2 weeks after surgery.

40. Noah was released to go home! We were so happy but dreaded the 3 hour trip home. They gave him a big dose of pain meds & he did great. He was so happy to be home & really hungry. This was Noah’s new smile. It really hurt to turn his head.

41. After being home 2 days I noticed Noah wouldn’t eat & he started vomiting again. I called his neurosurgeon & he said to take him to his pediatrician. Noah had developed chemical meningitis & was put on high dose steroids for the next week. 6 days post op

42. After a couple of weeks Noah started getting sick again. He didn’t eat all day & that night he started vomiting. We called the neurosurgeon & he told us to take him to the ER. He was running a low grade temp & had vomited for the an hour & a half. They did blood work & his blood count was elevated. They then decided to transport him to Duke by the critical care life flight ambulance. They arrived at 4am. Only one person could ride up front in the ambulance so Nathan followed us down.

43. After arriving at the hospital Noah had a spinal tap & a CT Scan. The spinal tap was done to rule out bacterial meningitis & hydrocephalus. The CT scan was done to rule out pockets of CSF. Because of Noah's reaction to anesthesia after surgery he was required to have the tests without sedation. He was given a medication to help him forget. It took me, Nathan, & 2 nurses to hold him down while they did the spinal tap. Thank God for Nathans strength because I didn’t know if we could do this & for the meds to help Noah forget that horrible day!

44. All of Noah’s tests were negative. He had developed chemical meningitis for the second time! We were sent home with another round of steroids & prayed for him to recover this time!

45. The steroids worked & within a few days he was feeling much better. He was finally recovering from his surgery! 9 days post op

46. He was feeling so much better! Within a month he was starting to get back to himself! 4 wks post op

47. Noah was scheduled for a repeat MRI 8 weeks after his surgery. He was again sedated but this time had his cousin with him which made him feel much better!

48. The before & after MRIs proves how much better Noah was doing! It was amazing! Before After

49. Each day Noah is getting better!

50. And Better!

51. Noah is 4 months post op & we are amazed at how well he is doing. All of the symptoms before surgery have improved dramatically. He is now enjoying each day of his life! His bad days are few & far between. Each day we see an improvement in Noah. We are praying that he will one day be free of all of his symptoms. For now we will thank God for the improvements that we see with Noah.

52. Noah’s Journey has taught me to never give up! To always follow your heart!

53. Noah, The day that I held you in my arms for the first time I never dreamed that you would have to go through so much. You are the most amazing little boy I have ever met. Your courage, bravery, & strength amazes me. My promise to you: I will never stop holding your hand. I will always be here for you & I will never give up on my fight to help you become 100 percent better! I love you my little bug!