We take care of
the people who
take care of others.
Nurses, doctors and support
staff offer us compassion,
expertise and comfort during
times of need.
At Meridy’s Uniforms,
we show our gratitude by
providing the latest uniform
apparel, footwear, and medical
accessories to our valued
customers. We also offer
unique gifts and Vera Bradley
handbags.
For 34 years Meridy’s
Uniforms has been serving our
community and surrounding
counties with quality products.
Come visit our retail location
in Vidalia or online at
www.meridys-cherokee.com.
When Only the
Best Will Do
Since 1923
42 Toombs County Magazine
Seasons Design Center – sent me a bag of goodies, and there was a
pair of shoes in there for me!”
Other miracles came in the form of encounters with strangers
that crossed their paths as they moved about the hospital. Elizabeth
spent considerable time in the hospital chapel, face down on the
carpet, praying for her son and praying for strength for herself and
Jason. “I don’t know how others go through this without God,”
she revealed. After one such visit, Elizabeth found herself in the
elevator with a hospital employee. The woman instinctively pulled
Elizabeth into a hug. “She started praying,” Elizabeth stated.
“Praying for my child. I asked her how she knew we were there for
our child, and she said, ‘I just knew.’”
After several nights of sleeping on the floor beside Landon, a
room at the Ronald McDonald house opened up, and they were able
to get a few hours of needed rest.
After a few days of being on the ventilator, Landon’s condition
improved, so doctors decided to remove the machine. “He seemed
to be doing well at first,” Elizabeth shared. “He even asked if he
could watch cartoons. We thought we were on the home stretch.”
And then the bottom of their world dropped out as Landon took
a turn for the worse. His lungs collapsed again. “His punctured lungs
were just too sick,” the tearful mother explained. He was put into
an induced coma, and a different machine was used to breathe for
him. A third chest tube was inserted to draw out the extra air and
blood that remained in his chest. Doctors let the family know that if
this did not work, their last option was to put him on the ECHMO.
This machine would allow him to have an artificially-beating heart
to accompany his artificial lung function. “At that point it would
have most likely been a wait for us to decide to remove him from
the machines and allow him to pass. At this point, he had an 11
percent chance of survival,” she stated. “Because he had to be
on the ventilator so long, he developed pneumonia. He couldn’t
cough because of the ventilator that was keeping his lungs inflated,
so they’d have to take and literally run a tube down his throat to
suction out the mucus,” the mother revealed. This had to be done
10 to 15 times a day.
While he was on the Oscillator in grave condition, Elizabeth
had a panic attack. She stepped outside of the Peds ICU and leaned
against the wall. “I tried to scream, but I couldn’t,” she revealed.
“I tried to cry, but nothing would come out. At that moment, I
realized that there was a very real likelihood that I would bury
my five-year-old son. I was overwhelmed. My legs buckled, and
as soon as my knees hit the ground, I heard the voice of the Lord
telling me that Landon would be singing in the church Christmas
play on December 17th.” Then something else happened that has
never happened in her life as God pierced the veil of the future and
allowed her to see Landon on that stage. “In all that chaos and grief,
it scared me to see things and hear things so clearly, but I KNEW
that it was a gift from my heavenly Father. I stood, completely
invigorated, knowing – without a doubt – that I would not bury my
son, but that he would live. We claimed that promise. That is faith.
Believing when you can’t see a way, but believing what the Lord
tells you, not what your reality insists, but believing HIM!” she
emphasized.
She continued to share with friends and family: “December
17tth. Save the day,” she encouraged. Later she posted on
Facebook, “Pray that Landon will sing LOUD and strong at the
Tabernacle Baptist Church Christmas play on Dec. 17, his very first
VIDALIA GEORGIA
208 MADISON STREET | 9125370712
Brown’s jewelry
115 Meadows Street, Vidalia
537-4616
/www.meridys-cherokee.com