• Health,  Medical

    The Incredible Highs & Rock Bottom Lows: Part I

    As many of you know, Gavin had surgery on July 14th. However, only few of you know the big picture leading up to this. Which is no fault of your own. This was a year in the making, and then, suddenly, a very urgent situation. A situation that shook me. I am very aware that my threshold for “being shook” is abnormally high, but this one, like others in the past, had lifelong implications that…

  • Simple Homemade Banana Bread
    Health

    I’m here for the Banana Bread

    During our three weeks of self quarantine, Thursdays are the days that are the toughest on Gavin. Of course, I’ve over analyzed this concept and still don’t have a clue as to why. But this morning started out much like our other Thursdays. By mid morning, I was over it and decided to throw in the towel on preschool e-learning and therapy driven activities. So naturally, we baked. Combining one of Gavin’s all time favorite…

  • Health

    A Self-Care Search

    Self-care has become a bit of a buzz word: #selfcare #selfcaresunday #selfcareishealthcare. If you did a quick google search you could find several articles that teach you “10 self-care principles” or even a few related to the “top health benefits of self-care.” The basic concept of self-care is the ability to deliberately focus on your own mental, emotional, and physical health while continuing to function within our busy overfilled schedules in order to reduce everyday…

  • Medical,  Therapy

    Growth Takes Time

    This past week marks 8 weeks since June 13th, the day this adventure kicked off. 8 weeks of living out of duffel bags in a hospital. 8 weeks of being away from home. 8 weeks of doctors, nurses, therapists, IV teams, diagnostic tests, anesthesia, and bells and whistles at all hours of the day and night. 8 weeks of an emotional, mental, and physical rollercoaster. 8 weeks of watching our son and his tiny body…

  • Medical,  Therapy

    Withstanding with Courage

    These last couple of days have been a bit of a blur. On Monday, Gavin was seen by one of the orthopedic doctors. I expressed to him that we felt as if Gavin was quickly losing functionality in his legs, specifically his left leg. At one point, I stopped and said, “I’m sorry. I’m not supposed to be the one saying why these things are happening, that’s your job! My job is to tell you…

  • Advocating

    National Heart Month

    Did you know that 1 in 110 babies are born with a congenital heart defect? Did you know that 25% of those babies need surgery in order to survive? Did you know that over the last 10 years, CHD survival rates have increased by 30% due to advances made through research?