A day in the life of Lane Carter...

Lane Carter Farris is the middle son of some very dear friends of mine, Will and Ellen. He is the little brother of Liam and the big brother to Morgan, and he has been a huge influence on many people's lives. This is Lane's story...

Almost 4 years ago in October, Will and Ellen anxiously awaited the arrival of their 2nd baby boy. Ellen had a normal pregnancy and a normal delivery. Lane was born on a Wednesday, full term and was pretty much a healthy baby. The day following his birth, they noticed that he had not had a bowel movement and was diagnosed with Hersbrungs disease, which is a problem with the intestinal/digestive tract. Instead of being discharged from the hospital with his mama, they sent him to the Children's Hospital at Vandy, they would fix him up and he was expected to be home in a few days...that weekend, everything changed for the Farris family. Lane's intestines perforated and he was taken in for emergency surgery to repair the hole in his bowel, but sometime during the surgery, Lane suffered a massive stroke causing an irreversable brain injury. He was critical for several months...they did not know if he would survive, and if he did, would he speak or see or be able to maintain normal vitals without support? What kind of long term problems would he have?

Lane did survive, but he has had a long road. He has been through many surgeries. He has seizures, sometimes several a day. He is tube fed, because of aspiration. He is prone to pneumonia. But, in all of that, this little boy has changed the lives of many. He became "everybody's baby". He has taught us all about strength, acceptance, patience, faith, hope and understanding. He came into a "family" of first responders, EMT's, Paramedics and nurses, which his mother calls his "care team" and I am blessed to be a part of that "team".

This past week, he "just wasnt acting quite right". He was taken back to Vandy (which seems sometimes to be his "home away from home") and it was found that he had perforated again. No one knows how or why it happened and we have learned to always expect the unexpected with him! He was immediately taken into emergency surgery to repair a nickel size hole in his stomach. He has been monitored for infection over the last week and many, many prayers have been said. He seems to be healing nicely and will possibly be going home tomorrow.

(Learning Lane's wound care)

Today, I spent the morning with Will, Ellen and Lane at the hospital. They so graciously allowed me to bring my camera and document Lane's morning...God bless this sweet child who goes through things that most folks cant even imagine. Thank you, Will and Ellen, for letting me love your little boy! Lane, Deb loves you to the moon!...Debi Kolak