Josie's 1 Year Heart Surgery Anniversary

In a few days, we will be celebrating Josie's 1 year anniversary of her open-heart surgery. On 4/23/08 our lives were forever changed. No more blue lips, blue toes, or blue fingers. No more panting or becoming winded from something as simple as eating. No more watching Josie squat to relieve the pressure on her heart or spin around in bed trying to catch her breath.



As I've shared in earlier blogging posts, our experience with Josie in the hospital wasn't pleasant. When she was out of ICU and awake, she was wild with fear. We'd only been home from China from three weeks and she was terrifed. She refused to sleep in her hospital bed (unless she was completely sedated) and so I would sit up all night in a chair with pillows propped under my arms holding her surrounded by medical equipment and staff checking on her vitals every 30 minutes. I have a whole new respect for the doctors and nurses who did everything they could to treat Josie and make her comfortable. They were an amazing group of people. We love Mott Children's Hospital!!



At some point, Josie will need a valve replacement, but the timeline is sketchy and we aren't letting it consume us. Overall, we couldn’t be more pleased with her progress and diagnosis. She is truly not the same little girl that we received in Nanchang, China on March 16, 2008.



People tell us how lucky she is all the time. I do understand why they say that and I know that on some level it may be true (she would not received the medical care she deserved if she were to stay in China) but we adopted her because we wanted to add this beautiful little girl to our family. We are the "lucky" ones.



As I reflect on Josie's year open-heart surgery anniversary, I can't help but think of another Mother who continues to sit at her daughter's side in PICU watching her sweet little girl recover from heart surgery. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. You can find their blog here or at the top of my blog. If you visit their site, please leave a comment letting them know you are thinking of them. I remember how important it was while I was in the hospital, to not feel alone. Our blog and email kept me sane.

Hope your week is off to a great start. Let me know what you've been up to!!