Nathan's One Year Anniversary

Today is a milestone day for our family, particularly Nathan. It was one year ago today that Nathan received his liver transplant. We received the call on Christmas day that a liver was available for him. We had been celebrating the day at Aunt Melinda's house when we received the call. It came as a total surprise even though Nathan had been waiting for a little over a month. We had no idea when the call might come but it was none too soon. Nathan was becoming sicker and sicker. Here he is on Christmas night at UAB waiting to go to surgery.

The picture below is on December 26, 2007, just a few hours after his surgery was completed. Today we are celebrating the gift of life he was given one year ago. Nathan has had a wonderful year of good health with only a few bumps in the road. He is enjoying second grade. He loves his dog, Sunny. He is a huge fan of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Chronicles of Narnia and of course Scooby Doo. Today and throughout the past year it has been hard not to compare each occasion to the one a year before. Nathan's birthday, the start of summer, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas have all given us reason to celebrate. We celebrate Nathan's life. We contemplate how much different this year is than last. We are now concernced with normal stuff, not life and death. We think about the gift of life given by an organ donor and we wonder about what the donor was like and we think of his family. We thank God for loving us and for all of our blessings. Today especially I can't help but remember all of the many people who have loved us and supported us throughout the year. All of those who spent the night at the hospital with us while Nathan was in the surgery and those who took care of every little need we had over those first days, I will never ever forget their kindness and their presence. Nathan actually remembers the night he went to surgery and he remembers so many people who were there and he remembers playing jingle bells on the guitar and singing for everyone. It was a tremendously special night for us and I will never forget the prayers that were lifted up for him. Happy first liver birthday Nathan.

All of the pictures below are from our Make-A- Wish trip to Give Kids the World and Orlando. There were so many pictures I could have included, these are just a few.

It was cold and dreary when we left Birmingham and we packed way to much stuff!

All of the boys were able to go to the cockpit and meet the pilots.

Nathan even got to wear the captain's hat.

Florida was sunny, 80's and beautiful.

Our first day at Disney.

Nathan was thrilled to meet Scooby and Shaggy.

Curious George is another favorite.

Stephen and Harrison with the guys from The Mummy.

At Give Kids the World, Nathan was given a star by the star fairy. He was able to write his name on it and then it was placed on the ceiling in the Castle of Miracles. He was then able to go and find it on the ceiling. His is the last one here on the third row. The room is absolutely beautiful with a star present on the ceiling for each child who has stayed there.

The village had a great heated pool and the boys enjoyed swimming in December.

Each day different characters came to Give Kids the World so we avoided the long lines at the parks to meet them. Here is Goofy, Mary Poppins and Pluto. Pluto is Nathan's favorite.

All of us with Mickey and Minnie

Santa came to visit on Thursday night and gifts were passed out to all of the children. We even had snow in Florida on this special night.



This is the street we stayed on. Our villa is the one on the left. It really is a little village filled with families who have children who have all been through, or are going through amazing challenges. It is such an wonderful place. They go out of their way to make the kids feel special and give them a week of no worries and only happy memories. The very first thing they did was sit us down to go over a few things, and the volunteer told Nathan that he was the boss for the week and that we had to do whatever he wanted to do. Kind of scary, huh? I was a little worried, but he didn't let it go to his head. I know that they do this on purpose to let these children feel like they have a little control in a life full of medical challenges. For Nathan, a life that revolves around us telling him when to take medicine, when to have labs done, go to the doctor, etc.. The village also has a free ice cream shop open all day long. How great is that? The village is staffed by some regular employees but mostly the place is run by a staff of volunteers. The volunteers range from older adults living in the area to college students performing community service, to youth groups spending a week serving others. Truly amazing. I wish that I could tell you all about the place and the many special things that made this trip so wonderful. I just don't have enough space.

This picture was taken yesterday on Christmas day. I love these boys dearly. Wow. What a difference a year makes. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the entire Shelton family.

Home Sweet Home

We made it home from Disney and had an absolutely wonderful time. I thought I might post some during the week, but we did not have wireless access in our room. I would have had to walk to the front check in / guest area which was a nice little walk down the road (and after walking all day at the parks, I just couldn't walk anymore!). I can't wait to tell you all about it and post some pictures (hopefully tomorrow). We stayed at Give Kids The World which is an amazing place. They work closely with wish organizations like Make-A Wish who sponsored Nathan's trip to Disney. I am off to unpack and get some sleep. Tomorrow I might actually start my Christmas shopping then I will post again with some pictures. Good Night!

...Busy I guess!

Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything. I can't say exactly why - just busy I guess. After several months of doing great, Nathan has had a couple of set backs this summer. Nothing unexpected post-transplant- CMV infection, fever off and on, low blood counts. This has led to a couple of hospital stays and frequent clinic visits for labs and such. The good thing is - Nathan has felt great throughout it all. We've enjoyed time at the lake. We added a new addition to our family with an adorable golden retriever puppy named Sunny. We went on a wonderful vacation to the beach which Nathan (and all of us) thoroughly enjoyed. So I would say all in all we have had a pretty fun summer. I was quite surprised last week when Nathan's labs were abnormal and he was unable to start back to school due to his increased risk of infection. Tomorrow we head back to clinic once again with hopes that things are improved and Nathan will be able to start second grade on Tuesday. The first few months after transplant I was surprised at how easy (relatively speaking) everything seemed. Of course it still seemed huge to think that Nathan had received a liver transplant and the medication regimen was an adjustment. But I have come to see in the last couple of months that this first year after transplant is kind of like a roller coaster ride - lots of highs and lows and it really is a whirlwind. I keep hearing that after the first year things tend to settle down. Hopefully things will settle down for him before that one year mark. Nathan is such a blessing though, as are all the boys. He has such a sweet little spirit and finds tremendous joy in the smallest things - finding sand dollars on the beach, waiting on the "ice cream man," spending hours playing with Sunny, bird watching in the park. What an amazing little boy he is and I am so thankful for the gift of life that he has received that has allowed him to have such an enjoyable summer - even despite the little bumps in the road.

Organ Donation

I saw this video (just click on the link) posted on Liver Families today and thought that I would share it with you. It is about a young boy in Dallas who received a liver transplant from a young drowning victim. Maybe it is not the most upbeat of topics but it was certainly a reminder to me of Nathan's gift of life. At times it is hard to think of the loss of life on the other side of transplant, but it is a very real fact that another life was lost so that the life of my child (my Nathan) could be saved. I think that it takes amazing courage for donor families, who undoubtably are facing the hardest moments of their lives, to choose to give life to others. In many instances, maybe the family knew the wishes of the donor. But even so, I still imagine it is a hard decision. In Nathan's case, a 16 year old young boy (16 seems younger and younger to me as the boys get older) died in a car accident on Christmas Day. Can you imagine? I don't ever want to forget the sacrifice that they made for Nathan. I want to remember every day. Each day that he can get up and do normal things like play with his new puppy or go to the library, play with his brothers, eat ice cream or ride a bike is because of an organ donor. And of course because of our great God who is so faithful. If you have ever considered being an organ donor, tell those you love. You might just have the opportunity to give life.

Pictures!

I thought I would share a few pictures from the hospital. Nathan is very glad to be home. We go back to transplant clinic in the morning to see how he is doing, recheck labs, etc.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Nathan, Harrison, and Andrew are very blessed to have a wonderful daddy who loves them very much and takes great care of them. Happy Father's Day Stephen!


Nathan sleeping at the hospital


Getting ready for biopsy

On his way!

Waiting to go home

Hello Again!

I am not sure if anyone out there is still checking in. I am sure it has seemed as if I had given up on my little blog. I don't know about you all, but May has been the busiest month with all of the end of the year get togethers and parties. It is almost as busy as the month of December!


I have been thinking about what to write about, and there are a number of things I could share with you from the past month. We spent several days at the lake last week for Memorial Day. This was our first time at the lake for the summer. For those of you who don't know, the Shelton's love the lake. We have a place on Smith Lake, and we try to stay there as much as we can during the summer months. All of the boys love the water and have grown up swimming and spending summers at the lake. Last summer when Nathan was being evaluated for transplant, we learned that he would not be able to swim in the lake after transplant. This will sound crazy - but of all the things I heard that day, this probably made me the most sad. I realize in the grand scheme of things, this should have been the least of my worries. And I have been able to put things in perspective since then. But, with the first lake visit of this summer upon us, I wondered what it would be like for Nathan. He has always loved to swim, swim, swim - probably more than anyone else in the family. I must say that he was really great though. The other boys swam, rode the inner tube and all the usual stuff and Nathan did not complain. For those of you who know Nathan well, you know that he is extremely strong willed. If he wants to do something bad enough, he can make it hard for everyone with his fussing (I say that very lovingly)! But he was great. There were times when I could tell that he was disappointed and he would quietly say, "I wish that I could......" It did make me a little bit sad that he couldn't do things that he has always loved doing. Nathan found so many other things to do, thanks primarily to my dad. Nathan got to ride in the canoe, go on a late night fishing trip, play in the sprinkler, play in the sand.... all of these things were a treat for him and made him feel special and not left out. I thought that I would share a few pictures.

Now that I have told you about our Memorial Day - I have to tell you that I was looking for a new song to play on the blog, and I came across a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that I had not heard before called Moment Made for Worshipping. I think that God led me to this particular song. I never intended for anything I said above about swimming or not swimming to be negative, but I think this song was a gentle reminder to me that each and every moment is special. Our summer may be a little different from before, but often times we can learn fun, new things when given the opportunity. Nathan may find lots of new interests that he can enjoy. I am so very thankful that we are able to have fun, happy and healthy days. This was not a reality for us just a few months back. Each and every day, each and every moment we are given is special and is a moment made for worshipping, a chance to be thankful for the blessings in our lives. It can be easy to get caught up in our worries and in the day to day things of life. I know I struggle with this. But isn't each and every day a gift? When you might be tempted to do a little complaining this week (like me!), remember the words of this song and take a moment to worship and thank God for the blessings in your life. Check out the words below:

6:30 Monday morning
I'm here hiding in my bed
A song plays on my alarm clock
As I cover up my head
And somewhere in the distance
I remember yesterday
Singing "Hallelujah"
Full of wonder, awe and grace
But now I'm just wondering
Why I don't feel anything
At all
CHORUS:
This is a moment made for worshipping
Cause this is a moment I'm alive
And this is a moment I was made to sing
A song of living sacrifice
For every moment that I live and breathe
This is a moment made for worshipping
When I'm praying with my children
As they're running off to school
When I kiss my wife good morning
Just to say I still love you
When I'm feeling loved and happy
When I'm feeling all alone
When I'm failing to remember
All the love that I've been shown
Every single beat of my heart
Is another new place to start
To know
CHORUS
Every single beat of my heart
Is another new place to start
Right now
CHORUS
From the rising of the sun
To the setting the sun
The name of the Lord is worthy to be praised

Celebration of Life

Last Saturday, April 19th was the Celebration of Life Picnic at UAB. This is an annual event for organ recipients, donor families and family and friends. I had been looking forward to the event for a couple of reasons. For one, I really wanted to see a large number of recipients gathered together. I know that there are lots of organ recipients out there but at times it seems as if Nathan is the only one. This gathering reaffirmed to me that he is part of a larger community. It was also really nice to see and meet others who are several years post transplant and who are living full lives. It gives us hope for the future.

It was also a great opportunity to honor the many donor families who were present. Several families brought hand made quilt squares to represent their loved one and to hang on a memorial quilt. It was so touching to hear moms, dads, husbands and wives speak. There were many present who had lost their loved one during the past year. They were obviously grieving for life that was lost far too soon. There was one father who spoke that particularly touched me. His son passed away in November and became an organ donor. He had only recently graduated from college and had married to a wonderful young woman (she was also present). He had been married for a few short months when he lost his life in an accident. This family was obviously devastated. The father spoke about how for the very first time since his son's death he felt a sense of peace from seeing all of the organ recipients living life. It of course did not take away his grief, but he said that it helped to see that his son's life and donation will leave a lasting impact. Hearing stories such as his make me even more thankful for Nathan's donor and donor family. His donor was a 16 year old young man who also lost his life far too soon on Christmas day. Somewhere I know that his family is still grieving. It especially makes me aware of the need to always live our lives in a way that is worthy of the gift of life that we have been given. Of course we should always do that, but this was my reminder. After each of the donor families spoke, butterflies were released into the sky as a way to honor the donors and as a reminder that life is fleeting for each and every one of us.



The picnic was also an opportunity to encourage organ donation and to celebrate life. To see all of the people affected by organ donation, just in our area was very humbling. It truly makes the impact of organ donation real. I hope that we all celebrate life each day. It is not just about those who have received the gift of life through organ donation. It is all of us. For our family, the past few months have made us more aware of the frailty of life. There are things that I could worry about or be stressed about, but I try to stop myself. I think I have a new sense of what is important and what is not. So much of what we fret over is just trivial in the grand scheme of things. I know that for sure. So whether you have been affected by organ donation or not - celebrate life today.

Donate Life Month

April is Donate Life Month. National Donate Life Month was established in 2003. Every day in April, people across the U.S. make a special effort to celebrate the tremendous generosity of those who have saved lives by becoming organ, tissue, marrow, and blood donors and to encourage more Americans to follow their fine example(organdonor.gov). We are so thankful for Nathan's donor and donor family for making the decision to give the gift of life. I have been thinking about the day that we received the call that a liver was available for Nathan. Many people have asked us what that day was like. I thought that I might tell a little bit about it here.

Nathan had been listed for transplant during the middle of November. He had to be removed from the transplant waiting list during December because of an infection. He had been placed back on the list the week before Christmas. Even though he was listed, we didn't have a sense that Nathan's transplant would be right away. We actually did not know what to think. It really depended on who we talked to as far as being given a time table (of course no one really ever knows). We were told that it could be that day or many months away before a match was found. I tell you all that to say that we were not sitting around waiting on the phone to ring. We tried to go ahead and live life as normally as possible, even though thoughts of transplant did dominate our minds.

On Christmas Eve Nathan did not feel very well. He had very little appetite and had been tired all day. When it was time to go to my parents house for dinner, Nathan was lying down on the tile floor in our foryer, because he did not feel well and did not want to walk to the car. He was receiving IV antibiotics four times daily to help clear up his infection. It was very hard to see him so sick and to see his health deteriorating. I remember hoping that his transplant would be soon because it just felt like we were on the verge of him becoming even sicker. At the same time, I could not imagine thoughts of transplant and actually putting Nathan through such a huge surgery. There were just so many unanswered questions and so many unknowns about everything. We really did have to fully place our trust in God. We knew that only He had the answers and only He knew the timing.

Christmas Day arrived and Nathan was so excited. He had received a guitar and a talking parrot that he asked Santa to bring. We had lunch with our family. We had eaten and opened presents and had just begun to let the kids play with their Christmas toys when Stephen happened to notice a couple of missed calls on his cell phone from a number that we did not recognize. I had left my phone in the car (we really were not expecting a call on this day!). Someone suggested that we might should see who had called since after all, weren't we waiting on a call for Nathan! Sure enough, Nathan's transplant surgeon had been trying to call us himself to tell us that a liver was available. We had just gone outside because Harrison had twisted his ankle in the neighbor's yard. I was going across the street to check on him when Stephen yelled over at me that Nathan's physician was on the phone and they had a potential liver for Nathan. I am not sure how I thought I would respond when I heard those words; but when it actually happened, I felt as if the breath had been knocked out of me. There was such a rush of emotions. I was happy, thankful, scared and overwhelmed. At this point I think I was more scared than anything. It took at least an hour before I could really think about what lay ahead of us and the preparations that needed to be made.

We rushed home and started making calls and packing a few things. The next hours would be a blur. What I do remember is an overwhelming outpouring of love and support from family and friends. People began praying. Once at the hospital, all of our family arrived plus many other prayer warriors who came to offer us support and to pray for Nathan. Although we had tried to prepare Nathan a little, I am not sure that he knew what was about to take place. He was really kind of excited and happy and liked all of the people coming to see him. I am so thankful for the outpouring of support that we received on that night. It helped us to remain calm and to have peace about the whole situation. It also made this time happy for Nathan. He played his guitar for whoever would listen. He gave a lovely rendition of Jingle Bells. It was also very humbling that so many folks had left their family gatherings on Christmas to be at the hospital with us. There is so much more that I could tell you about that night. I wish that I could tell you about all of the people that spent the entire night waiting with us praying. I wish that I could tell you about all of the many kind things that our loving church family did to make the experience bearable for us. But then I would be writing for days.

Nathan was taken to surgery around 11:00 on Christmas night. His surgery was completed around 6:30 the next morning. Most of you know the story from there. His surgery was successful from the very beginning. He has not had one single complication. His liver numbers are all normal now. We have been so blessed. We have seen so many answered prayers and we have seen people reach out to us and be the very hands and feet of Jesus to our family. The fact that Nathan was transplanted on Christmas will always be special to us. Of course Christmas has always had special meaning as we celebrated the birth of our Savior, the greatest Gift of all and the One who came to give us eternal life with our Father in heaven. How fitting for us that we can celebrate Nathan's gift of life on this day that we celebrate Jesus' birth.

If you have read this far, thank you. It was helpful for me just to think through that day again and to put my thoughts down. During Donate Life Month, will you join me in being thankful for all of the donors that have made the gift of life possible for Nathan and so many others.



Lora

Back To School!!

Today was a big day in the Shelton household. Nathan had his first day back at school since he had his transplant. He has been at home since early December. Prior to his transplant, Nathan had been in and out of the hospital and was at home receiving IV antibiotics for an infection before Christmas. We received a call on Christmas day that a liver was available for Nathan. What an amazing Christmas gift! Nathan came home from the hospital on January 4th, and since that time he has been at home. I really kind of liked him being at home. While he was here, I felt like I had some control over what things he came in contact with. I hate to say that I kept him in a bubble, but I kind of did! I have made it my goal to keep him away from crowds and out of public and tried my best to keep everything clean around him. All of that had to come to an end today. But it was time. Nathan was so ready to go back to school. He was very excited today, as you can probably tell by the above picture. He could not wait to see his friends. I think he is probably tired of me pulling the camera out for everything though. It is kind of like when you have a new baby and you want to take pictures of all his firsts. I feel like I need to capture all of Nathan's firsts after his transplant. I did try to get him to take one last picture in front of the school and he quickly said, "No" and covered his head up with his jacket! I guess that was his limit. He didn't want to be seen taking a picture by the front door! I walked him to his classroom and he went right in and started unpacking his bag and talking to his friends. I felt like I was leaving him at big school for the very first time. It brought a mixture of emotions. I am thrilled to death that he is back at school and doing so well, but I also have just a little twinge of sadness that he is back in the real world, a world that I have no control over. It was also a reminder to me that God has blessed us tremendously with three wonderful boys, and it is our job as their parents to guide them and direct them and to teach them about God. But when we do that, we then have to turn them over to God and trust that He will protect them. Today I feel like I let Nathan back into the real world, and now I have to trust and have faith that it is the right time and that God will protect him and keep him healthy and safe. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." I can't think of better words to live by today. I pray these verses for all of my boys as well.

Video of Nathan

I have created a video slide show of Nathan from about this time last year through transplant and a few days after. I hope that you enjoy it. You will need to mute the sound on the play list at the bottom of the page in order to hear the music with the slide show.

Make a slideshow - it's easy!