Boston Bound

On December 18^th in the wee hours of the morning Dustin and I will pack up Noel, her numerous supplies and medical equipment, headed to Denver to board a plan that is Boston bound. As you've heard me make reference to many times that having a child with special needs is like being in Holland when everyone else is an Italy; this trip will be like that. You see we're heading to Boston by way of Holland. Taking a trip to Boston from Italy doesn't sound like much; you go to the airport get your tickets, board the plan fly 4 and half ours then land in Boston; pretty straight forward. However when you're planning a trip leaving form Holland it's much, much different. There's about 15 more stops along the way and much more travel interruptions. We are heading to Boston so Noel can receive much needed intestinal testing that is not offered here in Colorado. When we leave Sunday morning we'll be leaving with our five year old little girl, her ventilator, oxygen, suction machine, feeding pump, emergency supplies, diaper bag, toys and all the normal luggage needed when taking a trip. We will then have to unload at the airport, make it through security, to the gate, to then load everything listed, except the luggage, onto the plane to have next to us incase anything is needed during the flight. We will then provide care to Noel for the next 4 and half hours not knowing how the altitude will affect her breathing or her muscles. Once our plan arrives in Boston we have to get through the airport with our entourage of medical equipment and find whatever form of transportation I figure out that can get us to our Hotel. Once at the Hotel after a full day traveling with our sweet girl, we must unload all her equipment and set up a mini hospital for the night. The next day, Monday, we will transport her to Boston Children's Hospital where she will be admitted to the ICU unit to prepare for her procedure. The next morning she will go into surgery where two sensors will be placed inside her intestines for monitoring. Theses sensors will stay in place for 24 hours, during that time they will give Noel different foods and medication and record how her stomach works. The plan is for her to then be discharged on Wednesday afternoon so we can fly back home. The results will help us know what the next step is for Noel, if there's some kind of surgery they can do, if they have a medication we haven't yet tried or worst of all that there's nothing they can do for her. This whole trip will take place the week before Christmas and our other two children will have to stay home without us. As you can tell we will need lots of prayers as we set out on this leg of the journey. We will be calling on God's strength every step we take. Our hope is we will be able to share the love of Jesus to all we meet as we travel during His season. Noel likes to be called, "I've got the Joy," so I like to say we're bringing Joy to Boston for Christmas. The other thing I can't help but wonder is why do we have to go now? I've been anticipating this trip for 3 years; and when I got the call saying it was the week before Christmas I couldn't help but think, well her name is Noel… Maybe this is her Season, her chance to get the best Christmas present ever… to be HEALED!! Thanks for loving us and supporting, this will surely be a time of big testing which will bring forth big testimony, and without a doubt there will be big blessing…

Love,

Tina