A Fearless Heart

What a day. We feel awful it has taken us so long to post. Today (I guess it's yesterday by now) was McKay's first big hurdle--receiving his BT shunt. The day started with the details trying to take over. After some drama getting myself discharged from the hospital, we finally got over to the NICU to spend time with McKay before his surgery. They were a little concerned with some rising bili levels so they ordered a light and had him suntan for a few hours (see pic below). He liked the lights and his stats did very well all morning.

Then the surgeon came in to explain all that would happen during the operation. It was overwhelming and a little too real at times to listen to and believe he was talking about my baby. But we put our faith in our choice of surgeon and his skills and in God to guide him through the procedure. It turned out to be faith well placed. McKay was out of surgery in about three hours and all went beautifully. Even better, the method the surgeon choose to insert the shunt involves a large incision that starts on the right side of McKay's chest and runs around to his back. That means no zipper up his sternum for now (and no scar tissue to have to work through for his second surgery in the months to come). Before we knew it we were back at our baby's side cheer leading him on.

Although a bit swollen and battling to regulate all of his many tiny body systems, for the most part McKay is doing extremely well tonight. He is an absolute champ. We can truly feel the fire in his spirit and have witnessed his gift for connecting people. We are exhausted, but honored to be a part of this journey with him. He has already given us a life changing two days. My advice? Kiss your kids and wonder at the miracle of your body.