For hearth month this year I’m going to try to take a little bit of a different approach. In the past I have done the heart month challenge on Instagram from Conquering CHD, but wanted something that would be different than doing those over again. So I found a different heart month challenge on IG (@cortney.given) with different prompts and decided I could do an IG post that was short and sweet and maybe expound on things here on the blog - therapeutic writing ;)
So the first prompt is a favorite memory from the hospital.
One of the most anticipated moments from each surgery that Kyler has had now has been seeing him afterward, but more so the first chance to snuggle again. It has always been a few days wait post-op before I can have my Buddy back in my arms, and each time it is the best feeling. I think that a big part of that anticipation is due to the opposite side of that - dropping Kyler off with the anesthesiologist in the dreaded, horrible hallway that leads to the OR. That hallway and those double doors have probably heard the sobs and felt the tears of more parents and loved ones than anywhere else in the world. I can very distinctly remember those moments from each of his surgeries, and this recent one was no different. But I will save those memories in my head and heart for now and get back to the happy snuggle memories.
Snuggling Kyler for the first time in the CICU after his Fontan (most recent surgery) was just as special as getting to hold him as a baby. This surgery came with a lot of anxiety and fears for me, and I think that just being able to have in safely back in my arms, knowing that he was making moves in a positive direction was what I really needed. It did not take him very long at all to fall asleep laying on me. Just getting up and moving to the chair and my lap next to the bed was a lot of work for a 4 year old that just had his chest opened and messed with days earlier.
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| First snuggle after the Fontan |
Once we moved out of the CICU we had a bit more room to move about and made it easier to snuggle. My favorite was the day that he got out of his bed and came over and laid with me on my bed (really awful pullout chair thing that they call a parent bed - they are horrible!). He snuggled right up next to me and just started giggling. That got us both laughing and we couldn’t stop. It was the best! We still encountered a few complications and hard days after that moment, but it was then that I really felt that he was doing better and things would be okay. |
| "I can't stop laughing!" |
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| Being Silly |
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| Daily nap time with my Buddy |
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| 🥰 |
I asked Kyler about some of his favorite moments from the hospital and he actually has a lot of positive memories. The one that always comes up first is all of the time spent in the playroom. We were lucky enough to go almost daily, even while attached to oxygen and two chest tubes. Jacob was great about chasing him around the room while attempting to not pull on the chest tubes or pull his face off with the oxygen cannula. It was comical to watch, and added a few stressful moments for our nurse as she would periodically have to yell at Kyler to slow down ;) Kyler loved playing with the train table, hot wheels racetrack, pretend doctor play, and air hockey. Jacob and I loved being out of the room and watching Kyler be able to just be a normal kid….even if he was attached to drains and tubes.
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| Playroom!! |
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| Dad trying to keep up. |
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| Trains all day |
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| Soccer! The ball was bigger than him. |
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| More trains with Dad. |
The hospital is definitely full of its share of hard moments and tough memories, but also some of my most special memories.
