Two Weeks

We went for our weekly checkup with Dr. Robinson yesterday. Just like every other week, Harper has gotten worse. Her oxygen saturation levels were spending more time in the 80's than the 90's. We have to lower the limits on her monitor almost every night just so we can get a little sleep. She breathes so hard at times that her head bobs up and down with each breath. You can even hear her breathing from across the room at times. She has begun to spit up a little more indicating that she isn't tolerating her feedings as well. She is more pale and grayish looking.

Not all the time though. She has times when she does really well and times that she doesn't do so hot. Dr. Robinson said that pretty soon, she won't bounce back...she'll just constantly struggle.

The good news is that she's done great so far. She is eight weeks old and still going strong (well...kind of). She had great weight gain this week and now weighs 8 pounds, 1 ounce. We didn't think we'd make it to the eight pound mark, but here we are. The other great news is that once Harper makes it to ten weeks of age, the risk of surgery in and of itself decreases drastically. At that point in time, there isn't an advantage to waiting, so Dr. Robinson went ahead and put us on the schedule for two weeks from now. We meet with the surgeon next Thursday and he'll give us an exact date. Considering the fact that he does surgeries on Tuesdays, I expect it to be Tuesday, June 14th.

I thought I would be a wreck when it came time for this, but more than anything, I feel a sense of relief. I'm relieved that sweet Harper is finally going to get her heart fixed. I'm relieved that all of the open-ended waiting is over and we have a plan. And I'm relieved that we are going into surgery under the best possible circumstances. God is so, so good.

Dr. Robinson says that if everything goes well, we can expect 7-10 days in the hospital. Harper has a great advantage because she is being fed through an NG tube. Most other "heart babies" are too weak to eat when it gets close to surgery, so they go into the situation weak and malnourished. Harper is getting all the calories she needs (and then some) and she doesn't even have to work for it.

Two weeks certainly isn't long and I'm thankful that we don't have to anticipate her surgery for months like so many do.



Two weeks to worry.
Two weeks to freak out.

Two weeks to pray.

Two more weeks of monitors going off all night.
Two more weeks of tube feeding.

Two weeks to pray.

Two weeks to prepare.
Two weeks to hold my baby as much as possible before I have to go days without.
Two weeks until Harper gets a lifelong scar.

Two weeks to pray.

Two weeks to explain to Eli and Landon why we're going away again.
Two weeks to pack everyone in our family enough to be away from home for 10 days (at least).

Two weeks to pray.

Two weeks of anxiety.
Two weeks of fear.

Two weeks to pray.

I can get a lot of praying in over the course of two weeks. Prayers of thanksgiving. Prayers of praise and adoration. Prayers for strength and comfort. Prayers for Harper. Prayers for her doctors. Prayers in times of weakness and doubt. Prayers for faith and peace.

 Prayer works and it's the best thing we can do for Harper right now.

Thank you for your prayers. God hears them and He has answered them in the way He has watched over us.