Happy 1st Heart Anniversary to our warrior!
I looked up why is the emotion of love so attached to the organ of the heart. If you have something that happens to you and you get excited, or you have a lot of emotion, you don't feel that in your brain.
But if we have something happen to us that impacts us emotionally, our hearts start to beat faster. Our blood pressure rises. We can feel our hearts thump. And it's all an emotion of the heart. Because of this, we talk about our heart and love as one.
One year ago. It seems impossible. There were days that we thought we would ever get to surgery day, and there were days after that we didn't know if we would ever get to today.
One year ago. 6:47 am. We handed our son to a nurse, a stranger, and she walked with him to the operating room.
One year ago. 1:08 pm. We saw our son for the first time post-surgery. He was pink for the first time in his life. His heart rate and respiratory rates were normal for the first time in his life. I remember counting his breaths because it didn't seem like enough.
One year ago. 2:04 pm. Nolan pushed out his breathing tube and was not ready to breathe on his own. The next 40 minutes were the most terrifying of my life. Watching countless nurses and doctors work on him to replace his tube is something we will never forget. And even now, hearing the beeps and alarms can send us into a panic.
One year ago. Nolan was given life.
Leading up to this day has been more emotional than his first birthday. This day carried a more significant meaning for us. His birthday was the day he was born, but on November 15, 2018, is the day he was given life.
Nolan's body was giving out. His heart was enlarged and tired. Nolan was in severe congestive heart failure and needed a life-saving operation. Dr. Kanter and his incredible team operated on Nolan's heart when it was the size of a walnut. They saved his life and will forever be grateful to this man and this day.
As we look back on the last year, we can see how far Nolan has come. How much he has fought to beat the odds. How determined his little body is. And how much joy he has brought everyone around him.
He has a smile that could light up a room and is the most loving child I have ever seen.
What I have thought about this day, Nolan's first heart anniversary is the love this child gives to everyone he meets.
I believe that when God made Nolan's heart, He made it big. He made it grand. He made it, so we had the most amazing heart surgeons in the country. He made it, so we were connected with a fantastic heart community. And this is why Nolan is who he is today, and who he will be in life. We are forever grateful and forever changed.
Nolan, we love you, and there is so much more of your story to be written.