Our Own Personal Children's Miracle Network

This afternoon I have the "Children's Miracle Network" on television - it is a telethon to support Children's Hospitals nationwide. Eleven years ago this weekend our Kaylee was in the hospital following open-heart surgery to correct a hole between the upper chambers of her heart - called an Atrial-Septal defect. We actually ended up on local tv that weekend for the telethon, which was kind of fun. Kaylee was SUCH a tough little trooper, we still look back on how well she did with amazement. My dear sister was there with Kyle and I, and when the nurse came to take Kaylee off to surgery, she looked over his shoulder as he carried her off and gave us this sweet little wave and a huge smile - she had NO idea what was coming. We will never forget that moment - her sweet little face looking back at us, and our fear and anxiety. All three of us broke down sobbing as he took her away. Yet we knew God was with her and many people were praying.

I remember being so exhausted. The night before her surgery she was admitted to the hospital so she could have fluids, as up until that point she was strictly breastfed. Thankfully the nurse got her IV in the first time - a miracle in and of itself - as Kaylee has extremely difficult veins to find. She was still nursing every two hours, round the clock, so I anticipated a difficult night of holding her off from nursing from midnight on. But we got another miracle as she actually slept through the night. She was hungry that morning but it was not as difficult to distract her as I thought it would be.

When she went off to surgery, Kyle and I went back to her room and my sister went to the waiting room. Kyle encouraged me to lay down, as I had started to pace, and he finally talked me into it. I fell asleep almost immediately, and the next thing we knew the surgeon was in our room, telling us that everything had gone beautifully and we would get to see her soon. I could not believe I had slept through the whole thing, but God does give rest to the weary.

They put her in the ICU but she only had a couple of tubes. I noticed immediately that her color was better than it had ever been - she had lost the bluish tinge to her skin and was pink and healthy looking for the first time. They took such good care of her, she had very little pain and I could tell the nurses loved her and treated her like she was one of their own.

Throughout that day I had to pump, as she was not able to nurse for at least 24 hours after surgery. I had never had success pumping before (not even with my first two babies) so I feared I would have an uncomfortable day ahead of me. But God provided yet again - and I had success with the pump the hospital provided for me. That first night I thought I would be up at her bedside, unable to sleep, but (almost embarrassingly) I slept through the entire night! (They let me stay at the hospital and even gave me meals.) I flew out of bed that next morning and down the hallway to the ICU. Kaylee did great through the night, however, and the nurse assurred me that she would have summoned me if there were any problems. I certainly needed the rest, so it was good to sleep.

That morning they transferred her to the regular room and she did have a little bit of pain that evening, which they treated right away. The next morning the doctor actually thought he could send her home!! I was shocked and rather scared though, and asked him to please let us stay one more night, for my sake. Initially we thought she would be in the hospital for a week, so I was amazed they wanted to send her home after only a couple days.

That evening we were interviewed on TV, and Kaylee was jabbering and smiling and playing - and kicking her legs! The TV crew could hardly believe she had major surgery the morning before. She was one little good PR person for the telethon, believe me!! The next morning they interviewed us again, as we were being discharged.

On the third morning, they discharged her. She went home with just Tylenol for pain control, which I can still hardly believe. I was so thankful to have my sister (who is an RN) come with us, as I was scared to take her home. Kaylee did so beautifully, though, that all I can say is - what a miracle!

She was discharged from the heart clinic when she was 4 1/2 years old and quite technically her heart is now considered normal. How thankful we have been for her example and good attitude through the medical issues she has had. She truly is our Own Personal Children's Miracle Network!