"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10
Riley was born December 30, 2008, with Transposition of the Great Arteries and Aortic Stenosis. We were expecting a perfectly healthy child, but when she came into this world, she was blue and lifeless. They rushed her to NICU without me holding her or kissing her...they just walked by and said something is wrong, but we will be back. About an hour later, 3 doctors came in and said, "You have a very, very sick child. Children's Hospital is coming to get her. There is something wrong with her heart." As they told me, I was in shock. "Her heart?" "What?" "What did I do?" "Is she gonna die?" So many thoughts rushed through my mind, and when I saw her hooked to IV's and a ventilator, as she was so small and beautiful, I lost it. I wished I could have taken her place. I should be holding her and feeding her, not praying for her to survive the Open Heart Surgery that was coming in a few days. They arrived and took her to Batson Children's Hospital.
Riley's first procedure was a cath at 8 hours old to prolong her life, so we could fly to D.C. for Open Heart Surgery. We got to D.C., and her oxygen began to drop and her body began to shut down due to lack of oxygen. They did her surgery at 5 days old. She had the "switch" procedure to basically switch her two main arteries so the blood could flow properly. She struggled during her surgery arresting twice, but came through like a little trooper. We stayed in CICU for a week, and moved to heart and kidney for two weeks because the fluid around her heart wasn't decreasing. The saddest thing, was watching my newborn baby with all these wires, tubes, and blood coming in and out, and I couldn't even hold her. Heck, I had no place to even touch her. I just sat by her bed praying hard as I cried. I could feel that I had no choice but to pray, and pray like never before. My faith was tested. I walked around talking to God, noone else, just God. I wanted so desperately to say, "Let her be ok," but I would just pray, "You know what I want, but please do your will. Please heal my baby." After being in the hospital the first month and half of her life, we were able to come home!!!!
We came home, and she is truly the sunshine in my life. She is a ball of energy, and such a sweet, sweet baby!! We have recently been diagnosed with Aortic Stenosis and a leaky Aortic Valve, so we do have more Open Heart Surgery in the future. We take it day to day, and we go with the flow. Riley is my hero and God's angel on earth.
CHD has taught our family to love more, hug more, and fight against all odds. Nothing can touch the faith that I have in God today. Everytime I see her, I see a miracle.
We pray more and take nothing for granted. We are very grateful for what we have. I have met amazing families, children, and supporters in the CHD community. I have also cried for these families and the babies who've lost their fight. I will remain an educator, advocator, and supporter OF CHD until all steps are taken to help these families and precious babies. The strange thing is, I am a mother of 4, and I had never even heard of CHD until my last child was born with one.
I hope one day you all can meet MY hero, my daughter, Riley.
God Bless!
Angee Brock
Today, Dec. 30, is also Miss Riley's birthday!! Happy Birthday precious girl!!!
For more on Little Riley please visit:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=709102757
www.caringbridge.org/visit/rileynicolebrock
www.rileysmendedheart.blogspot.com
Angee and her family were on the Today Show, where an amazing song was sung in honor of their strength. It's so very neat! To see the clip, visit...
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29125921/ns/today-kathie_lee_and_hoda/
Thank you so much for sharing my daughters story! I hope that I can help spread the word and introduce my hero, Riley, to the world! God Bless!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Angee Brock and family