Bumped

We got home from our pre-op checkup with our cardiologist this morning to find a message on our machine from MUSC. I thought, "Maybe they just want to confirm everything...". No such luck.

We have been bumped.

They are having to clear the whole schedule next week so they can take care of some emergency cases. My heart goes out to those families. I hadn't ever thought about the fact that we were once one of those emergency cases (when Zach was 3 weeks old and registered a 65 on the pulse oximeter - yikes!) and may have caused some other family the heartache of having to rearrange their schedule. The woman I spoke to indicated that we might not be rescheduled until the end of the month.

I have been so bummed out all day. I know I shouldn't feel this way. I know that God is in control. We have so much to be thankful for... but most do not know how hard it is to prepare for your child's heart surgery. You get yourself all psyched up and ready to get it over with and behind you. You prepare yourself mentally (thinking about what to expect), physically (making arrangements for siblings, planning what to pack), and spiritually (sending out prayer requests). You stay cooped up, avoiding germs. You...

Ooooohhh! Hold on... Phone call from MUSC!

Hallelujah! Our new date is Monday, July 12. I can handle that. We will have to be there for pre-op on Friday, July 9, which is a bit inconvenient since we will be 4 hours from home, but I'm not complaining. Oh, thank you Lord!!!

Thank you for your prayers for Zach as we prepare! Continue to pray for all of us to stay healthy and for Dr. Bradley and his team.

Zach and Daddy wrestling/snuggling on Father's Day

Prayer request for Anna Grace

I don't think I've mentioned lately that I am so thankful for this faithful community of heart families! I love how we can come together to pray, encourage, share, educate, laugh, and cry together. One of the family is in an all too familiar place right now...

Please pray for The Bentley family today while little Anna Grace is in surgery right now for her Glenn. Everything is going well so far. Please pray for Dr. Bradley and his team.

She was born at MUSC 6 months ago, had her first surgery there before coming home at 1 month old. How fresh those memories are for her mom and dad, making it all the harder to hand her over this morning. She did well (thanks to versed!).

You can follow their updates during their stay at http://baasheepbaa.blogspot.com/  Leave them a note to let them know that they are being lifted up to The Great Physician.

Summertime!

I thought our blog was in need of a summertime makeover. I love all the FREE stuff that's out there for us bloggers, like Cutest Blog on the Block and Shabby Blogs. What others do you use, bloggers? I haven't gotten brave enough to design my own yet, so I make do with the freebies...

We have been busy these past couple of weeks. Daddy directed a camp for FCA last weekend. He said it was incredible! This is a picture of some of the 200 students at the camp during their Golgotha Experience, following in the footsteps of Christ on the way to His crucifixion. A very meaningful experience!

Rebecca spent last week at the beach with Nana and Papa getting S-P-O-I-L-E-D! They always have a blast shopping, swimming, shopping, eating, and shopping. She got some really cute stuff! Believe it or not, she is leaving Saturday to go to the beach again, this time with one of her friends. We will miss her, but I'm glad she is getting to go.

This week, Rebecca attended our local high school's volleyball camp for girls 6-12 years old. I was planning to upload a short video here, but Blogger has left out that icon on the tool bar for some reason. Anyone know anything about this? Anyway, here's a picture of our girl in action...

So, we have been trying to figure out what's going on with Mr. Zach this week. Since Saturday, he has had some tummy issues. He ran a low-grade fever on Saturday afternoon, but no more after that. He has had very loose BM's since then, once or twice a day. He doesn't particularly act sick, unless his tummy is "rumbly" but then again, he's not quite as wild as usual some of the time. I talked to our cardiologist to make sure it's not from one of his meds and he said just to make sure he is not getting dehydrated. We have tried to stick to the diet that they recommend - BRAT = bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast - but he doesn't like half of those things. He keeps asking for Chick Fil a and chocolate Teddy Grahams. Not so good for a sick belly. I do not want to take him to the doctor's office for fear of picking up a bug there. We are almost 2 weeks away from our surgery date, so I am getting VERY antsy. Any ideas of what to do for him?

In preparation for surgery, have your doctors recommended quarantine? We are really wanting to take Zach to see Toy Story 3 but that makes me nervous to think about taking him out around a lot of other children.

I am feeling a lot of anxiety about keeping him healthy and about surgery in general. Each day more and more, I feel the anxiety "boiling up" and the feeling of panic about overwhelms me. I keep reminding myself that God is in control. I have to depend on Him and allow this experience to strength my faith. So hard...

Thanks for checking in on us. We covet your prayers as we head down the home stretch toward July 7!

Big announcement and Family Beach Trip 2010

Things have been so crazy these past few weeks! I noticed that I have not posted in over 2 weeks! I have so much to update here... where to begin???

Well, first of all, I won't keep you guessing about my big announcement (lest some of you jump to drastic conclusions like "Pam must be expecting!" Let me assure you that 40-year-old Pam is NOT EXPECTING!) But there are going to be some big changes for our family!

I am the new School Library Media Specialist at a local Junior High School!

I completed my degree last December. We were originally planning to wait for me to find a job until Zach was ready for full-day 5K, but God provided this opportunity now. I don't know what the economy is like in terms of education where you live, but around here, things are tough. Word is, it will be worse for the 2011-2012 school year (when I was planning to hunt for a job). So, I am taking this job.

We have found a great preschool for Zach that is only about 1 mile from my school. It will be nice to have him close by in case he should get sick or something. He will be delayed in starting school because of his surgery --- his cardiologist said we could expect about 6-8 weeks, so that puts us at the end of August. We have a lead on a young lady from our church to stay with him some when Bill needs to work away from home.

Some days, I think I am crazy for attempting this right now, with all that we have ahead of us for the month of July. Please pray extra hard:

• for Zach to be healthy prior to surgery so it won't be postponed
• for surgery not to be postponed by us getting bumped
• for Zach's recovery to be complication-free so we can get home and do some real recouperating.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers!

Beach Trip 2010

We went last week to our annual beach trip with my family. For the past 10 years, my folks have rented a huge house for the whole family and extended family to gather at. It is always so much fun but so crazy with 20-25 people there! This year, Zach had an awful reaction to the sunscreen on the first day there. The crazy thing is, I know we used that same type of sunscreen last summer with no problems. I went and bought some milder stuff to no avail. He was pretty miserable and it affected his behavior as well. I ended up getting some Benedryl, which helped with the itching and made him sleepy rather than hyping him up. (One time, I gave Rebecca some Benedryl and her eyes stayed dilated for several hours! She was a wild child on that stuff! So, needless to say, I was a bit concerned about giving Zach the stuff, being that he is already a wild child!!!) He is no longer itching but still has the rash on his back, chest, and belly. The doctor said to let it clear up and then try a small patch with a basic cream sunscreen for babies. He said to avoid the spray-on stuff.

We have been really slack about having professional pictures made. Here's some pictures that my sister-in-law took of us on the beach. Zach cooperated for just a few pictures, but I was really pleased! I think they look quite professional!

I included the one of Zach on the steps going back up to the beach house. He had decided that the photo session was over!

We had a ping pong table, pool table, and foosball table in the media room. Needless to say, that is where the kids spent most of their time. This is Rebecca and my sister's two children.

  

  

Zach in his favorite hiding spot --- under the pool table!

As you can see, I have a big family. There's my mom, my 4 siblings and their spouses and kids, and some of my aunts and uncles from my mom and my dad's side. Lots of love to go around!

    

We also had a pool --- it was well used despite the water being quite cold.

We set up tents on the beach and Bill and Zach put them to good use for an afternoon nap.

In the afternoons, there was a huge tidepool for the kids to play in.

Low tide provided lots of room for a game of chase!

Our little heart warrior was just happy to splash in the waves! Don't you love the reflection in the sand?

Hope you are enjoying your summer, too!

Testing... testing... im setting up mobile blogging in case we don't have access to internet at the hospital
**Pam**