Tomorrow marks a Big milestone for our middle child, Lilyann. No, she's not getting her first tooth or rolling back to front. She's celebrating her 7 year heart anniversary. 7 years ago....as a tiny, barely weighing 10 lbs little baby girl was having open heart surgery. Crazy!
a before surgery pic...and after surgery pic. You can see just in her skin color how well she was doing ♥
I look back on it now and think of how far technology has come in the last 7 years. I'm sure surgeons perform a VSD repair numerous times each week. It's probably something they could do with their eye's closed. We were told at the time of consultation with Lily's heart surgeon, that this was an easy fix. If you HAD to have a hole in your heart...this was the one to have. Now hearing that didn't make these new parents feel less worried. It was OUR child. OUR baby girl. This was SERIOUS!!!
our meeting with the surgeon
Jed taking his shift on keep Lily calm the night before surgery. Fasting is no joke with a baby
Checking in at the hospital early that morning 4/15/08
Emotions flowed that day. Stress, worry, excitement. We've never been glued to a television screen so much. I love that the hospital thought to have screens with patient's current surgical stats put up throughout the hospital. Then you weren't confined to the small waiting areas pacing. You could pace up and down the hallways, through the gift shop and the cafeteria. Now for patients confidentially rights...they were listed as in code. We knew our code. And 7 years later, it's slipped my mind...go figure. We knew when she was being put under, when the surgery actually started. Great tools for keeping worried parents and family at some sort of ease during this difficult time.
Seeing Lily the first time just passing through the hallway heading up to the Cardiac ICU
Lily...post surgery
All the meds she was getting just after surgery
Her first bottle...a few days after surgery.
5 hours later, we were seeing our precious baby girl. Tubes and wires in an organized mess covering her...and the film covering her whole body. I can't remember if this was to keep germs away or to keep her warm. But she was doing good. The surgery was a success!!!
Just this weekend, we had someone ask about Lily. Her shirt was low enough to show a little of her zipper. It still amazes me how well Miss Lilyann is doing today. Prayer and God are what kept our Lilyann safe and healthy.
And just last month, we made a visit to her cardiologist to receive a clean bill of health. She is free to do sports, whatever!! She is heart healthy and we don't go back to see the cardiologist until she is 12 years old!!! Amazing!
Lilyann....7 years post open heart surgery
--enJoy
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