Jul 18 2013

13 months…and a prayer

Anna

Little Miss Abilene is 13 months old today! She is growing like crazy and just an absolute joy to have in our lives. She is so happy and content 99% of the time. She only ever really gets mad when she is hungry or we leave her at the church nursery.

We had her followup appointment with Cardiology on Tuesday. It was supposed to be simple. We go in, have an echo done, seen the Cardiologist and be sent on our way. I was completely unprepared for what actually happened. That is where YOU come in. We are praying for a miracle right now.

Abilene still has a moderate-sized hole in her atrium (upper chamber of the heart, also known as an ASD). This is causing shunting (blood flow over the pulmonary valve in excess to what should be there) and it has not yet caused dilatation of the atrium but it is coming. We have been told to prepare for surgery. She is going to have to have this hole repaired since it did not close on its own during her first year. We have 2 options – heart catheterization which will place a device in her heart to seal the hole or open heart surgery. This is not happening tomorrow or even in the next few months. We will be monitoring her for the next year once again and see how she does. If this winter does not go well (as far as frequent respiratory illnesses) then we will be repairing this defect sooner rather than later. Most likely we will wait until she is 2 but it all depends on her and if things start to change. Since she is going to be entering a HUGE development change (walking, running, massive mobility) issues will start to become apparent. She may tire easily, need to rest, want to take more naps, not meet mobility milestones, etc…

When the news was shared with me (Aaron was home with the boys “thank you, honey!”) I was actually stunned. I had not expected to be told that my precious baby girl would need HEART SURGERY. I came away in a daze. I just looked at her and held onto my precious baby and said a prayer. I am now…correction WE are now asking everyone who reads this to please be in prayer for little Abilene. We are asking the Lord for a miracle. We are asking that He heal her heart. We really don’t want to go through heart surgery with Abilene. She has been through enough. We know that whatever the outcome, God is in control. He has known from the beginning and we will trust in Him. But still…I can ask, right?

Anyway, you all have been really patient with me…here are some pictures!

Here I am celebrating with my bubs at his 3rd birthday in May!

She has a nickname “Queen Sugie” – She was able to sit on the throne for her birthday!

CAKE!

Look at my ponytail…look fast too because I will rip it out in about 5 seconds!