It has been awhile since I have blogged because the status of Hudson's complication from his 2nd open heart surgery seemed to change almost daily. Since September 23rd (Glenn surgery date), Hudson has had a heart cath, a pleurodesis, 5 chest tubes, and at least 5 hospitalizations with over 30 days spent in the hospital. We had a cardiologist appointment this past Thursday and will most likely continue the weekly appointments until we are sure that his chylothorax does not start reaccumulating. Fortunately Dr. Romp (cardiologist) said on Thursday that he thought things looked pretty good and he was hopeful that maybe the small pockets of effusion which still remain will gradually just be reabsorbed into the body over time instead of getting larger. We are still not completely over this hurdle, but hopefully the worst is behind us. We are hoping that we can stay out of the hospital for awhile and that Hudson can celebrate Thanksgiving as his first holiday at home :) Hudson is now 4 months old and cuter than ever. He is laughing, cooing, rolling over, and getting close to sitting up by himself. Thank you for continuing to pray for healing for Hudson. There are also many others at Children's who need your prayers so please keep them in your thoughts as well.
I also wanted to tell you about a really neat thing that happened while we were in the hospital last week. Regions Bank sponsored what is called a "Cheeriodicals Day" at Children's Hospital, where as a part of their community service, they gave every child in the hospital (360) a big green box of "cheer" tailored to boys or girls and filled with age appropriate gifts. Also MoveDaddy.com delivered all the boxes to the hospital. I can tell you that my face lit up when Hudson got his box full of goodies and I know it did for many other patients as well. People don't always hear about good things that happen in the news, but for so many sick children this was such a special treat! Big thank you to Regions Bank for making Hudson's day!
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| Just a few of the goodies from Hudson's Cheeriodical Box! |
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| Meeting cousins for the 1st time, FaceTime for Great Grandaddy's 91st birthday, Sweet Smiles |
Love Letter to my Son
Hudson,
My beautiful 4-month old precious baby I am so glad to have
you back home again. The past
couple of months have been so hard and it hurts my heart every time that you
stare at me in the hospital when they are about to do something to you. There have been so many times where I
just want to grab you and run out of there forever. I know it is all necessary and every measure that is taken
is to give you the most incredible life that children born 32 years ago with HLHS wouldn’t have even had the chance to know. Every day I thank God that this incredible 3-step surgical
intervention was invented so that I can spend my life loving you. I hope that you never remember any of
this, but when you get older I pray that you look back at what you have gone
through with pride and awe for being braver and stronger than most people are
ever called to be.
One of my favorite times together is when I am rocking you
to sleep for the night. A quiet
moment with just the two of us, I feel a sense of peace and gratitude for getting
the chance to know you and be inspired by you. You are the best part of me: my love, my heart, my world. I consider you my greatest accomplishment and the most
incredible person I have ever known.
You are a warrior and a fighter.
Please don’t mistake that you are defined by your heart, because there
is so much more to you than that.
You have such a sweet spirit, always smiling when you are feeling
good. When I look into your eyes
it is like you are staring into the very depths of my soul. I love the way that you sometimes get
shy and put your hands up in front of your mouth to hide when you are smiling
at people. From day 1 you have had
this inquisitive personality that surprised everyone who came in contact with
you. Those cute eyebrows would
furrow and they would say that you were taking note of everything that was
going on. I’m not surprised one
bit because you are so smart. I am
so proud of you and in many ways consider it ironic that such a strong boy
could be born to such a weak mother.
I learn something from you every day, but maybe the most important
lesson I have learned is that of courage and enjoying every moment that the
Lord has blessed us with.
Your daddy and I love you more than you will ever know, but
you are loved even more by the one that created you. He knew everything about you before you were even born and
made you completely unique from everyone else (Jeremiah 1:5). From the very beginning I have prayed
that God would use your story to touch others, but maybe you have touched me
the most. Your beautiful heart has
forever changed mine.
All of my love today and forever,
Mommy
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