Drum Roll Please...

WE ARE HOME!!!! As we speak Kaelyn is nestled quietly in her boppy, having lots of sweet dreams I'm sure. A little while after we got home Wayne asked her if she was "pumped to be home" and she gave us two of her biggest smiles yet. We are all so glad to have her heart surgery behind us and ready to move on from here. Thanks for all your kind words and prayers, that is what got us through all of this. Kaelyn is absolutely amazing, she endured so much these past couple weeks. We're so proud of her and so grateful to be her parents.

I've been thinking about an experience we had while I was pregnant with Kaelyn and I wanted to put it down on her blog so I would remember it. After it was evident that Kaelyn was going to be spending some time in the NICU because of her condition, we set up a consultation with the University of Utah NICU. We met in a conference room with a doctor and he went over everything that was going on with Kaelyn. One thing he said really stuck out in my mind. He said, "You're daughter will not be the same person she would have been if she had Down syndrome alone. The issues with her heart and growth really complicate her situation". He tried not to be too negative and at one point advised us to be "cautiously hopeful" about how things would turn out. He was really kind and compassionate, but it was the first time Kaelyn's whole situation was put together like that and it was really discouraging for us. I spent most of that night in tears and at one point said to Wayne, "She just has too much stacked up against her". I really felt like she wasn't going to make it, it just seemed too impossible.

Now as I look back over the past year I am in absolute awe at my daughters life. She has beat some serious odds, just the fact that she survived 32 1/2 weeks in the womb on very little nourishment is truly a miracle. She was only half the size she should have been due to poor blood supply through the placenta. People often comment, "I don't know how you do it" or "I could never do that" in relation to having a child with special needs or in the NICU for over 100 days or taking her to get open heart surgery. One night while I laid in bed when Kaelyn was still in the NICU I thought, "If this is what it takes to keep this little girl here, it is worth it and I can do it". There have been some really hard days watching her little body fight to survive, days when I thought it was too much, too hard and not fair. How grateful I am that Kaelyn kept fighting and continues to fight. She never gave up, never gave in, even when it seemed impossible, she came through. Teaching us how to persevere and continue on this miraculous journey she is on.

Though it may be true that she is not the same girl she would have been without all these health complications, that really doesn't matter. She is Kaelyn and she is amazing. She will do things at her own pace and that will be just perfect. The fact that she won't be walking or talking at the age of most kids doesn't hold a candle to the milestones this little girl has reached. She has already proven time and time again that she knows what she is doing.

Some "Pre-surgery" bath time pictures

I just love this goofy face she pulled

Last night she was begging us to take her home

Sitting in that hospital room was quite boring

Kaelyn's first wagon ride out of Primary's.

Sweet dreams in her boppy.

(You can see half of her scar)