Thanks be to God..

This has been the most harrowing experience of my life. I can't possibly put the range of emotions I went through this day into words. All I can really say is that I am soooo glad it is over, and that he is doing extremely well. Our arrival time at Cheo was 6:30 am. Nathan was whisked away at 8am. We got a chance to say our goodbyes, he was full of smiles and giggles. I just couldn't cry, he was so happy- I didn't want to upset him with my tears. I didn't want to let him go.. The helplessness was so overwhelming, and the tears came once he was out of view..


Our nurse Tara, kept popping in with updates every hour. Surprisingly enough it did not take long for them to get all the lines hooked up. I expected it to take longer, it is always an issue to draw blood from our little monkey. So soon enough the repair was underway. I tried to think of anything else, but of my son on the operating table. Admitting shocked us with a gift for Nate, a big giant frog. My brother and husband kept doing odd things to him every time I left the room and it was a nice distraction. Every time Tara came in with an update I hugged the frog and was oddly comforted. It seemed to take forever. You know how time just stretches sometimes?? Around 2:30 they were done. Nathan did really well, and the repair was a success. Tara gave us a tour of the ICU before Nathan was brought in. It was really hard on Brian. We were shown all the machines our son would be hooked up to. Has Tara was explaining them all to us, Brian noticed the little girl with the scar on her chest in the next bed. He nearly fainted, it was just a little much to take it all in. We wheeled him out and he laid down for awhile. Soon Nathan was ready for us to visit. I don't think you can ever be ready to see your child after such a major surgery. We went in, Brian sat in a chair a distance away. I had a chance to touch my baby and to be reassured that he was indeed okay. From that moment on I rarely left his side for the rest of his stay. Cheo provided me with a parent room to stay the night, when he was in ICU. Within two days, he was transferred out of ICU to the surgery recovery wing. He had one rough night and the rest went so well he was quickly released. It is so good to be home! The whole team at Cheo is amazing to say the least, they made our lives a little brighter during this difficult time. They will always hold a special place in our hearts.



Day two in ICU - One less machine
First visit with his big brother and sister.
His first smile after surgery was at their visit.
He was very happy to see them.






I covered his wall in his room with all the prayer hearts from our church and with the get well cards from Mykaela's classmates. Nathan's godmother made sure we had lots of support and organized the whole "heart" support from our church. The nurses were convinced all this love is what made Nathan heal and do so well..He was out in record time.




Nathan enjoyed gazing at all the love..So did the nurses they all took their turn to come in and take a peek :) A special thank you for all of those who have kept Nathan in their prayers. I truly believe God was in that operating room that day guiding the surgeons hands. And that he continues to watch over Nathan has he heals, in answer to everyone's continued prayers..

God Bless,
Lyn