We made another trip to St. Vincent's this week for a check-up with Caleb's cardiologist and I realized it's been a while since we gave an update on our baby boy's condition. Caleb is really doing great. At four months old, he seems like any other baby and you would never know he was born with a major heart defect, unless you see him really scream; he turns pretty blue! He is rolling over, reaching for things to put in his mouth, and is incredibly happy and social, with smiles for anyone that looks his way. He is SO normal and healthy-looking, in fact, that I have almost completely put out of my mind the facts of his medical condition. It has been very easy for me to not think about what's ahead, but this week when we returned to St. Vincent's, I realized I won't have that luxury much longer. In August, things will get very interesting. First, Caleb will have a heart catheterization, where the doctors will go into his heart and get a good look before they do his next surgery. Dr. Kumar, Caleb's cardiologist, said that sometimes babies do not respond well to a heart cath... to which I was thinking, no duh. When Caleb had his first heart cath, at 4 days old, he almost died that night. That was the night we came back to the NICU from dinner, only to turn the corner and see our baby ashen and struggling to breathe. Dr. Kumar said he could have another similar episode, and if he does, they will simply admit him and do the surgery the next morning. Even if the procedure goes fine, Caleb will at least have to stay overnight. Then he will go back a week later for the surgery. So we will be at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent's a lot in the month of August. This next surgery is a significant one, a more complicated procedure than his first surgery. However, recovery time is usually only about a week, if everything goes well. Then we could go back home.
This hospital stay is going to be so different... now Caleb is old enough to know his mommy and daddy, and we are probably going to have a hard time leaving his side at all. I need to really start spending more time praying for Caleb, and I'm asking for our family and friends to do the same. Dr. Kumar said we didn't need to come back for a check-up until August 3, at which time they will schedule his heart cath about a week later. That gives us June and July to enjoy time as a family as much as possible, and to pray for our little guy to grow strong. Can I ask you to pray for a couple specific things?
1. Please pray for our family to really have some good bonding time this summer and for us to grow close as we prepare for the next "valley". We want to give our boys as much attention as possible and really have fun and make some good memories this summer.
2. Please pray for Caleb's ongoing development. Pray that he does not have any delays but continues to hit important milestones on time.
3. Please pray for this next heart cath, and subsequent open-heart surgery, to be huge successes. Pray that Caleb's body can handle these procedures with no complications. Pray that he will recover quickly and with strength.
4. Please pray for God to guard my mind and Daniel's mind against worry and fear. Pray that we would be rock-solid in our faith and steadfast in our commitment to trust God in all circumstances. We want our family to be a light that points others to Jesus.
We have SO much to be thankful for! We have two amazing boys and a great marriage. We have so many wonderful family and friends who have supported us and cared for us through such an interesting time in our life. Most of all we have a Savior who has never left us or forsaken us. He makes this life worth living!
