1 month until Chicago, means 1 month till surgery

July 19th will be here before we know it.  Can't believe Brayden will be having his 1st tissue expander surgery next month.  Brayden and mommy will be flying to Chicago on July 17th, then the following day we will do a pre-op appointment with Dr. Bauer to go over things that will be happening the day of surgery.

Bright and early on July 19th, Brayden will be going in for surgery.  It should only last a few hours and if everything is good, back to the hotel we will go.  We are lucky that my parents live in Iowa and they will drive to Chicago to be with us, that saves money on renting a car. Also for this stay my dad cashed in some of his points with his timeshare, so we can stay at a hotel.  So that helps us out alot as well. 

In the mean time Brayden needs to stay healthy, that way his surgery doesn't get postponed.  So that means no playing with his friends for the next month. I also want to keep him out of the swimming pool, just in case he would get some kind of infection.  Better safe then sorry!

When Brayden goes for surgery, they will be putting in 2 tissue expanders on his flanks.  One on each side and over the 12 weeks that he has his tissue expanders in, we will fill each expander with saline.  Each week the expanders will get bigger and bigger and stretching his "good, normal" skin.  Then after the 12 weeks which is October 11th, back to Chicago Brayden & daddy go to get the expanders removed and Dr. Bauer will stretch the good skin down and cut out the nevus skin and stitch the skin and let it heal for 4 months.  Then we repeat all over again 2 more times.  This is a work in progress, so I can't wait to get it started next month.  We have a long road ahead of us, but with the amazing talent that Dr. Bauer has, I am trusting him with Brayden and I know he will be fine. 

As always please continue to pray for Brayden and if you haven't bought a cookbook yet, please let me know.  You can also buy them from our blog.  We really appreciate all the support we have been getting, it's just amazing how people come together in time of need.

Some of you that hasn't seen Brayden in person, doesn't know what his nevus looks like.  Since surgery is around the corner, here are some before pictures. 



Brayden will get 2 tissue expanders by his flanks, one on each side





Big THANK YOU to Stephanie Zeiders & her friends

It's just amazing how supportive people have been with Brayden.  Last night Geoffrey's co-worker Stephanie stopped over with a bunch of items that she gathered from her bible group and other close friends.  We were so amazed of all the things she brought over.  We would like to thank everyone that have donated towards Brayden.  It means the world to us and thank you for having such kind hearts!



Here are the items that Stephanie brought over last night

Brayden so excited for all the support he has!

Brayden in the outfit someone donated...so cute!

Such a big boy now, he can hold his own bottle!

 Brayden with the frog someone gave him, he loves it!

7 months old! And more cookbooks are here!

Yesterday 340 more cookbooks arrived! So please let me know if you would like some.  I have half the cookbooks in Arizona and half in Iowa.  So if you live in Iowa, my mom can give you the cookbook.  We can also ship anywhere in the United States.

When we first ordered our cookbooks, we thought 300 was a lot and we didn't know we would have such a great support system and that people would be so caring and kind and buy them.  But we were WRONG and everyone has been so supportive and helping us out with buying cookbooks and donating to us.  It means the world to us that people are behind us and Brayden. 

One of Geoffrey's co-workers, Stephanie has been amazing and she belongs to a bible study group and they have all been buying cookbooks and also putting together items for Brayden, like diapers, wipes, formula, etc. to help us out.  One lady, named Pam has been so kind and is donating a round trip airfare to Chicago for us.  So kind of her to do that and especially since she hasn't even met us yet.  Just amazing to Geoffrey & I how supportive people have been, family & friends that know us and even people who have never met us. 

Next month Brayden & I will be going to Chicago on July 17th for his 1st tissue expander surgery, can't believe it's almost here! I am ready to start this process, but not excited about my baby going under and having surgery and having the expanders in for 12 weeks.  It has to be done and I know he will be in good hands since he is going to the top doctor in the world for this, Dr. Bauer!

In the mean time, my little guy needs to get better.  I got sick last week with the flu and then of course, I passed it along to Brayden.  He has been sick for a week now, just wish he would get better.  At least if he's going to be sick, I'm glad it's now and not next month right before he his surgery. 

Yesterday Brayden turned 7 months old! Where is the time going?! He is becoming such a big boy, he feeds himself puffs now, he knows how to open his mouth and eat baby food and he knows how to melt our hearts.  He is such a joy to be around and I am so blessed to have this little guy as my son.  He still isn't crawling, which is fine by me, that way I know where he is and he's not getting into everything :)