above and beyond

a little over two years ago we were in the cardiac unit of a children's hospital. it was the last place i would have ever thought we would have been. we were given some pretty serious news about brooks's heart. 8% was what we were told his heart was functioning at. maybe, just maybe it would be back to 50% within 5 years. we hoped and prayed that we could reach that number one day and that he could lead a happy active life.

the day after b's surgery i knew he would be ok. it was almost instantaneous that he looked and acted better. i was told not to get my hopes up too much, there had been a lot of damage done to his tiny heart. it would take a long time to recover and even then it may not recover.

brooks had a follow up echo today and as the cardiologist was showing me the screen she said, "do you see how well it is squeezing? that is simply amazing." we were talking about what all he had been through and she said brooks was as bad off as it could have been. she hasn't seen much worse. but now? his heart is functioning better than a "normal" functioning heart. his EF (ejection fracture=how well the heart is squeezing, a normal heart's EF is around 75%). brooks's EF is at 79% He has surpassed all expectations by leaps and bounds. i have to say i'm not surprised, that's simply our brooks. amazing on all levels and as sweet as can be. we couldn't be happier or more proud of him. way to go, b!