“If it were not for hopes, the heart would break.“

Thomas Fuller

A month ago today John Lee was born. It was a crazy day. If you did not read the first blog, here is a recap. I was getting ready for my first final. The exam was at 8:30 AM, and Amy’s water broke at 4:00 AM and the hospital was 56 miles away. When we got there, they settled Amy and started prepping for delivery. I left to take my final at 7:30 AM.

I was back at the hospital around 11:00 AM and John Lee was on his way. Amy depends greatly on her mom (she is a registered nurse) to interpret medical lingo. At this instance she was in Texas, returning that night. Her sister, Sarah, was at her side through entire delivery and more. We had family from Arizona, Dwayne and Nancy; Norman and Lisa Gomez were also outside when Amy began to push at around 2:15 PM. Amy pushed for about 15 minutes and John Lee was here!

They was a NICU team in the room ready to take John Lee, we knew the complications first hand. This was the case. We were only able to see him in the room for about 10-15 minutes before they took him away. Amy did not get to see him after that until the next day. 

When we found out that we would be in the hospital long term, the hospital helped us go on the waitlist at the Ronald McDonal House (RMH) in San Diego. Since John Lee came early we could not check in at the RMH. Amy was discharged two days after delivery. We learnt that you could pay a nightly rate to stay in one of the hospital room. We chose this option. So for three more night our hospital room was in ‘hotel’ state. During this time I was taking finals to complete my course work and degree. 

Meanwhile John Lee was doing well, they had removed the breathing tube they had put in him right after birth. He was almost breathing on his own. We thought that we may even be able to take him home and wait for surgery for a latter date. This did not last long though—they discovered that he was pushing too much blood to his lungs, and not enough to the rest of the body. This was opposite of what we thought would be happening. In no time the breathing tube was back on and they sent him to the Cath Lab promptly. The Cath Lab results told them a different story, and the determination was made to send him Stanford University for further expert care.

So here we are. It has 22 day since we have been at Stanford University. John Lee is month old and has had surgery since. He is critically sick from the surgery—to get better. The last week has been stressful to say the least. It is not easy to watch your little baby lying, swollen with an open chest and lines coming out of his body feeding to all sorts of machines.

We were warned!

It is still not easy! 

This few days have been lighter. We have witnessed the stubborn fluid leaving. John Lee has been peeing at least every hour. He has been responding well to diuretics. He is smaller than he has been in the last few days. We are lighter in spirits. As I am writing this the doctor are considering closing his chest in the next 24 hours. Throughout the day they have been positive. We have noticed changes in his structure and outline. We are ready for the next step.

We hope you know that we are encouraged by your prayers, comments and messages. We are encourage by family visits and all other support. Most of all we are encouraged by each other. Henry Gray is a delight to be around. We are fond of what he has been saying about his little brother. At night, he asks to pray for him and read ‘dadda book (the bible).’ He is talking more and more about hugging and squeezing John Lee. We cannot wait to see this.

A month old! I cannot believe it. Time is flying too fast. As each day passes by we are thankful for each other and our little men. We are thankful for our family at large…we are thankful for you.