We Are Blessed

Happy Day-After-Christmas! Here's Braden's update:

Braden has just gone into surgery to have a permanent pacemaker installed. Darth and I really have been praying for a miracle in this area, hoping to avoid yet another procedure. Things have not gone as we would have prefered. However, if we have been reminded of anything over the past several days, it is that God is God and we are not! Sometimes we seem to try to take on the advisory committee kind of approach to our requests of the Lord. This issue in particular has been a real painful one to release to His will. We know Jesus heals and that He responds to our faith and answers prayer. When He doesn't answer in the way we want Him to, it challenges our faith and sometimes even shakes it. We have had a rough couple of days, praying, crying, pleading, and even being angry, questioning why our infant son has to go through so much. We have been really believing for a miracle concerning the heart block. Many of you have been right there with us, helping us through these intense days. We could not have come out with the peace we are currently experiencing without you helping to carry us through it. We actually hit a point of exhaustion trying to negotiate with God and finally had to say, okay, we give up, this is your thing not ours and we trust and praise you regardless of the situation.

Earlier today, when we got to Braden's room, the team of doctors was there and were discussing some activity the ventricle was conducting. It was not consistent, but it was there. We were so excited to hear even that. There will just be a ventricular lead placed with today's surgery and it is needed at this point, but later on, if full function returns, it will just be back-up. Every day we wake up and say, Lord this would be a great day for a miracle. So, today's news was so encouraging, especially with the pacemaker surgery being the same day. Braden is just plain a miracle anyway. Today in our consult with the surgeon, Dr. Permut, he was saying that Braden's VSD is the largest he or Dr. Cohen have ever seen, in their combined years of experience. The fact that it was able to be closed at all is amazing. Yesterday Dr. Cohen called it monstrous.

On another note, we want to extend our gratitude to several special groups of people. Some are even individuals we have never met, but who have been such a blessing. First, thank you to the wonderful group of families (Dennys, Guntermans, Wards, Guys, Walkers, Tris, Chapmans, Evans, & Giaudrones) that sent us a gift basket, gift cards, and presents. You have never even met us and yet you were so loving and generous in a really practical way. THANK YOU!

Next, we want to thank another amazing group of people, our "heart" family. We have been so encouraged by the input of other families that have been there and done that with congenital heart defects and surgeries. We have been through an extreme crash course in our education and it has been painful. Your support has helped carry us through the ups and downs of these difficult days. Though we may not have contacted you directly, we have read your input and have benefited from your encouragement. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Lastly, to those of you who have prayed us through the last week, when we were feeling so low and discouraged, thank you for listening to the Lord and for praying at odd hours of night and day. We really needed that support and it made all the difference for us in facing today and the acceptance of God's will over our's.

We will update you after Braden's surgery is completed. We are praying for no infection to set in from today's incision, for good lung function following another brief time on the ventilator, and great recovery over all. We just really want to go HOME!!!!

We are blessed!
-Darth & Jenni