I honestly don’t know how to even write something like this.
On Tuesday, Peyton walked into the hospital for a routine endoscopy and colonoscopy. He expected to go home that day.
Instead, their lives were turned completely upside down.
During the procedure, his esophagus was perforated. What should have been a routine procedure immediately became emergency surgery.
And that was only the beginning.
Instead of getting better, it feels like every day has brought another complication.
His lung collapsed. Infection spread into his chest and lungs. He developed pneumonia while his body was already trying to fight everything else.
Peyton’s length of stay in the ICU and the hospital itself remains unknown at this time.
Precious time away from home.
Time away from his wife, Claire.
Time away from the two little kids who ask where their daddy is and when he’s coming back home
And time away from work.
When he finally does get to come home, the recovery won’t be over. He’ll need a feeding tube and won’t be able to eat solid food for months while his esophagus heals.
If you know Peyton, you know the kind of man he is.
He’s the one who works hard for his family so Claire can stay home with their babies. He’s the provider and the one who makes sure everyone else is okay before he thinks about himself.
Claire hasn’t left his side apart from keeping her promises to their babies about bath time and laying with them when it’s finally time to go to sleep. She’s trying to be everything at once… A wife watching her husband fight for his life through one complication after another, a mom trying to hold life together for two toddlers, and the only person carrying the weight of an unimaginable amount of uncertainty.
No one plans for a routine procedure to land you in the ICU.
No one plans for endless hospital stays, childcare, or wondering what life will look like when all of this is over.
So I’m asking for help for two of our closest friends.
If you’re able to give, no matter the amount, it will go directly toward helping Peyton and Claire keep focusing on the only thing he should have to focus on right now…getting home to his family.
And if you can’t donate, please share this. Please pray. Please send good thoughts. Every message, every share, and every act of kindness reminds this family they aren’t walking through this alone.
Thank you for loving them with us.
