William Taylor A Testimony of Strength and Love and a Children’s Miracle Network Miracle

We are one week away from our Children's Miracle Network Celebration, we want to introduce you to some of the Miracles we have met and the miracles that have happened because of your generous donations to Children's Miracle Network.

Back in December I introduced you to William Taylor but today I would like to share his entire story with you.

William's Story as told to me by Roland and Jenny Taylor

Back on a Tuesday in  September (2011) Jenny received a phone call from the school nurse telling her that she thought William had the pink eye.  Jenny called his pediatrician and she offered to call in a prescription for William, but something kept telling Jenny that she needed to go ahead and bring him in to the clinic.  When the doctor had a chance to look at William she told Jenny that it wasn't pink eye and it  looked like something else  and that she needed to take him over to BSA for a cat scan to rule things out.

So they went over to BSA and had a cat scan done.  "I knew as soon as I saw the pediatricians face after the cat scan that life was about to change," Jenny recalled.  She could see the doctors behind the mirror talking and pointing and bringing more people in to discuss what showed up on the cat scan.  They told Jenny that they did see something but they weren't sure what it was and that they would know more later and sent William home.  She received a call later telling her that the scans showed that William had two massive aneurysms.

At the time of William's diagnosis Roland (the dad) was in Kansas City for work and Jenny was all alone at home with the four boys.

No one in Amarillo has the capability of taking care of the aneurysms so Jenny and William hit the road to Lubbock with friends of the family and Roland started a 16 hour drive from Kansas City to Lubbock to be with his family.

When they got to Lubbock they ran tests and asked a lot of questions.  They had a surgeon in Lubbock who was willing to do the surgery on William but he wasn't 100% confident.  For Roland and Jenny, that wasn't enough, so they embarked on a journey to Dallas.

Shortly, after they arrived in Dallas, William had his first surgery which basically consisted of the doctors drilling a hole in William's head to relieve the pressure and fluid.  As parents that was the scariest thing that Roland and Jenny have been through.

William's aneurysms were actually malformations in his brain.  He should have not lived past the age of 1.  For William to be 4-years old and have this, is a miracle.

I crumbled, before all of this I thought I had the most faith any person

could have, I thought I was really strong until that first MRI, I had to walk him down the hall, drop him off, turn around an walk away and not knowing what would happen was the hardest thing I have ever done." -Jenny Taylor

They  had gotten to Dallas just in time, if it

had been any longer William probably wouldn't have made it.

The surgery was successful, the doctor said that this should take care of it.  They stayed about a week in the hospital.  They went home and he seemed to be doing well for awhile.

Each day was different every day was something

new.

October 2011

William was home for a little while and he got to go back to school, but he was so tired and his balance was off.  The pressure in his head was building and it got to the point he wasn't seeing well so they took William back to Dallas.

William had a stroke due to blood clots, so he back into surgery to relieve the pressure.  They started him on a blood thinner.  It was a 2-week stay.

"He fears nothing because God is with him.  He has unbelievable strength."

The doctors said that they were fighting a endless battle.   There wasn't a cure for this.  It wasn't something that can be fixed instantly.

They were able to come home, William was good for 2 weeks and home with the family for Thanksgiving but at the end of November William started having massive headaches and a lot of scary symptoms.

December 14th

William got a headache and threw up, for the next 1/2 hour he kept running into walls because he couldn't see.  They decided that it was time to take him back to Dallas.

Ministry Wings Aviation agreed to fly Jenny and William to Dallas.
When they got to the airport William was in good spirits, he's happy and running around.  He got to spend those 2-hours with his brothers playing.  That was the last time his brothers saw him awake.

"We got on the plane I sit down, I don't know what it was, but I knew this time was different, I could feel it.  It just hit me like a ton of bricks and Iremember crying.  I remember his sweet little face.  He looked at me and said 'Mom you don't have to be scared just hold my hand.'  Those were the last words he said to me." - Jenny Taylor

After Jenny and William flew off to Dallas, Roland sat in the car with the other 3 boys, Roli, Wesley and Caleb, and just prayed.

I remember when they left on that plane, that was the last time I saw William  up around running and playing and talking like a normal boy. - Roland Taylor

They got to Dallas and they thought William was having a stroke so they treated him like a stroke victim.  It took 10 sticks to get an IV started.  They wheel him off and Jenny didn't even get to tell him good by as they were wheeling him off to have an MRI.

When they got back the MRI revealed that William had an massive stroke.  He was on morphine every hour, he started to lose control of his speech and movements.  Jenny picked up the phone to call Roland (who stayed behind to take care of the other boys) to get up there fast because the doctors said William was fading fast.

The doctors told them that they needed to call in family.  The time the family was there he was responding, he would talk but it would be slurred, he would try to open his eyes, but he got to spend time with his family.

I knew he would never understand because I didn't understand.  So instead of trying to explain to him what was going on, I just reassured him that we were there, that we were not leaving, that we loved him, that God loved him, and that God had and awesome plan for his life.  We just wanted to reassure him that everyone that loved him was there with him.-Jenny Taylor

Everyone, went home, and things took a turn for the worse. He had a lot of pain and headaches.  They were loving on him and his body just went stiff.   Then sent him off for a MRI.

When he came back from the MRI he was on a breathing tube, they put him on a ventilator.

I remember when he left for that MRI, he looked like our little boy.  When he came back from the MRI, he didn't look like our little boy, he didn't even look like he was there. -Roland Taylor

He had a major brain bleed in his mid-brain and went the rest of the way into a coma.

The doctors told them that there was nothing that could be done.

I remember when he was on that ventilator, I sit up with him all night long.  We listened to music, I read the Bible to him and continued to talk to him and I remember telling him William if you see Jesus you run to him, but if he tells you to come back you stay right here and you keep fighting. -Roland Taylor

They had to meet with the surgeon and the ICU staff, they were sit in a conference room and asked what measures they wanted to be taken if he stops breathing or his heart stops beating.  Neither one of them said a word.  They both lost it and completely broke down.

Through God's strength Roland and Jenny decided that they wanted everything to be done if William stopped breathing, but if his heart stopped, they didn't want him put through anything else, that was God taking him home.

The doctor asked how long they wanted to leave the breathing tube in William.  The ICU nurse let them know that if they did pull the tube she thought he would breath on his own.

Roland and Jenny just didn't know if he would be able to sustain his own life once the tube was pulled.

They waited 3-4 days before they decided that they were ready to have the breathing tube removed.  The hardest part was having to see the risk and the percentages of the outcome.

The doctors  and their staff were coming in giving condolences, like they had given up.

The day comes to remove the breathing tube and they take him off the ventilator and William does amazing.

It took them maybe 5 seconds to pull that breathing tube out of him. I remember standing there watching  and when he had that breathing tube in him he still looked like he wasn't there.  Soon as that breathing tube came out of his throat I just remember the whole look over his body just changed.  To me it was like he had been spending a couple of days with Jesus and all of a sudden he was back. -Roland Taylor

Christmas was approaching, and they wanted to be home with the family. They told them don't expect to be home for Christmas.

Amazing things happened and things came together so fast. They were able to get things done, there was a plane ride with paramedics.  They got on the plane all three of them flying home.

When they pulled into Amarillo an ambulance met them at the airport and took them to BSA only to be met by a ton of family and friends.

William spent Christmas at BSA, decorations and all!

After being home, once again they were told that William wasn't going to live, that he already had his miracle.

William did well until New Year's Eve, the pressure started building again and had a second brain bleed on New Year's Day.  All the sites from his previous surgery started to bleed.  The shunt site on William's chest bled for 4 hours straight.  William was put back on the ventilator.  They were told he wasn't going to make it through the night.

They estimated that he had 24-48 hours to live and that they needed to call in family again.  After 72 hours, William was still alive.

The doctors told Jenny that there was two options, keep going or  stop feeding him and plug off the tubes and let him go.

I remember telling that doctor that that WAS NOT a choice. -Jenny Taylor

It was a very long 3 weeks for William, very touch and go.  But slowly William started improving.

Close to the end of January they noticed that he was having trouble breathing.  It was because the steroids he had been taking had caused the tissue to swell and for William it was like breathing through a straw.

They chose to go ahead and have a trach put in so William could breath.  After the tracheotomy he did great.

He is the most stable he has been in months and it was decided that what they were doing in the hospital is something that they could do at home.

The day comes to bring William home.

William spent 40 days at BSA.

I could tell from the first day he was there he knew it was home.  He had this peaceful look. -Jenny Taylor

Everyday is new with him.  He opens his eyes, moves his arms up and down, moves his feet and legs and he smiles, and that is the one thing that gets me is seeing him smile again.  I missed it so much.  It lights up my day when I get to see that. - Roland Taylor

William gets to spend time in his wheelchair.  He gets to hang around in the living room with the boys.  He has gotten to go to church and spend time with his church family.

When all this started we had no idea where he would be but we are very grateful for where we are at, at this point. -Roland Taylor

William celebrated his 5th birthday on May 3rd with family and friends.

Please keep William and his family in your prayers.

To follow William's story please visit Prayers for William on facebook.

The Children's Miracle Network Celebration Radiothon will go from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28th, and Friday, April 29th, and all money raised will stay local to help our local kids here in the Texas Panhandle. Hear the stories of these miracle kids and how you can make a difference by listening on your radio, HERE or on your mobile device through our free
 
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