My First Words

Yesterday I had my first word: ma ma. This made my mommy very excited. She has been working with me on saying ma ma, while my dad has been trying to get me to say da da.

I have been feeling much better and seem to be pretty much over my illness. Now the trick is to keep me from getting sick again before my surgery. This could be tricky, but hopefully will work out well. I hope you enjoy the photo of me.

So far everything else is going well.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family

Surgery Date

It is official, we have a date for my next surgery. On April 23rd we will travel to Seattle. Then on the 24th I will have a heart cauterization to determine the pressure level in my lungs. On the 27th the Doctors will review my case and if everything looks good I will have surgery on the 28th. It is nice to know a date, but my mommy and daddy are very scared. They are worried and have been saying a lot of prayers for me. I know the strength of the Lord will be with me and that he will keep me strong.

There is another little girl, Gracie, who has a bad heart and needs lots of prayers. You can visit her at: http://thegledhillfamily.blogspot.com/

We borrowed a heart poem from her website, I hope you enjoy:

It's a beautiful day up in heaven. Jesus is rounding up his tiniest angels, to go live on earth, and be born. One of the sweetest angels says to Jesus "I don't want to leave, I like it here, and I will miss you". He reassures the scared little angel that everything will be okay, and that he is just going for a visit. He is still not swayed on this idea. So Jesus kneels down, and says, "How about if you leave half of your heart here with me and take the other half with you, will that be okay?" The angel smiles and says, "I guess that will work". But the little angel is still a little scared. He asks,"Will I be okay with only half of my heart?" Jesus replies,"Of course you will, I have other angels there that will help out, and you will be fine." Then Jesus gives the angel more details about his plan. He says "When you are born, your mommy and daddy will be scared, so you have to be strong, and when you feel weak just remember that I have the other half of your heart". "Enjoy your time with your family, play and laugh everyday." "And when its time to come back to heaven, I will make your heart whole again. Always remember that you are not broken, just torn between two loves."

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family

Handsome boy

Hello everyone. Sorry it has been so long. I hope everyone is doing well. My mommy and daddy have found out that my next surgery will be in late April or early May. First they will do a heart cauterization to make sure the pressure in my lungs is low enough so that they can do the surgery. Then if that looks good they will do a procedure called the Glenn. As you can imagine, my mommy and daddy are nervous after what happened with the first surgery. Everyone is praying that this one goes much smoother and that I will not need to use life support this time.

I am still stuck in doors and away from people anxiously awaiting the end of cold and flu season so I can go visit all of my friends. My mommy and daddy are ready to start taking me to church and to see all the wonderful people who have helped them along our journey.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family

Enjoying my family

Hello, sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have just been enjoying my family. I do have a big kid crib moved into my mommy and daddy's room now. They had to completely rearrange their room to fit my big crib in. I have been rolling over from front to back and back to front. The doctors also ok'd my mommy and daddy to feed me baby food. So, for the last week I have been eating baby food along with my formula.

Tomorrow the doctors will discuss my case and determine the next step. On Thursday when I have my cardiologist appointment they will tell my mommy and daddy what will be happening. I will likely be going to Seattle at least once if not twice within the next 3 to 4 months.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family

Wonderful Time of the Year

Well Christmas came and went, but at least here we had a very white Christmas. We had a very wonderful day celebrating the birth of Christ, and of course Santa came. My sisters were very excited to see presents under the tree, but as for me, I really didn't know what to think-beings my first Christmas and all. I have attached a couple photos of me with my new toys. Also, I gave my mommy and daddy a gift, but so far it has lasted one day. On Saturday I ate from a bottle for the first time since my surgery, not a lot, but enough to get everyone really excited.

I also have some news from my cardiologist. The third week in January he will present my case to the group. They will then collectively decide the next course of action. It is possible we will have to travel to Seattle for me to have a heart cauterization and then travel back home while the doctors devise a plan. They could also set a date for my surgery, do the heart cauterization as part of my presurgery appointments and hope my pressure is down. Either way they need to test the pressure level in my lungs (pulmonary hypertension) to determine if it is safe for me to have surgery. If the levels are there, then we wait, if not they will move forward.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a prosperous New Year!

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family.

Is that Santa I see?

I hope you like my new outfit. Yes, this is my first Christmas outfit and everyone says that I make a great Santa. There is not much new with me. Still on my oxygen and taking my medicine. I am getting stronger and was holding my head up for a little while on my own. My mommy and daddy get so excited to see my strength coming back. They are very worried for my next surgery and have been saying lots of prayers. Hopefully the pressure levels in my lungs is better and I will breeze right through.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family

What a Weekend

Wow, last weekend was very busy for my family. On Saturday was my benefit. Since I cannot be around people my mommy and daddy had to go for me. They had a good time and said that our friends Rikki and Kim did an incredible job. They feel very blessed to have such great friends and live in such a wonderful community.

Sunday was my daddy's birthday. We had to get up really early to see my Grandpa and Aunt before they had to leave. Then we went home and spend a nice day with daddy. He said that I was the best gift he could have received. My daddy's favorite football team, the Broncos, won their game which made my daddy happy.

I am still doing well. My cardiologist, Dr. Hardy, told my mommy that he is going to present my case in January. This means that my next surgery will likely fall between January and March. My mommy and daddy are very nervous and scared for this surgery because of all I went through last time. We are all praying that this one goes well and I recover with no problems. All we can do is trust in the Lord and he will take care of me.

Please remember to say a prayer for me.

Love, Drew and Family