Tylers Heart

Tyler had his annual cardiology appointment.  All things looked good which is such a blessing. I usually can tell based on Tyler's behavior and energy level how he is doing, but it is always a relief to hear he is stable and no surgeries needed for now.  Except for the expense, I love that his appointments are usually around Christmas.   It is always a time to reflect on our blessings and the miracle of life.

He lives a very normal life.  He is doing great in school...actually amazing considering the rough start to life that he had.  He doesn't like doing PE because they run laps in the beginning so opts to usually just watch.  I am glad that he chooses what he wants to do.  Other than that he is your typical, energetic kid.  I want to sign him up for baseball, but he wants to do soccer, which of course wouldn't be a great fit for him, so we are still working on figuring out why he wants to do soccer.  He could probably get away with doing any sport at the level that a 6 year old plays, but his cardiologist said to set him up for success in the future and I know that putting him in soccer would not be a good fit in two years when kids are running non-stop.

Probably the hardest thing about his heart is that when he goes, goes, goes to keep up with Scott and gets agitated.  Its like having a kid that needs a nap or more sleep but doesn't take one.  I need to grow in patience and in many ways I laugh that the Lord sent me a heart kid to teach me patience.

His cardiologist is returning to UCSF after being with Kaiser for probably 30 years or so.  It is heartbreaking to me.  We just love him and have been so blessed to have him.  But I am grateful that we were able to get the critical years with him and our surgeon before they moved.  Medicine is changing a lot and Kaiser, UCSF and Children's Hospital are changing how they are tied to each other. Even though I'll miss him as our cardiologist, I know he is close by and is still at least at UCSF.

So overall, very blessed for his health and the time we have with him.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't realize what a blessing his life is.  I often think about those that have gone before him or were born around the same time as Tyler who are now angels.  My heart is filled with the lessons that they taught me and continue to teach me.  My heart is full of love and compassion because of them.   They are not forgotten during this Christmas season.