Thats right, Samantha is turning 5 years old in just 7 days. I cant help but feel that to be a small miracle in itself. Less then a year and a half ago, Sami came home from her 4th open heart surgery as a 3&1/2 year old and weighing about 18 pounds. I recall how weak her poor little body was and I will NEVER forget getting her undressed for her first bath upon her return home..... How fragile she was as she toughed it out to walk herself to her bath and NOT be carried... A small part of my heart broke as she turned from me to walk towards the bathroom and I realized just how weak she had become, looking like little more then a happy skeleton making her way, with great effort, to her first bath since discharge. I wept there in that chair for several minutes before I could compose myself enough to rejoin the rest of the family for the kids bath time. It was upon rejoining them that I was also truly AMAZED by how strong Samantha is and the strength of her spirit. In MANY ways, it is beyond a doubt, HER strength of spirit, love of life and down right unwillingness to do anything OTHER then push on in a fashion that we (and other parents of heart warriors) have come to call Heart Strong which has gotten her so far against some truly daunting odds. Her strength, coupled with all the help and support we have received from ALL of you, our family..... friends.... and in some cases, complete strangers is what has gotten my family through this last year and a half. We are eternally grateful for the way each and every one of you has touched our lives. YOUR support has propped us up when we were too exhausted to stand on our own. From preparing food for us when we could not spare the time nor energy to cook for ourselves...... to taking shifts at the hospital for us as we struggled to find time to even get home for a nap and clean clothes..... to two ABSOLUTELY AMAZING employers, Fireline and Fishman Flooring, who stood behind us through all the missed time, and all of their understanding when our capabilities were limited even when we were on the clock...... to ALL of our coworker families whose outpouring of support and generosity was, and is astounding..... and all of the fundraising efforts from SOOO many wonderful people.... This holiday season, as we approach Samanthas 5th birthday, a birthday which... looking back to that first bath after discharge, we were completely clueless as to whether she would see age 5. I am so grateful for all of you, your support, love, and positive spirit. THANK YOU ALL!! Samantha has recently broken 31 pounds and we are pushing as much nutrition in her as we can. Her oxygen saturation levels are holding steady and she appears to be continuing to move in a good direction. Basically, there is not really anything new to report..... which in itself is GREAT news. We are posting some pictures from Samis birthday party and you can see for yourself how happy she is to celebrate 5 years old. Please, as always, continue to pray for Samantha and our family. We have come so far, yet there is still a long road ahead. And again..... THANKY YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO!!! Love, Frank, Shannon, Sami, and Parker
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 01:51:44 +0000
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