At one point in my life, post-advertising career and pre-children, I contemplated becoming a nurse. Did I REALLY?? Be careful what you wish for, right? My life has become not surprisingly full of a continuous stream of pediatrician visits, specialist visits (both nephrologists and cardiologists), speech therapists, attachment therapists, imaging centers for x-rays, labs for bloodwork, opthamologists, dentists, multiple pharmacies, etc, etc. It's no wonder I haven't posted here in a while! Becoming a mom of 3 has been pure JOY coupled with less of me and more of them and the aforementioned busyness! In spite of the "aches and pains" that are associated with all of this coming and going, John and I can't help but feel so overwhelmingly blessed by our growing family. As if we needed any more convincing, this last adoption underscores that there is no other way to "be happy in Jesus" than to trust and obey! Any apprehension we had of welcoming a 6-year old orphan with half a heart into our home has melted away with the amazing blessing this little boy has been to all of us in the Lossing family. Thank You Lord, for Your plans are perfect!
Jonathan will, indeed, need open heart surgery this month. His cardiac catheterization is scheduled for this Monday, April 6 at 1:00p. This will be an outpatient procedure at Inova Fairfax Hospital to get a more in-depth look at the veins/arteries, lungs, heart, etc, and determine if he can be a candidate for surgery as well as determine any complications that need to be addressed. The cardiologist is optimistic that the open heart surgery later this month (TBD) should be straightforward and will reroute all of his "blue blood" in the lower half of his body directly to the lungs (bypassing the heart). Apparently, it is not necessary for a human body to have 2 ventricles to function so Jonathan's prognosis, assuming surgery goes well, is that he will have a fairly normal lifespan with some restricted activity (no competitive sports, for ex.). The "blue blood" in the upper half of his body was already rerouted through surgery that he had at Beijing Fuwai Hospital in April of 2004 when he was 3.5 years old.
Thank you for continuing to lift up our family in prayer. We may be calling on some of you to help with the girls during the 5-7 night stay in the hospital for Jonathan's surgery. We'll keep you posted!