Congenital Heart Defect – Through the Lens of Motherhood

Hope

I have told you about this exciting new phase in my life, the stage in the game when I put my words into actions and begin to make some change. Before Christmas I announced the birth of Joshua’s Hope, a charitable organization that will focus on the future of Cardiac Care, for kids and adultsContinue reading “Hope”

an open letter to a heart mom

I read a blog post today from a mom who lost her son when he was just a year or so old to a congenital heart defect; she was talking about how she had been going through posts online and saw the a video about being a ‘heart mom’ and how that made her cryContinue reading “an open letter to a heart mom”

Markers in time

We all have those moments in life, those big moments that make up the time line of your life. “Before I moved vs. After I moved” or “Before marriage vs. After marriage”. When we are trying to remember what year we did something, or when we are retelling a story we often use these momentsContinue reading “Markers in time”

post op terror

After every surgery that Josh has had we have noticed three things. 1) He comes home and the first night, sometimes two nights he is elated, smiling A LOT, thrilled to be out, energetic to the point of dangerous (wanting to jump off beds 5 days post op). 2) Day 2 or 3 he becomesContinue reading “post op terror”

Not to act is to act

Today, for obvious reasons the Western media, and those affected by what happened on September 11 2001 will look back 12 years and relive some of the most horrific scenes in recent years. I don’t want to spend time today doing what every other media outlet is doing, I don’t want to go back andContinue reading “Not to act is to act”

Proof of Life

Summer is at it’s close, the months of endless days have turned into full days of school for both the boys and for the first time in a long time I have both time and internet (finally!) to begin blogging again. It’s been a long and at the same time very short summer. June andContinue reading “Proof of Life”

technical not emotional

I have have been getting a lot of questions about Joshua’s particular diagnosis. So I thought I would post today a little bit about his CHD. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the term CHD, or Congenital Heart Defect is a blanket term for a great number of diagnosis’ and I prefer to keep itContinue reading “technical not emotional”

What is it going to take?

Last night I had the pleasure of participating in my first ever ‘twitter party’. This makes me giggle because I was actually nervous, more nervous than going to an actual party with new people. Why? Mostly because I am clueless when it comes to ‘tweeting’. However, the subject was one that I couldn’t ignore andContinue reading “What is it going to take?”

Check it out!

Hope on the horizon Today I had the absolute pleasure of finally seeing an article in the Toronto news (Globe and Mail) that featured CHD and the crisis that has arisen in our country when it comes to the care of it’s adult patients. It was like a balm to the soul to see itContinue reading “Check it out!”

The longest hours

Josh holding his bravery beads after his stroke at three months The day of Josh’s first surgery was July 21st 2008, he was six months old, having had two failed catheter attempts and failures the open heart was our only option, we met with the surgeon, talked to the anesthesiologist, cuddled him, held his handContinue reading “The longest hours”