Lily's Arrival - Part I

We brought our Lily home on May 11. After 18 days in the hospital our baby was finally declared well enough for departure. Blake was the first to see her sweet face after delivery. The nurses brought her over for me to see. Beautiful. I couldn't have loved her more. We gazed at her, amazed that God would grant us such a precious gift. 

At just three days old, Lily was sent to the cath lab for a heart catheterization in an attempt to repair one of her four heart defects. After about four hours of waiting anxiously for the outcome, the cardiologist performing the procedure rushed through the door to the waiting area. Fear seemed to be dripping from his face as he quickly ushered Blake and I into an office. He seemed nervous as explained step by step what had occurred. We watched the procedure video breathlessly as the doctor pointed out the aneurysm that had formed on Lily's tiny heart at a crucial moment during the catheterization. The hours that followed were filled with fear as we watched and waited to find out if fluid build up would increase around her heart.  We prayed. We cried. We waited. At midnight Lily's cardiologist performed an echo-cardiogram of her heart and determined that fluid had not built up around her heart. She was in the clear for now. The heart cath also added a further complication - a blood clot in her leg which had to be treated twice daily with blood thinner injections.  

In the days that followed, we spent the majority of our days and nights in he NICU, nurturing our baby girl. We were able to hold her and we sang and spoke to her softly as we prayed for her healing. Meanwhile the doctors made plans for her surgery. On May 1, we escorted Lily to the triage area from which she would be taken to the operating room. We prayed and cried as nurses took our nine day old baby through the double doors to prep her for surgery. Helplessness. Desperation. Fear. 

The surgeon's nurse led Blake and I to a private waiting room on the eighth floor. Soon we were joined by Blake's parents and friends, mostly from our church family and community group. Renae, our nurse, came in each hour with updates. After each update, we prayed for Lily and the doctors. In between updates, laughter filled the room as storytelling kept our minds from being completely paralyzed by fear. About five hours later, Renae announced that Lily was out of surgery. The procedure was a success. Lily now had a ventricular outflow patch which opened her pulmonary valve and a B.T. shunt to aid her heart in controlling blood flow.

An audible sigh of relief escaped from my lungs. We thanked God for His provision, healing, and peace. Lily would be taken to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for her recovery but we would not be able to see her for several hours. Blake and I went home and packed overnight bags, readying ourselves to begin our stay in the PICU with our little girl.