Hospital and Home, Thanks

I was looking back over pictures from the last 20 days and am still amazed at how far we have come. I came across this group shot we took in Eden's hospital room on Saturday (3 days after the surgery). It was totally illegal to have more than three visitors in the CICU rooms, but after all the alcohol we snuck into the hospital what's a few more people in her room, right? Anyway, so many thoughts come to mind with this picture.


All of the people that came to visit us... those that flew in town on just hours of notice, those that brought food and flowers, and those that were there in spirit. I also look at our faces and see half relief and half shock. Eden was barely out of the woods at this point. She had stood on her legs for the first time and that was such an amazing sight.

Now, those same legs are learning to adjust to the heart of an energizer bunny. We have heard that she may be experiencing some muscle exhaustion, just as we do when we push our bodies to work harder than we are used to. Brian and I are also learning to adjust to parenting a child with more energy - one who doesn't love to go to bed as much as she used to and has the energy to protest her limits a bit more.


Luckily, we are not alone. My mom spent the first week with us, Brian's mom was here for the second, and now Brian's sister, Erin, is here. I truly believe that I would not be able to get out of bed in the morning if it wasn't for all the help that we have been getting. We also have to thank Brian's company for their amazing support, as well as, our friends and neighbors that continue to bring meals and provide playdates.

Eden is doing better every day and her heart continues to look great at her appts.; we could not ask for anything more. We have met several families through this process, and although the general consensus is that young children do very well with heart transplants, we are quite aware of what a fragile place we are in. Every good report is still a relief and every extra minute we have been given with Eden is appreciated beyond words.