Progress

Two days before OHS...2/7/09:


And two weeks after...2/23/09:

This Says It All (in more ways than one)...

Eli takes his first look five days after surgery. He didn't appear upset at the time; he wasn't screaming or anything. I think overwhelmed would be the correct adjective.

On another note, Steve at Funky Heart posted recently about being "Unseen" .


As I read his entry, I thought back to all the times I would look at my baby boy and feel the need to tell anyone near enough to hear me, "He has a heart defect. Yes, I know. He looks perfectly healthy."


I remember being in the grocery store once. He was around 7 months old. Thankfully, Eli never had any problem with weight gain during his infancy. He weighed 25 pounds at 5 months old.
This particular day, he was sitting in the shopping cart, flashing a smile at anyone looking his way.


As we made our way down one of the aisles, I noticed a couple coming towards us with a baby carrier in their cart. The mother was pale and slow-moving. Eli smiled at her. She smiled weakly and looked at him longingly. Then she looked at me and said, "What a blessing. You have a beautiful, healthy boy there."


I swallowed hard. She had no idea that we had spent the past 3 months in and out of the hospital (mostly in) with arrhythmia problems and that my baby boy was taking an adult dose of Amiodarone just to keep normal rhythm. She didn't know.


It was a struggle, but I quietly thanked her and kept moving. As the father approached and pushed their shopping cart past us, I caught a glimpse of the baby in the carrier, feeding tube and all.

Thank You, LeBonheur!

Thank you Dr. Knott-Craig, Holly

and all of the team at

Le Bonheur Children's/Univ of TN Cardiology!

There are no words to express our gratitude.

PRAISE THE LORD~

CHD Awareness

A Day For Hearts

This website was created to promote Congenital Heart Disease awareness.

February 14th is CHD Awareness Day.

Tell a friend!

Eli Meets Bernard

We were able to meet Bernard and his friend, Diana, today. He took us on a tour of the surgery center at LeBonheur. We were even able to tour the actual operating room used for heart surgeries. In OR #3, we put Bernard to sleep and were shown equipment used daily by actual members of the heart team. It was more than we expected and really interesting. Eli blocked it all out for the most part. Cade loved it!

Here are a few pictures...



Eli meeting Bernard and his friend, Diana



Getting into our scrubs


Taking Bernard into surgery

Dr. Cade prepped for surgery

Bernard's surgery

Dr. Eli's turn to prep for surgery

Six more days before it's Eli's turn. Thank you for your prayers!