On Friday, I called our heart doctor and scheduled an appointment for his 1-year echo cardiogram. That one single phone call set off an entire weekend filled with retrospect and reminiscing over what our lives have become in the last year.
With Jacob now 16 months-old, and 13 months after his heart surgery, time has flown and our little Jacob has grown by leaps and bounds!
It's hard to believe that just one year ago we were, in essence, watching our baby slowly die before our eyes, and what a tremendous feat it was just to get him to reach 10 lbs in weight. The physical therapist wouldn't even touch him because he looked so sickly, and I just looked at him in awe at his calm, patient demeanor as he endured his own personal trials at such a young and tender age.
(Jacob immediately after heart surgery)
As we look at photos, it is easy to discern which photos were pre-surgery and post-surgery by the sadness and lethargy in his face.
(weigh in just before surgery)
But as soon as he had his heart repaired a light literally switched on. He was taken off ALL of his medications before he left home. He was taken off his feeding tube within a couple of days of his surgery. No longer did he just lay limp and lifeless watching the world go on around him. He began to engage, smile, move, and LIVE.
At his 1-year review with the cardiologist, we were told that not only does his heart sound nearly perfect, but they won't even do much more than listen to it with a stethoscope next year. Our little boy has gone from missing the center of his heart, to a complete recovery physically.
Now he runs around after his sister, giggling as she runs screaming from him terrified of his assault on her personal space. He walks, runs, climbs, crawls, squats in a catcher's stance, and spends every waking minute making up for lost time, exploring the world around him and all that it holds for our sweet little boy.
For us, the future is bright, and our hopes for Jacob are high. Rather than standing at idle, we are moving full speed ahead trying to keep up with our dynamic, happy, lively little boy. Wish us luck!