Refocused

I am very sorry to all who have been checking our blog, and found that there have been no new posts. I have received emails and phone calls from people wondering how AnnaSophia and our family have been. I honestly needed a time of reflection and refocusing. I have felt it necessary to pull inward, focus on the Lord and my family. I have asked the Lord, "Where do I go from here? What do I do next?" I waited...and waited...and joined Facebook. Oh dear!



Actually, Congenital Heart Defect awareness has been so heavy on my heart. It's something that I HAVE to do. Like I need air to breathe and water to drink, I need people to know about the number one birth defect. I need people to know that Congenital Heart Defects kill more children than all childhood cancers put together. I need people to know how underfunded this cause is. For every dollar that is donated to the American Heart Association, only one penny goes to CHDs. This is unacceptable!!! When 1 out of 100 births results in a baby born with a heart defect, there should be money pouring into the AHA specifically to help fund research in this area. Plain and simple: MONEY=RESEARCH=CURE. At this point, doctors don't even have a clear understanding as to the cause of CHDs.



Locally, I have become part of a group called Mended Little Hearts. This is a support group started by some amazing moms of children with CHDs, who want to be able to provide support to families affected by childhood heart disease and to raise awareness to the general public. I encourage anyone who has a child with a heart defect, or any family that would like to provide support in a "mentor" capacity to contact Melissa or Alicia via http://www.thebeatgoesonmlh.blogspot.com/. We still need families to join so that we can become a chapter in our own right.

FAMILY UPDATE:

AnnaSophia has been doing well. She turned 2 December 31st, 2009, and she is such a joy. She loves princesses, babies and horses. AnnaSophia talks daily of wanting to sleep in Cinderella's castle. One day, sweetheart, you just might get your wish. January, unfortunately, brought illness to our house like never before. Ethan battled pneumonia, Emily was sick several times, and ultimately, AnnaSophia got sick. Not just a little sick-the entire household was flying the white flag.

AnnaSophia had a high fever, oxygen sats in the high 70's to low 80's, and ended up back on oxygen. That was not fun. Try to keep oxygen on a two year old. We put the cannula on her stuffed animals and her princesses. There was absolutely no convincing her-she just wouldn't wear it. Finally, Ethan came up with the idea of taking a paper cup and inserting the cannula into it. We made a homemade blow-by mask and cranked up her O2. Congratulations Ethan! Your invention worked like a charm!

All is well now. We are still watching AnnaSophia closely for signs of rejection, as that can happen after a bout with illness. We continue to pray that her immune system was not revved up too much and that her heart is "safe". Thank you to everyone who has prayed for and stayed in contact with our family. We appreciate it more than words can express.