Our Miracle Boy

On November 16, 2006 we did not know that our lives would be changed forever.
I still can hear the sirens, see the flashing lights, remember our uncontrollable crying out, and then the sound of the chopper taking him from us. "He's in your hands now Lord we prayed."

(For more details of that night read my letter to Nathaniel.)

Well, here we are now 1 year later to tell WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE FOR US!

Nathaniel suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury. One major opperation he underwent and overcame was a Ventriculostomy. It is a neurological surgical procedure. It is done by surgically placing a tube through the skull such that it terminates in the ventricle of the brain. Ventriculostomy is done primarily to monitor the intracranial pressure as well as to drain CSF (primarily) or blood to relieve pressure from the CNS.

Here are some photos of our journey in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit:

While he was in coma Aunt Nancy wrote us a poem.
Nathaniel...
Now I lay me down to sleep
And Jesus, He is with me.
Tenderly His mighty power,
Heals me more each passing hour.
Angels are all around my bed
Now I can rest my little head.
In Jesus' name my loved ones pray,
Entrusting me to Him each day.
Live by faith each moment, and God will lead the way!

Jeremiah 30:17
"For I will restore you to health and heal you of you wounds," declares the LORD...
Love, Aunt Nancy November 18, 2006

Pop Pop came up with this:
Pray
Until
Nat-E
Comes
Home

With all the prayers Nathaniel began to improve little by little. Here are photos of our experience in the regular pediatric unit:


December 15, 2006 we were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Jackson is the #1 Hospital in the country for patients with Brain and Spinal Cord Injury. It was a Miracle we lived so close. We were told we would be inpatients for at least 6months to a year...Little did they know, God had a better idea! They also told us he might never walk again?!?!? Nathaniel recovered so quickly. We were only there for about a month. Note: It felt like the longest month ever, but we made it! We were allowed to take him out on "day passes" on the weekends. One weekend he was able to go to church and sing his Christmas special on stage. Still blind, Kayla his little sister was a Big Helper. Then we were able to take him home for Christmas (just for the day), yet another Miracle! Below you will find pictures of rehab, singing on stage, and Christmas at home. But what you will not see pictured is our Christmas Day Miracle. Christmas Eve we were laying alone on our hospital bed. Just me, Nathaniel, and Jesus. We had a time of singing praises, praying for a miracle, it was a very special Christmas Eve. Well, God heard us praying that night. When he opened his eyes Christmas morning the BEST Christmas gift ever was revealed. He pointed to objects in the room, naming them. "Light, TV, Vent" What does this mean? My son can see? Lord! Thank You! Of course their were tears and unexplainable excitement. We took a walk in the hallway, I wanted to see if he could see other things. And Yes! You saw the tree in the hallway! Just one week prior I was told he would most likely NEVER regain his sight back. We were so thankful that the Lord spared your life and healed him. We were ready to raise a blind son! But God had different plans! We had the best Christmas of our lives:


One last event. Their was a circus coming in town January 2007. Prior to the accident Nathaniel had asked to go. When they told me we would be in rehab for a year, I was sad that now he would not be able to go. Well, Once again another Miracle...Instead of a Year in rehab we were in for 1 month! We were discharged just in time for the circus. It was called "The Greatest Show on Earth." But we think the miracle we experienced was "The Greatest Show on Earth!"


Here are some pictures of some of the people who came to visit you. There were many others, that I don't have a picture of. (sorry) There were 2 weeks that visitors could not even come in your room, they had to visit us in the waiting room.


Here is a slide show to sum it all up:

My name is Nat and I'm here to say
That I'm a living miracle, Hey, Hey
You see last Novemba, I fell on my head
They thought that I was surely dead
But God had better plans ahead
What we learned from this ordeal
Is it's not just how you really feel
We serve a living God whose Power is real
You see I was in a coma for what seemed for-ev-a
While God and the Angels would leave me neva
I had wires and tubes comin out of me
While people everywhere loved and prayed for me
My Pop Pop said let's give Satan a punch
We're gonna send the Devil out to lunch
P.ray U.ntil N.at C.omes H.ome they cried
We want him to live and not to die
Well in Round 1 Satan thought he had won
I was on the ropes they thought I was done
But God showed up strong in Round numba 2
And turned the Devil all black and blue.

I was on the mat and Jesus touched His boy Nat
I stood to my feet, there was no defeat
My loved ones cried and began to shout
Nat was really down but he sure ain't out
Jesus stepped in when they rang the bell
And sent the Devil right back to.....
( NAT ! ) OK, mom what else rhymes with bell

Well my name is Nat and I'm here today
Because God listens when his children pray
Hey, Hey what do you say
I'm outta here gotta run and play.....

TO: Nat love, Pop Pop