Riley, a Mother's Hero

Meet Miss Riley, a very special little girl, who is yet another example of God's extraordinary power and grace. Be sure to check out the Today Show clip of Riley and her family on the sidebar! A special thank you to Riley's mom, Angee, for not only sharing this journey, but for spreading awareness while loving and praying for others. God bless you guys! ♥

"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/

In Remembrance of Baby Leanna

Rest in peace Baby LeAnna 10/18/10-12/23/10




The world may never notice
If a Snowdrop doesn't bloom,
Or even pause to wonder
If the petals fall too soon.
But every life that ever forms,
Or ever comes to be,
Touches the world in some small way
For all eternity.

The little one we long for
Was swiftly here and gone.
But the love that was then planted
Is a light that still shines on.
And though our arms are empty,
Our hearts know what to do.
Every beating of our hearts
Says that we do love you.

Author Unknown

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

Every life has an important and specific purpose and impact on this world, no matter how brief. Thank you to all who prayed for this precious child. Little LeAnna fought very hard to stay with us, but God decided it was time to call her home.
Please continue to lift parents, Anna and Jeremy, up in prayer as they find a way through their grief. Funeral services were held this morning.

Dear Lord,
Please help this family in this time of loss and overwhelming grief. We don't understand why life can be filled with this pain and heartache.We will wait on you and not despair; We will quietly wait for your salvation. Our hearts may be crushed, but we know that you will not abandon us forever. Please show Anna and Jeremy your compassion, Lord. Help them through the pain so that they will hope in you again. We believe this promise in your Word to send us fresh mercy each day. Though they may not be able to see past today, we trust your great love will never fail them.
Amen

Prayers Please

While so many of us have so very much to be thankful for this Christmas, others, while thankful, are going through (or preparing for) difficult times. Please be in continued prayer for those in need, and remember just how fortunate we are to have a God who loves us and hears us when we call on him.




Baby Leanna: The process has begun to take LeAnna off ECMO. They say it could take up to 4.5 hours to complete. The family is not allowed in during this. She has been fighting sepsis and pneumonia, and they discovered a brain bleed last night.



Little Caroline: Caroline has had two open heart surgeries in her short time here (2 1/2 years) and has one to go. Her family is planning on traveling to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the end of February or the first part of March for Caroline's surgery. During this time, Caroline's parents will both will be out of work. They are selling t-shirts in order to raise money to help pay their bills back home, for food, and to pay for their stay at the Ronald McDonald House. The t-shirts are $15. For more information please visit http://thepuckettadventure.blogspot.com/2010/12/caroline-superhero-t-shirts.html
You may also read more about Caroline on this blog.



Sweet Sydney: Sydney (who has William's Syndrome) will be having a OHS through a hybrid procedure done in the OR at Batson as soon as February. They will be placing large stints in her arteries to open them up because the ballooning in the cath lab is no longer working. I will be posting more on Sydney and her story soon.

If you know of anyone who would like to be added to our prayer list or prayer warrior group, please email Megan at megbeau2@yahoo.com. God Bless!

Baby Leanna

Please be in fervent prayer for baby Leanna right now. She had OHS on Tuesday, and has had many complications since. She has been on and off life support, on kidney dialysis, ECMO, and is now fighting a blood infection. Her life is very delicate right now, and she desperately needs to be lifted up to the ultimate Healer. There is a food drive going on for her family today at the Pearl Brandon Wal-Mart through MS Mended Little Hearts at 3:00 P.M. Her family is staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Jackson, and also has 2 other young children.

Tenth Avenue North - You Are More

I Will Follow- Chris Tomlin (With Lyrics)

The Afters - Light Up The Sky

Update

Baby Leanna Update:
LeAnna had the cath today, they weren't satisfied with the results, so the cath has been left in as there will be another in the very near future. She lost a lot of blood so she is getting a transfusion now.
There will definately be a valve replacement in her future.

New...Baby Bryon Added to Prayer List:
Bryon, 2 months old, has a chd called Truncus arteriousis. He has had two Open heart surgeries, the first at 8 days old and the second in just the past few days. This family lives 4 hours away from the BEBCH and is staying at RMH. Mom, Nannette Pounders, who is a nurse, was prenatally diagnosed. Please keep this family in your prayers as well.

Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly) - Sanctus Real

Baby Leanna

Please keep precious newborn, Leanna, in your prayers. She was born 7 weeks early and it has been discovered she has a CHD. She was supposed to be going home, and ended up taking a turn for the worse. Please send prayers up for her, her family, and all involved.

Baby Bowen Overcomes a Heart Defect

Baby Bowen on ABC News with Diane Sawyer!

Bowen's Heart: Family Rallies Around Baby Boy Fighting Rare Heart Disease
Bowen Hammitt's Small Heart Is a Big Inspiration for his Family
By JAMES HILL
article taken from abcnews.go.com

Bowen Matthew Hammitt came into this world on Sept. 9, at 7 pounds, 7 ounces, with a wisp of light brown hair and a heart condition that threatened his survival.

"When he came out, I thought he would look different," says his mother, Sarah Hammitt, 31. "[But] he looked totally fine. So it was hard to see a baby that looked so beautiful and know that his insides weren't perfect. I kind of felt like, This isn't real. It couldn't be.'"

Bowen was born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, a rare congenital defect in which the left side of the heart is dangerously underdeveloped. In babies with HLHS, the left side of the heart cannot pump blood, so the right side must supply both the lungs and the body. Without surgical intervention, the condition is fatal.

"Any parent would say that watching your child go through something like that is much worse than going through it yourself," says Bowen's father, Matt Hammitt, 31. "You want to take their place, but you can't. That's been the most difficult part for me."


'All of Me'
The Hammitts learned of Bowen's condition after an ultrasound about halfway through Sarah's pregnancy. Already the parents of two girls, Emmy, 4, and Claire, 2, Matt and Sarah struggled with their emotions after receiving the news. Bowen would face three risky surgeries early in his life to repair his heart. Even with the advances in surgical treatment, about 30 percent of babies born with HLHS die before the age of five.

"It was hard to know that I had to fall in love with somebody that had those odds," says Sarah.

Matt Hammitt, who is the lead singer of the Grammy-nominated Christian rock band, Sanctus Real, turned to music for solace. "I had all kinds of questions and emotions, and the way for me to deal with that was writing music," he says. This winter, he plans to record an album of songs dedicated to his son and to other families going through difficult times with sick children.

for more see the Hammitt's blog:
http://bowensheart.com/