A Father’s Heart: Watching My Son’s Struggle and Finding Strength in Community
I’ve called Emmaus’ surgery the “One-Ton Concrete Block That Broke the Camel’s Back.”
Most people know I’m a pretty durable guy, but this one just rocked me. I knew it would be a difficult recovery for Emmaus, but seeing him in that vulnerable state with bandages covering his eyes, and then, the most disturbing moment of my life—when they took the bandages off. The face of the boy we’d all bonded with was no more, and my two-year-old, now severely swollen and all, was weeping in a tone I’ve never heard in all my thirty-six years of family and ministry. I would soon follow suit in the weeks that followed.
The event seemed just to unravel everything else—insecurity about my ability to perform at Oxford; uncertainty about fundraising, etc.; all the travel in and out of England over the last couple of years (basically revolving around our lack of proper U. K. residency permits; they’re really expensive)—it all just finally caught up with me. Things became really, really difficult. For the first time in my life, I'm now working through it all with a counselor. I’m now able to communicate with our friends from afar, and I am so thankful for the continued prayers and encouragement of our family and friends in Oxford as we move into the next season of Emmaus’ healing and as we take on year three of three before graduation.
The good news is Emmaus’ surgery was a total success! We had done our research on the best surgeon in the world for his very rare kind of “BPES”—a squinting of the eyes involving vertical flaps inhibiting the inner eyelids from opening. As promised, somewhere in month two or three of the recovery, the swelling is resolving, and we now see our boy who can see clearly for the first time, and through eyes that, as it turns out, resemble his daddy’s at that age!!
While there were some very concerning complications in the initial recovery–a stitch coming undone and an accident that almost seriously harmed Emmaus’ right eye—we now appear to be out of the woods. Last week, we crossed a massive milestone in Emmaus’ healing; we could finally let water on his face and give him a proper shower, which is always a highlight of his day. He just kept asking me to shampoo his hair over and over again, and with a big toothy smile saying, “Emmaus’ healing! Emmaus’ healing!”
Our little boy still has some healing to go (as do I). He still has some stitches (mean’t to dissolve over time) and some ongoing bruising/swelling. We’ll be excited to post our first proper family portrait again soon —likely towards the end of October.
We are SO DEEPLY GRATEFUL for everyone who has carried us through: That church that paid for our flights and accommodations and Sarah’s parents who supported us on the trip to Dr. Ramón Medel in Spain, and the rest of our family and friends who have cared for us in this time. We sincerely believe with all our hearts that this grace has contributed to results that appear to be some of the surgeon Dr. Ramón Medel’s best work to date!
We are so thankful for our community and look forward to bright days ahead. Continued prayer is appreciated.