Gordon's Page
Gordon's Story ...
Written by Pastor Randy Pierson, Gordon's dad and Fellowship's Worship & Development Pastor
Gordon was born May 17, 1992 in Jackson, TN. He was our first son and our 3rd child. Gordon entered the world with a bang. He aspirated meconium during birth and had to be placed on a ventilator in the NICU for 10 days. He came home healthy and we thought all strange medical things were behind us. At two months of age Gordon received regular vaccinations. A few weeks later he developed what we believed was an intestinal virus. He had fever and was extremely fussy. Susan took him to the pediatrician on a Thursday and back on Friday, and called on Saturday. You can't really treat a virus so we just kept him comfortable and tried to control the fever. I remember coming home from a Habitat project that Saturday and rocking Gordon on the porch. He seemed very uncomfortable and cried a lot.
Later that night Susan realized Gordon had not awakened her for his 2 am feeding. She went into his bedroom about 4am and found him limp, unable to cry or nurse. We called the doctor and rushed to the hospital. The doctors were not sure what was going on and they realized he was having periods of apnea so they placed him on a ventilator and flew him to Le Bonheur in Memphis. That first day was very scary as Gordon slipped into a coma. 3 days later, he came out of the coma and slowly started looking around. Neurological tests showed brain function was normal. The rest of his body, however was not. The doctors were puzzled by Gordon's condition. They approached his treatment from a variety of possible diagnoses. We stayed at Le Bonheur for 4 months during which they performed a tracheotomy (gave him his trach) and place a g-tube in his tummy so we could feed him. He received excellent care and we became friends with many of the staff. Part of the plan for our going home involved training Susan and me on how to care for Gordon. We learned about how to troubleshoot and run the ventilator, very intimidating, how to sterile suction his trach, how to feed him and keep his g-tube and trach sight clean, CPR, etc. We were certainly very frightened as we brought this fragile 4 month old home to our two little girls who were 4 and 2 at the time.
This also brought a new element into our home...nurses. For the past 17 years, we have had a variety of nurses come through our house. Most have been great, a few have been kind of scary. I remember hearing Gordon's alarms going off one night in that first year and the nurse was not silencing it. I jumped up and went to his room to find Gordon in distress and the nurse asleep. Needless to say that was her last night with us. Currently we have a great nursing staff, three of which have been with us over 10 years. The early years had a variety of challenges as Gordon was just not very stable. Following a few surgeries to help his stomach and his diaphragm, we finally got to a point where things were normally not as scary. Apart from a few bouts with pneumonia and surgeries Gordon has been exceptionally healthy for years. This recent scare is the first serious hospitalization we have had for over 15 years. Gordon's ability to function has not changed since he was injured. Today he remains completely ventilator dependent, tube fed, unable to speak or swallow, totally paralyzed, full brain function, good vision and handsome like his dad. He has almost completed 11th grade at Northside High School, even passing his recent final Algebra exam.
After the first year home, we finally were given a diagnosis by Dr. Fenichel, a pediatric neurologist at Vanderbilt. Gordon had acquired polio through his vaccine. The official name is VAPP, vaccine associated paralytic polio. This is very rare with only 6 to 8 cases documented each year. The polio virus was originally given orally, usually on a sugar cube. The oral polio vaccine (OPV) is the one that saved thousands of children during the polio epidemics of the 50's and early 60's. The vaccine had been so effective that the last case of wild virus polio reported in the US was in the late 1970's. So, for 20 years the only way a child in America could get polio was through the vaccine. This was considered a reasonable risk for the public good. Looking at Gordon, you see an example of the cost of the public health vaccine policy.
As a result of this injury we were contacted by a group of parents who had children that had also been injured by the OPV. The purpose of the organization was to lobby congress, the CDC and the NIH to change the polio vaccine to a safer dead virus injected polio vaccine (IPV) that will not give any children polio. Susan and I agreed to help and took Gordon to Atlanta in 1995 to testify before the Center for Disease Control advisory panel on immunization practices. The surgeon general, Dr. David Sacher was there and Susan did a magnificent job explaining our desire for the counsel to consider changing the vaccine regime for polio. We travelled to Washington, NIH and several different places for a few years speaking on behalf of the safer vaccine and ultimately were blessed to see the recommendation changed to the current safe IPV, which will not give children polio. CBS news, CNN and AP all did stories on Gordon at the time (you can google Gordon Pierson and read some of the articles.) For whatever reason, Gordon became the face behind the push to change the law. A video was made of his struggle and Susan and I asked those in power to please change the vaccine laws. Finally in 2000, the laws were changed. And today my other children and grandchild and all children in America receive a polio vaccine that is safe and effective and most importantly will not give them polio. God used Gordon to help change the lives of many. This has been a blessing to Susan and me. We certainly would still prefer to have him up and running around.
We were also a part of Vaccine Compensation settlement that helps pay for Gordon's daily care. The theological questions that come with an event like this have been ongoing for Susan and me through the years. I remember driving back and forth to Memphis and struggling with the reality of what lay ahead for us and our family, especially the burden it would place on Susan. God lead us to simplify our thinking and make a choice. The choice came down to daily deciding if this event was a blessing or a curse. We chose blessing and that has made all the difference. We also have come to realize more fully the value and contribution of Gordon's life and how precious it is. Gordon will never have solid food, he will never speak a word, throw or kick a ball, drive a car, ride a bike, get married, be a father or have children. Yet his big blue eyes and sweet spirit communicate volumes of how precious every life is. Gordon bears the image of His creator, he is fearfully and wonderfully made. God formed him purposefully for all kinds of reasons that we will never know the full extent of until we have some really cool conversations in heaven.
A week ago on Monday the 25th as they prepared to fly him to Vandy I stood and watched as his bed was surrounded by all of his nurses and his teachers who have loved him for these many years. They had come for Gordon, not for me and Susan. Gordon's life has changed and enriched theirs in ways I will never know. I rode up to Nashville as Susan and Gordon flew overhead. Things did not look good and my mind drifted to what life would be like without such a wonderful young man who has fought every day of his life. If a service was necessary, I thought about the current set design on our church stage, "The Good Fight," that would fit Gordon's life perfectly. Two weeks later, I am blessed to not have to think about that anymore for now. God has given us back our sweet son. You may just see a guy in a chair rolling into church. I wanted you to know why he is so special and how blessed we are to call him our own. God has been so faithful and answered our prayers through the years for "G". Always feel free just to look him in the eye and say hello. He may even squeeze your hand.
