The Miracle of My Son

Today is my son's 7th birthday. Seems unremarkable doesn't it? Just another birthday for another child.
I view all my children as miracles. We went many years thinking we would not be able to have any more after we had our first miracle. Then God answered our many desperate prayers and gave us two more kids-a girl and then a boy. We thought God was finished but God smiled and blessed us one more time with this sweet baby boy. I have to admit that when I found out I was pregnant with Jacob, I was already quite overwhelmed with the 3 kids that we had. I know I wasn't as appreciative of the gift that God had given us as I should have been. God had a plan though, as he always does.
When Jacob was born, the nurse thought she heard a heart murmur. She told us not to panic and reassured us with the information that lots of babies are born with murmurs and grow out of them in time. They are generally harmless. She did recommend that we keep on top of it though and even had a doctor come in to check out what she thought she heard. He was very irratated at having a nurse tell him about this since he had already checked Jacob out and gave him a clean bill of health. He assured us that he heard nothing and Jacob could go home.
We were not totally convinced though and when we took Jacob to his pediatrician, we told her about our concerns. After listening to his heart, she ordered an x-ray, just to be on the safe side.
When she returned, I saw the concern on her face. She had already made an appointment for the next day with a pediatric cardiologist. I panicked...I knew you didn't get in with that specialized of a doctor that quickly unless there was reason to panic.

This began our journey into doctors, hospitals, surgeries and constant fear of losing our baby.

We spent hours at the cardiologist while she did an echocardiogram. She literally didn't speak to us for most of that time as she concentrated on the images in front of her. What she saw was undiagnosable to her. She saw a shadow behind his heart that she just couldn't figure out. She also diagnosed him with Coarctation of the Aorta.
Jacob was life flighted to Children's Mercy Hospital that day from the cardiologist. I rode with him and prayed the whole time. I couldn't believe this was happening to us. Jacob had more tests and the doctors told us that they thought the shadow was a cyst that was growing behind his heart. They needed to remove it but first they did the surgery on the aorta to open up the blood flow to the rest of his body. He was a month old.

Kevin and I stayed in Kansas City at the hospital with him. We missed the other 3 kids at home terribly but more than anything, we wanted Jacob to be healthy. I remember looking at him hooked up to the machine that was breathing for him and saying, "I can't wait until he is a normal, healthy 5 year old and all of this is behind us." In my mind it was still unsure if he would make it to 5. That was the first surgery. It took him quite awhile for him to become strong enough for the cyst to be removed. When the doctors finally felt he was ready, they performed the surgery. They hoped they had removed it all and scheduled Jacob to come back and have another CAT scan to make sure it had not grown back.
Well unfortunately, a cyst had reformed in his chest. This time it was pressing on his trachea and was in a very delicate triangle of his vital arteries. They scheduled his third surgery and this time they used a laser to burn that area.
Through all of this, God has been so good. I bonded with this once unappreciated blessing more than I ever thought possible.
We also feel like God used this situation for His purposes as He always does. If the nurse had not heard the murmur, if Jacob had not had a Coarctation of his Aorta, the cyst would have gone undiagnosed and could have cut off his air supply.
We still go back to Children's Mercy every other year for tests. So far there has been no more cysts. The aorta has continued to function well as he has grown. The doctors tell us there is always that chance that the aorta will need to be repaired again as he grows. There is also the chance of another cyst. Right now though, we are so thankful for each day with this child. We are thankful for every doctor that has saved his life and every kind person that prayed with us.

Now this rambunctious child is turning seven today. We are so appreciative of his life. God has given us 4 amazing blessings but sometimes he uses a tragedy to open our eyes to the fact that they are truly blessings. Yes, Jacob can be wild and crazy. Sometimes he doesn't listen and he disobeys. And every day I thank God for it.