Dare to Cheer

Today a woman posted a message on the Yahoo WS board that stuck with me all afternoon. She said that she was excited but “afraid to mention” how well her granddaughter was doing at 5 months. This little girl had finally made it to 10 pounds and was smiling. I remember how long we had to wait for Erik’s first smile. One of the gifts that Erik has given us is brand new appreciation of life’s little things. The things that a lot of parents might think are small potatoes in their children are momentous accomplishments to our family that warrant celebration! I have learned that if our fears prevent us from cheering our child on, we will miss the moment, and the moment will be gone. We have earned the profound joy that comes with each small accomplishment and must open ourselves up to it. It takes the sting away, even for just a moment. My heart swells each time Erik tries something new, and I will try harder than ever to believe in him and cheer him along every step of the way, even if I am scared out of my mind (which I am most of the time). Today Erik brought his grandfather a book and repeated that feat at home for Brian—TWICE! Brian yelled the news from the nursery, and I cheered.

Thursday, May 25th is looming ahead on the calendar. Erik has his followup echocardiogram scheduled. He will be sedated, and Brian and I are both nervous about that. We did not allow sedation last time, as we did not know what was going on in his heart and were afraid of losing him. We now know that his heart is healthy, so we are going ahead with the process. The main concern is the supra-aortic area. This area is commonly narrowed in children with WS and sometimes needs stenting. The velocity of the blood moving through this area in Erik was slightly elevated on the last study, so the doctor wanted to check it again.