Thankful

Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body.
~Elizabeth Stone~

Today is the second anniversary of Nicholas' heart surgery. He was only three days old. We had no idea when he was born that he had a heart defect, and we were extremely lucky that there were a long list of doctors and nurses who were involved with diagnosing and treating him soon after he was born. Never in my life had I felt so absolutely helpless as I did that first week of my wee baby's life.

Ken and I were so fortunate that we had so much help, love and understanding from family and friends who stepped in at a moment's notice and would have moved the earth and then some if we asked. My mom came and stayed at the house so that Ken and I could go to and from the hospital a few times a day. Poor Ethan had no idea what was going on, but having his grandparents around to help out lessened the stress considerably. My mother-in-law made sure that I ate, and prepared meals for us to take on the way to the hospital.

The emotional support from friends was amazing - one friend in particular who had lost her own child a couple of years earlier and was a wealth of information and support - she was one of the only ones who would truly know what we were going through.

We were fortunate that our wee man's surgery went really well. To look at him today one would never guess that his little ticker isn't 100%. Often when I see him playing outside I forget - he is more active than Ethan ever was, and some days he just doesn't stop. It still floors me that only two years ago I was anxiously awaiting to hear how the surgery went on his little wee heart the size of a walnut and the consistancy of wet tissue paper.