"Did You Know?!"

(Shyla here with the update - yes Shyla! Hard to believe...I know!)  We have been amiss at updating the blog and we are so sorry!!!  We had no idea that we had so many faithful followers.  It is easy to blog when you are stuck in a hospital room and nothing else much to do...it is quite another task to be home and running the family schedule and the household.  We have been so blessed with answered prayers that we want to give God all the glory.  Brooke is home and doing progressively well each day.  I cannot even begin to tell you how thankful we are to God.  Our life verse for Brooke at her baby dedication was

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, 

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

To recap:  Monday night Brooke spiked a fever of 101.5 and so we headed to the ER to just check everything out...amazing how quickly you blow past all 50+ people in the waiting room when you present a 2 yr old with no spleen... with a 101.5 fever.... who is just 6 days post op from major heart surgery.  Whooosh...those magic doors opened right up...and a doctor immediately is there to see us...and within 30 minutes we were right back on the "clean floor" from where we had been just 2 days before!  Never had that experience in an ER before (ask Larry about his ER experience with his kidney stone - ouch! He didn't get quite the star treatment that Miss Brooke had!)

Of course, since she has no speen, as SOON as we were admitted, the doctors began to treat immediately with the big time antibiotics until the cultures returned showing no bacterial infection...Dr Nikaidoh and Dr. Barth were very caring and wanted to assure us we made the right decision...her heart and chest X-rays checked out fine and said she had caught a virus most likely and after 2 long days back in the hospital...they sent us home on Wed!!!! 

Finally sleeping in her OWN bed!!!

Brooke was really not quite back to herself spunky self until Saturday...she had not been walking since surgery so it was pure joy for me to see her toddling down the hall to find her sisters!! It brought me to tears the first time I saw her follow Erica down the hallway again!!

Finally getting some spunk back...we are SO SO SO excited :)

Unfortunately, poor Meredith managed to get a brown recluse spider bite Monday night -- we were scrambling a bit when she broke out in a full body rash and the internet (WebMD will convince you that you are dying, ya'll) said this could be a sign of a systemic infection...so we spent a few minutes attempting to figure out if she could managing waiting in the ER by herself as Dad was flying and I had to stay with Brooke in HER hospital room!!  Since ER again had 50+ people and knowing the doors would not magicallly whoosh open for her as they had for Brooke...she opted to spend the night in the hospital with me and take her chances in the morning...and we are pleased to say that Meredith did indeed make it through the night...(and subsequent nights afterward) and her  bloodwork all came back fine and that bite site has not gotten any worse so far! Praise God!! 

We have been showered with love and attention and wonderful meals...thank you each who visited us, sent texts, notes, emails, brought treats and gifts, watched our other children, kept laughter flowing and stress relieved...and thank you for your prayers.  It is beautiful to see the body of Christ enfold each other and bear one another's burdens. 

Throughout this entire heart journey with Brooke, so many professionals and strangers and have asked,  "DID YOU KNOW she was this complicated before you adopted her?"  .....  We smile and say "yes, we chose her and we love her, just as she is...with her beautiful GOD-GIVEN heart, as her surgeon, Dr. Nikaidoh calls it." ...  We claim Jeremiah 29:11 for Brooke, as we know that we too are pretty complicted in our own sinful heart condition and yet God in His mercy adopted us ... "to give us a hope and a future". Brooke has brought joy to so many, and her story has been a testimony of God's faithfulness to all we encountered in that hospital. Different nurses and doctors would come in to visit her...to meet our precious girl...and would turn to us to exclaim "SHE'S the girl we've heard about! She is the one your daughter found in China, and then you all were able to bring her home! Brooke's story is incredible!" All we can do is smile at them in response...and share with them the story of how God moved in incredible ways to bring our girl home. 

Acting like our little diva again...now we KNOW she's got to be feeling better.. :)

Before bringing Brooke home, Meredith took the time to write out the beginning of Brooke's story...how she met her and fell absolutely head over heels in love with her...and then how God paved the way for us to bring her home to become our new daughter. I've been meaning to sit down and write a "Part 4" of the series, if you will- a journal of the incredible way God moved and worked in Larry and I's hearts to confirm that Brooke was our daughter. Check back soon for Part 4 of Brooke's story...and we know that it is only just beginning! We cannot wait to see the plan God has in store for Brooke's life continue to unfold...for her hope, and for her future! 

Calling Our Prayer Warriors...

We would appreciate your prayers...Brooke was just very "not herself" today and began to run a temperature. When it got up to about 101 degrees F, we took her back to the hospital as a precaution...infection post surgery is very, very dangerous and we want to avoid that at all costs! Because Brooke was also born without a spleen, she is at a higher risk. The doctors all felt she should remain overnight for observation and IV antibiotics for safe measure, though her fever is now gone and her white cell count looks normal! The doctors assured us that this was most likely nothing to worry about...but definitely better safe than sorry to bring her in!! Please pray that this fever was just a fluke deal and she can come back on home where she belongs!!

Sunday Snapshot:: Miracle

"So, Cai Wei....would you like to go home?"

We were all shocked beyond belief when Dr. Nikaidoh, Brooke's surgeon, asked her during rounds Saturday morning if she wanted to go home. All along, we had been told Tuesday or Wednesday at the absolute earliest for discharge- thinking it would be a miracle if we did make it home by then...a mere week after having her open-heart Fontan surgery.

Never in our wildest dreams could we have thought we would be sitting at home with our precious girl on Saturday night...just 4 (four) (FOUR) days after such a major, invasive surgery. Our surgeon even told us that he has performed over 300 Fontan procedures...and he has never seen a recovery as quick as our Cai Wei's. "She sets the record"...is what he said..."You must have had many, many people praying for her".

Yes we did, Dr. Nikaidoh. Yes we did. We are so thankful for our miracle girl and that she has returned HOME!!! We cannot thank you ALL enough for your prayers- you all are a huge part of this miracle. We truly felt surrounded by your prayers in the midst of this long, emotional, nerve-wracking week...and we couldn't have done it without you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Please continue to pray for Cai Wei during these next few weeks...while she is home, she still has a long way to come before she gets back to being "herself". Brooke's story from the very beginning has been absolutely miraculous, and God continues to amaze us. We just cannot wait to sit back and watch what He has planned for her life!!

For where two or three gather in my name,

there am I with them. 

Matthew 18:20

Sweet Erica is VERY excited to have her sister home again!

We are absolutely amazed at our brave, brave girl.

Linking up today with Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot...head on over for yourself!

Friday:: Update from Baba (dad)!

Tuesday morning we began this journey and I recall a picture that early morning that really struck me Day 1. The picture reflects the anxious atmosphere of our hearts and minds...but the focus of the picture is Brooke. In her moment prior to leaving us for surgery, it’s as if she touches the anxious, sad face of Meredith and assures her that this will all be okay…it’s in God’s Hands now. Obviously Brooke was simply adoring her older sister but it brings me back to our verse in Jeremiah 29:11…”For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This week truly has been God protection one day at a time and our absolute peace in God’s plan.

“So….who am I talking to here now?”

While most of the week has been intense, we have enjoyed our moments of laughter, most of which occurs when a new professional walks in the room. Wanting to be politically correct and not offend, the professional surveys the participants in the room and notices Shyla and me and usually Allison or Meredith along our side. Even more perplexing to the new visitor are the few times Erica may be scuttling in the room. Perhaps they train for this initial visit in medical school in “Bedside Manners 101” but the initial conversation usually goes as follows…. “So….who am I speaking to here now….” hoping to eliminate the awkward moment of calling me grandpa, or even worse Shyla grandmother. Or, to Meredith or Allison’s dismay, of being the assumed adoptive mother. What about this other 6 year Asian girl scuttling in the room…to whom does she belong? We always enjoy this initial awkward moment!!

This morning began with a restful night until a plastic connector on Brooke’s arterial vein decided to fail and an intense few moments ensued trying to figure out exactly what was going on considering there seems to be a dozen such lines running along her little body. Once the nurse found the cause of the bleeding and pain, we then had the difficult task of masking and cleaning and replace the faulty connector while Shyla and I tried to restrain a strong and determined young girl.

Tired Mei and Brooke after an adventurous night with the arterial line! 

The highlight of the day, however, began at 7am as the surgeon team removed Brooke’s internal drain tubes, which is a milestone event in heart babies. The extended stays of heart surgery are often times linked to this drain process so we are SOOO grateful this stage of her recovery is complete. We then received the news we would be moving out of ICU and up to the 3rd floor…still a “clean room” environment but not the intensity of ICU.

What a special photo....3 days ago, this team of three incredible surgeons was assembled to fix her broken heart. Today, Dr. Nikaidoh is holding Brooke's hand in his hand telling her how he has prayed for her. We are so blessed to have a surgeon who gives glory to God in his work, and truly loves each and every one of his patients. 

He just loves our sweet girl so much- we are so thankful for the gift he has given us in Brooke's repaired heart!! God is so good!

Leaving the PICU! See ya later! We have loved our time here- all of our nurses have just been absolutely wonderful!

Brooke had several special visitors today, which was such a treat! Please continue to pray for her appetite to return, as she has not indulged in dining to her former ways and still slow in fluid intake. Also pray for continued rest for Brooke and family, and for a lack of infection during this time!!!! Most of all...please join us in praying for sweet Lily Rancourt, who had the same Fontan heart surgery that Brooke just had. Lily is such a brave little girl and is fighting her way through some complications- please pray specifically for her that her heart rhythms will steady and that her right lung will be "re-inflated" and resist any more collapse! Follow their journey here!! We can't wait to see both of our sweet heart girls home!!

Wonderful Donna, who brought us the most delicious chocolates when we needed them the most :)

Watching old videos with Allison!

Erica came to see Brooke! Her little pained smile.. :( Brooke did NOT want Erica to leave!!!

Grandma and Grandpa came too!!! 

Brooke even got some mail from Samford University...Meredith's school! How amazing!

Goodnight from our little corner of the hospital... Larry for all!

Oh...and PS...we got a SMILE today!!!

We are so, so blessed. 

Our Spunky Little Firecracker- Day 1 post-op

Brooke's surgery was nothing short of miraculous. While it took a little longer than we were expecting (she had an excess of scar tissue from her first surgery in China), she came out of that surgery rip, roarin', and READY to go. We had been forewarned by the anesthesiologist that she would be very "out of it and asleep" until at least the morning after surgery. They also prepared us for her ventilator (breathing tube) to come out the next morning.

Ha. NOT so for our little Cai Wei. Girl was ready to have that tube OUT, and literally 5 minutes after being wheeled from the operating room to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), our sweet girl was EXTUBATED!!! Woohoo no ventilator!! She also was fairly awake, but they did give her more medicine to try to help her sleep for awhile.

Well. Our first night was anything but quiet. Brooke woke up around one and was pitching a rip roaring fit that she wanted "HER JUICE" and she was bound and determined that she was going to get it!!! Meredith and Shyla were spending the night in her room, and had to literally hold her down to keep her from trying to roll/jump/crawl off the bed to get her juice. Because of the surgery, Brooke was not allowed to have anything to drink for a good while after coming out of the OR. Finally around 3 AM, the nurse decided she could have a TINY bit of juice with some ice chips...that did not cut it for our little princess. Girl was MADDER than a hornet and she let everyone know it! She would shake that cup to get every last drop...and boy oh boy...if you tried to help her with the juice, beware! You would be hit with a resounding "CAI WEI DOOOOOO" and find your hand pushed away from her beloved sippy cup :) In fact, for the rest of the day, all the doctors and nurses would come in saying "I heard we have a feisty one in here...she caused quite the commotion last night, didn't she?" Oh my.

We did have some great news though, as they were able to remove her catheter and her IV lines...because they CLEARED her to drink liquids! Woohoo!!! She can't wait to have the rest of her tubes/lines/cords removed!!! (and by that I mean...she is physically trying to remove them herself!)

Finally (FINALLY) she wore herself out from all that craziness during the night, and decided that it would be a great idea to sleep all.day.long. She even slept through a visit from the OSU football team that came to see her!!! I'm thinking that tonight is going to be rough....

She did wake up for a little while in the afternoon and was so happy. The doctors said that she is looking pretty good right now, but they are still watching her chest tube output very closely. They also wanted to see how her body would respond to fat in the diet...so our sweet girl got to eat some ice cream!!! She was so excited :)

We got to see her surgeons again...you almost just feel a sense of wonder when you think of what they just did to your child's heart. It's beyond imaginable. We are forever thankful to our wonderful surgeons, and for the way that they have let God use their gifts for His glory and good!!

10 minutes after surgery...Mom is about to lose it :)

Watching the team of doctors wheel our baby to recovery. The man in the white coat is our surgeon. We are so, so blessed to have had him do Brooke's surgery. 

Please continue to pray for no infection, for Brooke to NOT pull out anymore wires and to have peace and patience, and a very low amount of pain today. Also pray that her chest tubes will drain accordingly...those determine our "get-outta-the-hospital" record :)

We will update more tomorrow...thank you all so much for your prayers. We couldn't not be walking this path without any of you, and we appreciate your love and support so, SO much more than you could ever know.

Hugs from the Toerings!

"God-winks"

Luke 12:6-7

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?

Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Don't be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows

It can sometimes be tempting to feel "alone" in this heart journey- while we have SO many who are journeying alongside us in prayer and encouragement (and we could NOT do this without you), Brooke's heart is so complex and unique that there are not too many that we personally know who have actually "lived-through" a heart surgery quite like this. 

We were blessed to meet the Rancourt family back in January, when Meredith and Emily happened to begin emailing back and forth about our similar "heart babies"...our Brooke and their Lily. We prayed from January to April for each others' paperwork processes...rejoicing with each other when progress was made, and comforting and encouraging when the road blocks hit. We prayed all along that we might somehow end up traveling to China together...but thought it wouldn't happen since our paperwork dates were all off. Well..

God-Wink #1:

We got our travel approval on the SAME exact date as Emily and Jacques Rancourt, and we were able to coordinate our consulate appointments to be just one day apart. We WOULD be meeting in China after all during the last week of our trip!!! However...Meredith, who had become Emily's very good friend, was traveling back to the States to take finals for the last week, so she would miss getting to meet the Rancourts. We were all disappointed, but...

God-Wink #2:

Meredith has worked at a camp up in New England, and frequently goes up to visit. Come to find out, the Rancourts home is only 30-45 minutes from this camp where Meredith worked...and she was able to visit Emily and Jacques and meet their sweet girls a few weeks ago!!! 

God-Wink #3:

Through conversations with Emily, we realized that Lily and Brooke were "heart-sisters". They both have extremely rare, unique hearts...but somehow...their conditions are so very, very similar. We realized that God had so clearly brought our families together as friends to be able to walk this scary road TOGETHER....and amazingly, Brooke and Lily's procedures (BOTH were receiving the exact same surgery...the Fontan) were scheduled just 4 days apart. We have truly been able to walk this road together the entire time...while separated by several hundred miles :) Finally...today just blew us both away...

God-Wink #4:

Both Brooke and Lily went into surgery wearing the "hospital standard" pale green gown...the gown that almost every single patient wears when admitted for a procedure. However, after surgery BOTH Brooke and Lily were put into "Tired Little Tiger" gowns...that we both separately had been calling "Liang Zhi Lao Hu" gowns (the song "Two Tigers" in Chinese...Brooke and Lily's favorite!). Emily happened to post a picture of Lily wearing her tiger gown...and we were shocked to see that Brooke had just been put in the same exact one! It was just a neat reminder that in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit across the country, another precious Asian princess was wearing her Liang Zhi Lao Hu gown while resting and healing from HER open-heart surgery. 

God is in the details...and He has been from the beginning of this entire adoption process. Just go back and read Brooke's incredible story...part 1, part 2, and part 3. Go read Emily's beautiful story to her daughters Mackenzie and Lily. It is so neat to see His fingerprints along the way...and we can't wait to see what else is to come!!! 

Goodbye....and HELLO!!!!! She is out of surgery!!!

8 hours ago, we waved goodbye to our littlest princess with tears in our eyes and pits in our stomachs as she said "No bye-bye...no bye-bye, mama".

8 hours later....here she comes!!!! God is so good, and our little Miss Brooke made it through surgery and we were able to come out in the hallway to catch a glimpse of her as they wheeled her from the OR to the PICU. 

Absolutely nothing can describe the overwhelming joy seeing the team of 10 surgeons and anesthesiologists come down the hallway...the same surgeons who held our daughter's heart in their hands just minutes before. God. Is. Good. All the time.

Please continue to pray with us as these next 48 hours are extremely critical- please especially pray that she will not get any sort of infection!!! We cannot thank you enough for your prayers and kind words- they have meant the world to us.

On Bypass

We just received the call that Brooke has been put on the heart/lung machine (bypass). Opening her chest took much longer than anticipated, as she had a great deal of scar tissue surrounding her heart and sternum from her previous surgery. The position of her heart within her chest is also almost directly under her sternum in the middle of her chest, instead of on the left side. The surgeon had to be extremely careful when opening her chest, so it took a little more than 4 hours to get in to her heart to begin the Fontan procedure.

Please pray with us as Brooke's heart is now technically "stopped", and the heart/lung machine is providing her organs with oxygenated blood. We are praying she will be able to be off of bypass as soon as possible- the less time spent on the bypass machine the better! The surgeon is now grafting the "tunnel" through her heart that will take the unoxygenated blood from her lower extremities and deliver it directly to the lungs to help relieve pressure from Brooke's heart! Please pray with us that this part of the surgery will go through with no complications!!!

We will update when we know she is off bypass. Thank you for your prayers- they mean so much!

In Surgery!

We arrived at the hospital bright and early- Brooke did so well with the hand-off. Gave everyone hugs and said "love you". We just received word that they have started surgery and are currently getting through scar tissue. She has quite a bit from her first surgery in China, so they told us it might be 1-2 hours until they are able to get to her actual heart to begin the procedure.

Please keep praying that she remains stable, that the surgeons will have patience and skill to remove the scar tissue from around her heart and sternum, and that they will be able to access her heart quickly and with ease to be able to complete the surgery as quickly as possible. We will update once we know Brooke is on the heart/lung machine. Thank you for your prayers!

It's Almost GO TIME!!!

In 12 hours, we will be headed to the hospital with Brooke as she has her 2nd major open heart surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM. Her first surgery was done in China when she was 13 months old.

This surgery will take 6-10 hours and we are praying for a recovery time of 2 weeks in the hospital, though it could be 5-6!

Please join with us in prayer tomorrow and the weeks to come as Brooke goes through this difficult surgery and recovery!!!

We will try to post updates at least a couple times a day- thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. They mean more than you know.

Right now, these are some specifics to be praying for!!

1. For doctors' skill and wisdom during the procedure to know exactly what Brooke needs and how to best repair her very complex heart. Her heart anatomy and position is anything but normal, so it will require extra "brain power" for the surgeon to best complete the procedure. 

2. For Brooke's recovery to be smooth with no complications of any kind!

3. Brooke does not have a spleen, so she is at a high risk for infection after surgery. Please pray first of all that she does not get ANY infection, and then that her body will be strong to fight off any potential infections that she could have. 

4. For peace for Brooke during this scary time- that she will be brave and her pain after surgery will be minimal! 

5. For peace, patience, and extra stamina for our family as we send Brooke off to have this surgery and during the weeks to come as we help our sweet girl through this hard surgery and recovery process. 

Thank you all!!! We couldn't do this without your support!!!

Sunday Snapshot:: Goggle Girl

A day in the life of Brooke Cai Wei. She is ready to take on the world.

This look right here? That says "Open-heart surgery....Bring. It. On."

Brooke Cai Wei is ready to whoop your tooshie. 

Oh. My. 

T-2 days till surgery. Keep the prayers a-comin' folks. :) 


Just because I needed a reason to post this photo...I'm linking up with Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot post...check it out for yourself!

A Bear Named Patch.

After giving you the straight facts of Brooke's unique heart, I wanted to share this precious story real quick. Our girl truly is SUCH a trooper...the bravest girl I know!

Meet Patch. He is Brooke's very first Build-A-Bear creation, chosen and filled with fluff by the little Cai Wei herself :) I didn't guide her towards a specific bear (although I was secretly hoping she would shy away from the terrible neon colored, peace-sign filled, "pre-teen styled" heart covered bears). She immediately gravitated toward this little guy...with a heart patch stitched to his chest. We had been searching for a way to help her understand what she will be going through in less than a week, and thought that doing the "Build-A-Bear thing" by putting a heart in the body, etc might help a little bit. Well whadda-ya know, they had the PERFECT little bear for our sweet girl, and I think she really REALLY understood.

She really was excited about it...she was concentrating WAY too hard on running the "bathtub" to scrub Mr. Patch clean :)

You'll have to forgive the lack of more pictures...it was only Brooke and I (Meredith) there, and I was diaper bag holding/Sonic drink-drinking/Build-A-Bear fluffing/Cai Wei entertaining :) Needless to say, I snapped one with my handy dandy phone camera, and hightailed it out of that store before something spilled.

The most precious part was watching Brooke hold the little red heart before she put it inside her bear's body. She followed the sales lady's instructions perfectly...rubbed it hard between her fingers to "warm it up". Tickled it so her bear would be funny. Gave it a kiss so it would love, love, LOVE.

And then, she pulled down the top of her shirt and touched her beautiful scar...her "brave mark"...and said "Cai Wei's heart!" Oh my. I was almost in tears thinking how just next week, the surgeons will be "holding" her heart...stitching it to "make it better"...with as much (and hopefully more!!!) care as Cai Wei was giving her little bear's heart. I knelt and explained to her as best I could that we were giving her bear a "new heart", just as she would have a "new heart" next week...fixed to the best of the surgeons abilities!!! I didn't know how much she understood of this, giving me her cursory "Oh. Okayyyyyyy" response. :) She was so excited to put his heart inside his body, and watched the lady "stitch him up".

Once we got home, I saw her sitting with her bear. She would gently touch the heart patch on his chest and say over and over "Cai Wei give bear NEW heart!!!" And then suddenly...it seemed like a lightbulb came on. She touched her scar once again, while keeping her other hand on Patch's patch....and said

"Cai Wei's heart....Cai Wei get NEW heart too!!!"

Be still my heart. How I love this girl. She is beyond precious and amazes us every day with what she has learned. We can't WAIT to see all that she will do with her "new heart" (and no...she's not actually getting a BRAND new heart...but her God-given heart is being patched up nice and "new" just for her) 

Brooke's Heart Is....

Beautiful. Unique. Complicated. One-of-a-kind.

On Tuesday, July 17th, around 7 AM, precious Brooke Cai Wei will be going into her 2nd major open heart surgery. She will be having what is called the Fontan procedure, which is basically an operation that re-routes her blood to go around the heart, so that her heart is relieved of some of the stress. You see, Brooke was born with a very special heart....she really only has half of one, and it is positioned in her chest in a very, very unique way, which makes it slightly more difficult to operate. Her single-ventricle heart just can't keep up with the workload of pumping blood to her entire body like our two-ventricle hearts are able to do!

For all of you "medically knowledgeable" people out there, Brooke has had the first phase of this procedure in China when she was 13 months old. This is called the bi-directional Glenn shunt, which has allowed Brooke to thrive as she has, protecting her heart from being overworked and providing her body with higher oxygen amounts in her blood. In "medical speak", the Glenn connected the right side of her pulmonary artery to her superior vena cava (SVC), and then "tied up" the left side of her pulmonary artery. This takes the venous blood from her head and upper limbs directly into the lungs...completely bypassing the right ventricle! This takes a HUGE load off of her heart.

This Fontan procedure she is having will complete this re-route, by redirecting the blood from her lower extremities directly to her lungs! This procedure will connect her inferior vena cava (IVC) to the pulmonary artery, which the SVC is already connected to due to the Glenn shunt! The IVC will be connected to the pulmonary artery through a shunt or a "baffle" that the surgeon will create that will go through her heart. This will enable all of her blue (unoxygenated) blood to flow easily directly into the lungs, so that her right ventricle is only responsible for pumping her red (oxygenated) blood back out to her body. This will decrease the workload of her heart by half...which is just perfect since she only has half a heart!!

Have I lost you yet? :)

This is not an easy surgery (in case you couldn't tell) :) and we would love, love, LOVE for you to join us in prayer for Brooke. For lack of infection as she does not have a spleen (which puts her at a much higher risk), for doctors' skill and wisdom, for Brooke to be brave through it all, for peace and comfort for our family as we walk this road with her!!! Let's just say that sitting for 10 hours waiting for her to come out of surgery ain't gonna be easy, folks!!!

God has a beautiful plan for her life, and we are trusting Him with Brooke. We can do nothing to heal her heart....only HE can. Please partner with us in prayer for a successful surgery, and for a healthy, smiling, beautiful baby girl to be returned to us as quick as possible after surgery!