Our 'Lil Prince is turning ONE !
We made it!
Jasiu, YOU DID IT !
He got through this tough year !
Can you tell I'm excited... That is such a huge relief and one of the happiest moments in our lives, and what a year it has been. February 25, 2011 was the scarriest day of our lives, we didn't know how it all will turn out, how hard yet rewarding this year would be. It’s been a rocky beginning, a roller coaster of emotions, ups and downs, tears of pain and tears of happiness and above all it was a time of continued hope for a tomorrow. Jasiu came such a long way during this year it amazes me every single day and moment that I think about him. In the CHD community the first year hurdle is just another statistic that you try to overcome. It’s a major step in the right direction but it is not the end and it’s not like we can just breathe a sigh of relief and consider it done and let our guard down. The battle continues and we continue to enjoy life.
Here is a quick synopsis or our 1st year…
· 2 open heart surgeries
· 2 heart catheterizations
· 27 days in the hospital
· Numerous heart echos
· More X-rays that I can even think of
· 4 synagis rounds (total of 8 shots so far) (One more round in March)
· 5 months on the NG tube
· 13 Cardiology / Clinic Visits
· 9 Pediatrician Visits
· 365 days of Life we are grateful for
Despite all of this, we have spent every major holiday at home with him and though we spent the first 5 months pretty much locked up at home and the clinic it was one of the best years of our lives (the other two best “first” years were first year married and Emily’s first year). Once we got over the interstage we began to live our “normal” life.
People everywhere comment how happy he is and how he is always smiling, how much energy he has, especially at church. Honestly, this child is so active that we have a hard time during a one hour mass to keep him occupied and happy because he gets bored so quickly and wants to be active all day long. People who don’t know about his HLHS would never be able to tell from looking at him. I love and hate that. I love it because we can live a somewhat normal life. I hate it because when I act paranoid or too controlling or overprotective, people look at me like I’m from Mars, but I’m getting used to that feeling and it’s not about how I am feeling it’s about Jasiu and what I need to do to protect him.
Some fun facts about Jasiu:
· He beat out his sister at rolling over at around 5.5 months (one month post surgery #2)
· He already has 5 teeth and more trying to break through
· He has NO Fear – lets go of the couch or his toys and thinks he can walk already (looks like he drank a liter of vodka when he walks assisted by our hands)
· He can make it up our one flight of stairs in under a minute (if we let him)
· He can make 2 or three steps alone to fall into your arms
· He loves diving into his ball pits he received for Christmas
· He is so smart, funny, and stubborn all at once and with one look you can tell he is all three sometimes.
· He loves to “sing” and babbles a lot
· He has barely a quarter of an inch of hair and wakes up with the funniest bedhead ever
· He absolutely loves bath time
We will celebrate this birthday with so much joy and happiness for our family and for Jasiu. As with every day we thank God for this gift and celebrate as if it was our last, whether it’s Jasiu’s mine or anyone’s because the harsh reality that this ONE year taught me is that we are not promised tomorrow. God may call each and every one of us to him anytime, which everyone knows in the back of their minds but doesn’t really think about it. During this long year, I have seen so many of the 40,000 babies that didn’t make it to this wonderful celebration and were called to be in heaven way too early than we would like. So much pain in the CHD community that it breaks my heart for their parents, that instead of birthdays they have to celebrate “angelverseries” and that it could be us any day. I don’t want to end on this somber note because we were given this wonderful year with Jasiu and we are grateful and we continue to fight. So we need to continue to thank God and celebrate to the fullest.
The Big First Birthday Party celebration will be on Jasiu’s actual birthday, we will be surrounded by close family and friends and mark this milestone in the calendars. It won’t be a huge bash since it’s February in Chicago and a nice backyard party with inflatable jumpers and the like is just not happening in 35 degree weather, but we will have clown for the kids, good food, a beautiful cake provided by Icing Smiles and the playground, ie the basement though only about 70% finished it’s complete enough so that the kids can safely play down there with plenty of room to spare.
Happy 1st Birthday Jasiu !!!
Mommy Daddy and Emilka love you so much.
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