Clarification and a request

Sasha's chest with only a faint remnant
of his first open-heart surgery

Upon breaking the news of Sasha's likely heart surgery, we received a lot of compassionate responses. Many people didn't even know what to say, and others tried to convince us that we could pray for a miracle and maybe he wouldn't have to have the surgery.

The truth is that we are HAPPY about the news. Don't get me wrong, we are not making light of the situation. We never wish open-heart surgery on anyone, especially our own son whom we love dearly. But, when we were told by the orphanage director that he had open-heart surgery at birth she said, "they corrected what they could". This left us thinking that it was possible that his defect was not repairable. There was a lump in my throat as I walked into the cardiologist with 2 children unsure of what I was going to hear about either one of them. But, a weight was lifted when we discovered that Sasha's heart could possibly be TOTALLY REPAIRED!!!! We are amazingly grateful to live in a time and a place where this is possible.

We understand the gravity of open-heart surgery. Every morning I dress the most beautiful girl in the world. And as I slide her jammies off, my eyes can't move from the bright pink scar that stretches from the top to the bottom of her sternum. And below that I stare at the two large circles left from the insertion of scopes. After her shirt is on, I can still see the scar peeking out from the neckline. And no clothes can hide the large reminders of IVs on each of her wrists. Every diaper change brings to light what this precious child has been through as my hand brushes what's left of a heart cath procedure on her left thigh. My beautiful little girl will always have visible signs of what I hope time will help her forget, but more importantly, my beautiful little girl will have a heart that will help her to survive and thrive. We want that for Sasha too, even if it means temporary misery...again.

IV lines

Heart cath scar

Poor, sweet Ana has endured much

Now for the request part of this post. Last night I was blessed by a phone conversation with another RR adoptive mom. I met my friend Joy at Buddy Walk last year. Her family recently welcomed their newest addition, Joel. Joel came home around the same time our two did. Joel is 7 years old and came home weighing 18 lbs! He wears 12 month clothes. Joel is very tiny and struggles to gain weight because of his heart. He has the same condition as Sasha (plus some), but he has been left untreated for his whole life. Because nothing was done early enough for Joel, he now suffers from Pulmonary hypertension. Joel is preparing to have a heart cath done on July 1st. The damage done due to lack of treatment is severe, and it has left doctors questioning what they can fix. July 1st will be a big day for this little guy. The heart cath will give the doctors a much better idea of what to do. As Joy told me all of this, she continued on to tell me of her devastation at the news. She had hoped that the cardiologist was going to say that everything would be okay now that he was in the good ol' USA. But then she shared with me her revelation. While on her knees (which is where all good revelations come, by the way), the Holy Spirit reassured her that God had not just created Joel, He had also been the one to fashion his heart. Little side note, the thing that is causing doctors so much concern right now is also the reason that Joel is still living after 7 years with no surgery! God knew that Joel was going to need a way to hang on until his family got there. On my knees, I pray for Joy and her family. I pray for Joel, and I pray that his doctors would be open to miracles. Please pray with me.

We NEVER trust our children into the hands of surgeons, but we ALWAYS trust them into the hands of the Great Physician. He has the ability to make clumsy hands nimble and give knowledge and wisdom as he sees fit.