Special Friends

I'm going to keep this post pretty short and sweet, but I can't post about CHD week without saying thank you to the man that has done so much for my daughter. This is my favorite picture from Sophia's Make A Wish trip and I think it sums up how her face looks everytime she talks about Felix. Felix Hernandez brought my little girls smile back. I know I have thanked him numerous time, but thank you Felix for putting this smile back on my little girls face.

Make A Wish

One year ago I received a phone call that less than a month after a "simple" cath lab procedure my daughter was going to have to have open heart surgery. Well, I didn't take that too well and I got really frustrated and upset, so I decided to try and see if Sophia would qualify for a wish through Make A Wish. Well, I wasn't sure that she would qualify. I decided to go for it and sure enough we found out that she was chosen for a wish. I asked her what she wanted to do, I told her that she could meet someone, go somewhere, do something, or be something for a day. Well, it didn't take her a long time to decide and she quickly decided that she wanted to meet Felix Hernandez from the Seattle Mariners. (We'll get to our special friend tomorrow and what he has done for my daughter) What I can say about our wish grantors and our experience is that is was incredible. We talked as a family a little after the new year and I was asking Sophia what she thought about last year, with her surgeries and trips. Honest to goodness when we talked she didn't remember much about her surgeries and talked about her wish trip and all of the fun we had while in Seattle. I thank the Seattle Mariners and Felix a lot for helping Sophia get her smile back, but it never would have fully gotten there without the Make A Wish Foundation. In 2014; I plan on paying it forward and volunterring myself with Make a Wish!

My Little Hero

I know that I did two blogs last year on Sophia being my hero, but as I look back on our lives the last year and look over pictures that I took last year, I am reminded as to how strong she really is. She has taught our family so much and she is such a little light to us all. There is another hero I will talk about later, but we'll start on my girl. As I looked back on the pictures I can't believe where my family was a year ago today. I was in a pretty dark place, now that I look back. It's not easy to go to Seattle for an appointment that takes a couple days and then be told that you will be coming back in the next 3-6 months for an open heart surgery and then get the news only a week after returning home that you will be back for an open heart surgery less than three weeks later. Looking back, I didn't deal with it well and I'm not sure I'm surprised, but this isn't about me, this is about Sophia. She actually did very well and that's why I continue to write about her strength. While she didn't know really what she was getting into she went into her surgery with the fight that I have seen since she was born. We have been very open with Sophia about her heart (kind of hard not to with a giant scar down the middle of her chest) She knows that she had to have surgery lsat year becaue her heart was sick and the doctors needed to fix it. She of course has questions about it, but handles is like a champ! Sophia was discarged from the hospital THREE DAYS after having open heart surgery! It was so hard, we pushed each other so hard, but I saw her do it. I saw her fight, cry, claw and get herself out of that hospital. And she just kept going, there was no slowing her down. She enjoyed her summer and played soccer and got to go on the trip of a lifetime (something I will talk about later too :) ) I have included pictures from our trip last year, some are on the blog, some are new, just to show everyone how strong she is. She goes to each appointment with a smile on her face and an open mind. She is the one that keeps me calm during her appointments. Sophia is still a fighter, she is still a firecracker and shows us everyday how precious life is.

Heart Mommy

I think most of you that know me, know that the title of heart mommy is something that I take a lot of pride in. It was almost six years ago that I learned that the beautiful baby girl that I was carrying was going to be born broken. That was an incredibly hard pill to swallow and it was terrifying. I had to rely on my faith to get through the fact that I was going to have my baby and she was going to be taken from me and then a week later someone was going to open her chest and fix her heart. Those were some difficult weeks and days and I have always tried to find a way to describe how I felt. How I fought and will continue to fight. I think this song, by another heart mommy, is a perfect description of the pain, fear, and determination of every mother I have encountered on Sophia's journey.

My Favorite Week of the Year

1 in 100...I think 2008 was the year of 1 in 100, because I know SO many children born in 2008 with CHD. I actually know two little girls born the same day, on minutes apart that were born with a CHD. I am honored to be a heart mommy and I am honored to help fight for awareness for something that is so close to my heart.