CATCH UP POST 3

We have had a blessed weekend full of swimming, baseball, and spending family time with Bentley at home since she is not allowed to go anywhere. Bryson's team did wonderful but did not win their last game, in this tournament you have to "not win" twice before you are out.. so his next game is tonight.

Remember that beautiful park I mentioned while we were in Houston for Bentley's surgery. Here are a few photos. I am not sure of the name, but I am sure some of my Houston bloggin' friends could help me out with it...


First up.. Miss Bentley and I absolutley LOVE it.

Going for a stroll in the park... she loved it. She has always loved being outside.

The one and only time I could get her to look at me for a picture.

Here is the front of the park, it's on a corner.. very close to Texas Children's Hospital. Have I mentioned how wonderful they are? So thankful God led us here.. we were very close to going to another location, but for the first 5 months of Bentley's life I have thought about this place. At 5 months we took a huge jump.. and setup an appointment. We fell in love immediately! Texas Children's Hospital is such an amazing place!!!

Ahhh, so peaceful..

Can't see them great here, but waterfalls on each of these...

Further into the park were these fountains.. many of them..

Beside the fountains.. this seating area..

Notice the roof of the seating area..

The seating area above was on both sides of the fountains..

We love being outside.. it's such a beautiful thing to see all that God has created.

Here is a photo of Bryson and Brenna at the same park. My parents and the kids stopped by there one night after leaving the hospital. You can see the waterfalls behind them.

A quick update on Bentley.. nothing has changed. She still has the cough and runny nose, still no fever. I don't think that it has gotten better, but it has not gotten worse so we are grateful for that. Bentley's recovery is still going well.

Also, one of my dad's best friends passed away this past weekend. Please keep the family and friends of him in your prayers. The loss of his friend was unexpected. My dad is one of the strongest people I know, but he is very hurt and I can see it. He tries to hide the pain, but we can all see the pain in his eyes, it breaks my heart.

I think this post concludes all the updates from Houston.. I have so many more pictures to update since Houston. Lots of summer fun coming!!

WE'RE A MATCH!

The results are in.. Bentley and I have the same blood type. PRAISE THE LORD! So on May 20, 2009 I will be giving a little of my blood to my sweet baby girl. She will need a blood transfusion during her open heart surgery and I am THRILLED I am going to be able to do this for her. This puts a HUGE smile on my face. I would of course be thankful for any blood she would receive stranger or not.. We are not completely in the clear though.. I have tried to donate blood about 4 times in my life (shame on me, this WILL change), and I have only been able to do it twice because of my iron. I am usually low on iron.. so I am going to have to get it together and increase my iron intake and just pray my blood will pass the test. My iron will be the only setback. It's so frustrating not knowing. I am SOOO thankful for the opportunity to give my blood to Bentley but if I do not pass the test (3 days before surgery) then I will be so grateful for the blood donors out there because Bentley will be getting someone else's. I never realized how important it is to donate blood.. it definitely SAVES LIVES! I will be making this a normal routine in my life, as will Ryan.

Also, Bentley will have her first physical therapy appointment on Wednesday. They will evaluate her and then decide what steps we need to take from there. I will keep you posted!

Oh, and Bentley had her first fruit tonight.. bananas. She loved them! Thanks to all those who commented and emailed advice. I will be mixing the veggies in, as most of you said, as soon as we make sure she has no allergies to the fruits.

"SOMETHING THE LORD MADE"

I'm in awe today as I have finally watched the movie called, Something The Lord Made. It is a true story about the very first open heart surgery that was performed in 1944. The worlds FIRST open heart surgery was performed on a baby that had Tetralogy of Fallot. WOW! What are the odds of this.. out of the many many heart conditions, it is the same heart condition Bentley has. And I have to say I really do not understand how CHD is not more known considering the history. There is amazing history behind open heart surgery that will interest several different people, not just people that are experiencing heart related issues. I would recommend this movie to anyone and everyone. It is by far my favorite movie. Take a look at the preview below.. if you have HBO, it is on HBO demand right now. You can watch it at no charge, if you do not have HBO, you can buy or rent it. I have heard about this movie since day 1, but I was scared to watch it. My husband and I finally got the courage to watch it last night.

I do need to mention since it is CHD awareness week. Considering the world's first open heart surgery was performed on a baby, why is it not more known? I just don't understand. When we hear open heart surgery, we immediately think adult. What about our babies. I totally support ALL heart awareness.. but children are often overlooked and short on funding for further research. With that said, I can tell you that they have came along way with open heart surgery since the beginning, there are ways they can go in now and do a repair on SOME defects without open heart surgery. Unfortunately, Tetralogy of Fallot is still open heart surgery. But most babies with TOF and other heart defects undergo several open heart surgeries. They are working to make these surgeries less invasive. How amazing is that! Bentley will possibly need more surgeries in the future, we will not know until after her first surgery. If she does it could be 5-10 years down the road and by then they might be able to do these in a different way, not open heart surgery. We need to get CHD out there and keep funding this organization so our babies can have a better future. So please help spread the word this week.. and if you get chance do watch "Something The Lord Made"!

PS.. on the video I posted last "LOOK AT YOU NOW", did you notice the baby named Mark towards the end, and it said he had Tetralogy of Fallot? Then at the very end, it showed Mark O'Shea (the guy singing the song)! I had tears this whole video, but to see how amazingly well he is now and then to announce he had TOF I just started bawling (Texas talk, I know) when he announced his TOF defect. He has lifted my spirits, that's for sure!

PSS.. BIG thank you to Dr. Alfred Blalock (surgeon), Vivien T. Thomas (African American surgical technician ), and Dr. Helen Taussig (female cardiologist) for all three getting together and making this surgery happen in 1944. God led these 3 people together to change the world.. and they did.

Many Blessings,
Crystal