A parent’s worst nightmare is learning something is seriously wrong with their child. It is traumatic at any age in that child’s life, but far worse in the case of an infant.
Being told your 2 month old son has a huge hole in his heart, which will require open heart surgery to correct, is something no parents ever want to hear.
Baby Cash will be having open heart surgery on Tuesday. He will still have to remain in the hospital for several weeks while being closely monitored by a group of extremely dedicated and highly professional doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughter’s (CHKD) in Norfolk.
This series is their story, told in their words. I have only edited them. And I could not ever write the following post as well as Cash’s mom has done.
“October was always my favorite month. It’s jeans and hoodie weather. The leaves change, the trees put on a beautiful display of colors, and the nights are perfect for bonfires.
I had so many things planned for this month: our first fall family pictures, taking Cash to the pumpkin patch for more pictures, carving a pumpkin for him and dressing him all up for his very first Halloween, along with Coleman and my second wedding anniversary on October 12.
Now in six short days our lives have drastically changed. October…once my favorite month… has become one of the most challenging times of my life.
A month of pure heartache. A day before our wedding anniversary Cash will be having open heart surgery. A surgeon from UVA Medical will be coming down on Sunday to meet with us on Monday. He deals with more the complicated heart surgeries.
I’ve never been more scared in my life.
Meeting with several doctors a day to get a game plan established, I sit here still…motionless… listening…or should I say, trying to. While I sit staring at Cash’s eyes as my own fill with water, trying to hold back the tears long enough for everyone to leave the room.
I’m forcing down food and sleeping with what seems to be my eyes open.
These short 6 days have been hard, but they are trying to prepare us for harder times.”
Ashley B
October 8, 2016
Previous posts in this series can be found in the “Healing a Tiny Heart” Category on this blog