Friday the 13th - A Year Ago

A year ago today we went from thinking our son had some type of feeding issues like either reflux or a milk allergy to realizing we were going to be fighting for his life. Tom and I now refer to that day as "Black Friday." I remember the day so well. I woke up hopeful that Peter would eat better. I tried to give him a bottle first thing in the morning. Peter didn't take much at all, so I thought I would try again when I got back from taking Alana to school. He was very sleepy and I supposed after a nap he would feed better. I tried to wake him up around 9:00 and again, he wouldn't take a bottle AT ALL, but just kept falling back to sleep. Yet again, I thought maybe a nap would help. I tried to wake him up about 1:00 and couldn't really get him to wake up. It wasn't that he was unconscious, but he would only wake up for a minute or two and then fall right back asleep. He had no energy to do anything, much less eat. Worn out with frustration and in tears, I called the pediatrician's office. While explaining to the nurse Peter's symptons, she interrupted me to ask if I had a cold (I sounded congested because I had been crying). I fell completely apart at that question and the emotions just poured out. That sweet nurse immediately suggested we schedule an appointment for that afternoon. I will always be thankful for her insight. I think that nurse made the call based solely on this upset mother than even because of Peter's symptoms. She knew that if I was that distraught, then something was indeed wrong.

The next several hours sent us into a whirlwind pace. I called Tom at school and got ready very quickly to get out the door. Tom came home and we picked up Alana early from school and headed straight to the Dr. I knew something was very wrong when the Dr. listened to Peter's heart through the stethoscope several times. The Dr. asked us if anyone had ever mentioned Peter having a heart murmer. She gave some explanations about a heart murmer and then she asked if we would rather wait and schedule an appointment with a cardiologist or go straight to the hospital. I could tell the Dr. was leaning towards the hospital scenario because we would get answers faster. We completely agreed.

We left the pediatrician's office and headed to Northeast Medical Center while making several phone calls all along the way. We got registered at Northeast and then were taken to a holding room for about an hour until a room came available. I remember sitting on the bed just holding Peter in a state of total shock. The nurse finally came and got us to take us to a room and standing outside the door was our pastor. I will never forget the relief I felt seeing him standing there. I was in desperate need of reinforcements while being in such shock. Once settled in the room, we went through the long process of answering hundreds of questions and explaining why we were there over and over again, which was exhausting. We were then taken downstairs for a chest X-ray and then an echocardiogram. Needless to say, Peter was not a happy camper throughout all this, but he was a little more awake for which I was thankful.

Things calmed down a bit after that. My mom came to our rescue with some much-needed dinner and things from home. We settled in for the night, but still made many phone calls. Tom and I were desperate for information. We talked to Tom's sister and another friend, who are both nurses. We knew we were dealing with some type of cardiac issue that would probably require surgery, but it was at that time unknown how serious things really were. I can now look back and be so thankful for God's concealing then. We were in way too much shock to handle all that we were going to go through. I slept very little that night and held Peter for most of the time, simply because I wanted to.

I'm so glad we are not where we were a year ago today, but with the perspective that time brings, I can be thankful for it. God had so much in store for us!

I couldn't bring this post to a close without a word on where Peter is today. He is strong and healthy and a typical baby/toddler. As I wrote part of this, he was licking the pots and pans in the dishwasher:)