We're CATHing: Two updates in

Well Howdy!  I'm giving Tori a break from the blogging.  We're sitting on the 17th Floor of TCH in the CVICU waiting room.  Cannon is in the middle of his CATH procedure.  We just got our second update from the surgical nurse and he is doing great.  At the end of the first hour, he'd been under anethesia for a while, they had his artery exposed and where on the way to the heart.  In this last update at 11, they've measured all the pressures and gotten the information they need.  They are about to inject the dye that will allow them to take the pictures of his vessels.

The staff here has been great, they clearly know what they're doing and put Cannon's comfort (and ours) at their highest priority.  We talked to a number of doctors this morning.  One young doctor was tasked with discussing the risks of the procedure with us, certainly an uncomfortable conversation for a young doctor to have with the parents of a sick kid.  She had clearly done her homework and knew how to have the conversation, but near the end she mentioned how nervous she was.  The doctor in charge of the cath was quick to let us know she was in charge of the cath and she WASN'T nervous!  We were never concerned about the young doctor being nervous, but it was fun to take part in her learning an important lesson: project confidence!!

Please excuse my lengthy post, there's two factors effecting this.  One, I can type pretty quick and it's easy to get long-winded.  But mostly, we are doing this blog not just to inform Cannon's loved ones, but also to record our journey... something we can look back on in 10 days (or years) when we've forgotten where we've been and all we've been through.  We know God will be glorified in these trials and tribulations, and the Bible instructs us to think on the things God has done for us.  As my memory is so poor, I have to use things like a journal and blogging to document what we've been through.  Then we can look back and see how God delivered.

The blessing today: we can see God working NOW.  We don't have to look back on it to see it as is often the case.  Tori and I are calm as can be expected, trusting in God fully.  Quite the contrast to some families that seem to melt down a bit in these circumstances.  We have much tougher days ahead of us, we aren't immune to pain.  But I thank God for bringing Tori and I together: we've learned how to lift each other up during the rough times, rather than attack each other.

Please continue praying for Cannon!  The most difficult part of today has been leaving him with strangers to go back to the OR.  He was awake when they wheeled him away, we walked with him as far as we could.  He gave us the "Why are you leaving me with these strangers" look which kills all parents in these situations.  But it was the first time for me, and it hurt.  Well, it's just the beginning.  Thanks for your prayers and for taking part in our family!  Please leave a comment if you stop by.


Cannon just prior to being rolled to the OR for the heart cath