It’s now been a couple of weeks. A lifetime for two young parents. Long days and longer nights in the hospital…praying, crying, holding each other, and begging their two month old son to be strong and fight. To prove he is truly a heart warrior.

And he did just that.

For those if you who’ve followed this story, you already know how serious the situation was. A two month old baby suddenly diagnosed with not one, but we all later discovered, THREE, separate heart problems which required life-saving emergency open heart surgery. A baby who was already experiencing life-threatening heart failure.

Baby Cash had his surgery just two weeks ago. He was supposed to stay in the hospital at least a week, if not longer.

That did not happen. He was released and went back home in just five days.

He continues to improve on a daily basis. Some of his scars are already fading. The one in his chest looks so much better already. And we are betting by next summer we will hardly notice it.

He is back to his regular sleep schedule, or just about, depending on what time he needs his medications. He’s eating normally, and his appetite is increasing, and his personality is developing more every day. Although he has to be picked up and held differently than most infants until his breastbone heals from where it was cut open, he is just the same Cash as he was before the surgery…except healthier and happier. Because now he breathes easier, and his little heart is working just like it’s supposed to.

His mom put it beautifully into perspective just a few days ago.

“It’s so hard to believe just two weeks ago I felt as if my whole world was crashing down. I was watching strangers take my baby, my perfect little baby boy, to be operated on. And not knowing the end result.

I was praying to God like I never had before.

It was a whole new feeling. I was sick to my stomach. We were waiting almost 8 hours to be able to see him. And when we did, he looked nothing like how I had last seen him. He just laid there very still, pale, almost like a wax figure. He looked nothing like my baby.

The only movement was his chest moving up and down, all from a machine that was breathing for him. There were tubes everywhere. Just thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes. I couldn’t imagine life without my baby boy.

Looking back on everything, it’s crazy to see how far he has come in just two short weeks. I know that he will have no memory of this, and the scar will fade, but I will be sure to let him know that his scar is proof that God heals; that God answers prayers.

I have always looked at my scar from my c -section in the mirror and wished his birth went as we’d planned, but without that scar I wouldn’t have him.

We both will rock our scars with pride!”

Cash is doing beautifully. Although he’s not allowed a lot of visitors right now until he has his next round of vaccines, he’s had a few times to go out with his parents and enjoy the fresh air and the beauty of the world around him.

Just see how wonderful this little man is looking! Would you have known he’d had such a serious surgery just a few weeks previous?

It’s stories like this that reminds us how important life is, and reminds us not to take anything for granted. It also reminds us that we have a Lord who is ever faithful, and who hears our prayers, and acts upon them.

God is good, and all the time. Baby Cash is a reminder of just how good He is.

Thanks to all of the staff at CHKD for taking care of this little miracle. And for the other work they do with so many thousands of other children.

Previous posts in this series can be found in the “Healing a Tiny Heart” Category on this blog.