Therese's "New" Heart

(hey everyone...it's me, Casey, filling in for Erika tonight. Disappointing, I know. I'm sure you'll still get the gist of today's events--just without all the gooey, motherly details. Sorry for the letdown.)

As I sit down to write this, I find myself feeling satisfied. It might be because I've just scraped the bottom of a bowl of delicious beef stew that was provided by a dear friend. Or it might just be that I've had the privilege of seeing a miracle occur today.

Today, I saw a beautiful little girl with deep brown skin sleep contentedly on crisp white linens. Today, a beautiful little girl with a broken heart, who came into my home from halfway around the world, is resting whole-heartedly by the side of her mother, feeling blood surge through her entire body--from her full, smiling lips to her little-piggy toes--for the first time in her life.

The Lord blessed us with his presence today. Despite a late Tuesday night (during which, I must add, little-big-sister Evelea won 2nd place for the fourth grade in the district-wide math bowl), the children scrambled out of bed with smiles. Okay, no one will believe they actually "scrambled" (after all, it's a weekday...and we all know that kids only "scramble" out of bed one time each week: Saturday mornings), but they did ooze out of bed, into their clothes, to and from the breakfast table, then into their car seats with SMILES on their faces.

So, we arrived to the hospital on time and the Lord (and a few friends--thanks for that) met us there. Therese was joyful and entertaining in the pre-op waiting room. She joked and smiled the entire hour-and-a-half wait. She was cracking up the nurses (and probably irritating not too few cranky old men) as she sang the books of the Bible through a pinched nose, gleefully popped bubbles with her little-big-sis, and cuddled into mommy's lap in a versed-induced stupor. She said "Amen" after we anointed her with oil and prayed for her safety and health. And then Therese blew us away with the firm look of resolve on her face as she was wheeled away, hand-in-hand with a nurse into whose hands we have placed the lives of children now multiple times.

And the surgery proceeded on schedule, without incident, and without complication. We thank God for the mercy he lavished on us today; we thank you for interceding on our behalf. We learned that the occlusion was almost complete (so severe, in fact, that the catheter procedure that we were considering would definitely not have worked--so, again, thank you to those of you who helped pray us through all that decision-making; God's sovereignty was all over this situation) and that the repair was done exactly the way they would have wanted it. And then we watched as her post-op blood pressure stabilized and she dozed peacefully under a bright orange blanket.

When I left the hospital tonight around 7, Therese was still profoundly tired; she awakens only momentarily, but she has been communicative (in English!). No one is concerned about this, and we're not surprised (she reacted similarly following her anesthetized MRI). It could be a long night for Erika, though, especially if Therese finally wakes up very early tomorrow morning. Pray for her--for both of them--in this regard. And pray, also, for Therese's physical endurance: she has been telling us that she is hungry, but she will not be allowed to eat until later in the day on Thursday.

Thank you, dear friends, for your love, support, and prayers. We couldn't be doing this without you or without our God who is, indeed!, MIGHTY TO SAVE.

Blessings.

Casey