Me and Mine – December 2017

At the start of the new year, I always make the same wish. A wish to end the year with my family still complete. It’s something that I have spent the last few months praying hard for. Knowing that we had one big hurdle before the end of 2017: another open heart surgery for Jessica.

 

With the surgery having already been cancelled twice in November, we hoped it would be third time lucky for us with the new date of 28th December. In the meantime though, there was Christmas to focus on.

 

 

Having Christmas to look forward to helped immensely in the run-up to the surgery. We pushed the surgery very firmly to the back of our minds and focused on making the most of being able to enjoy Christmas. Normally the run-up to Christmas would have been very hectic and full of activity. This year we had expected to be in hospital and so our calendar was looking much emptier than would normally be the case. Having a quieter festive season was a good thing though. It meant we were able to focus on just enjoying family time rather than getting overwhelmed in all the hustle and bustle.

 

 

We saw the Christmas lights at Waddesdon Manor and had a lovely family day out at Chessington World of Adventures. Christmas Day was spent with Grandma and Grandad. It was lovely to see the girls’ excitement when seeing all the presents in front of the tree and opening them. Once the girls were in bed on Christmas night though, the reality of surgery being imminent did hit me and I had a bit of a cry.

 

 

 

Boxing Day was a nice quiet day at home with the girls getting to enjoy playing with their new toys before going back into hospital on 27th. We took our final Me and Mine photo for the year on the children’s cardiac ward before Sophie headed off with Nanny for her sleepover there.

 

 

Jessica has been an absolute superstar. She was smiling and chatting away as she rode the trolley to theatre. We had a long anxious wait before the surgeon finally came up to the ward to let us know that the surgery had gone well, and it was another couple of hours before we were able to go and see Jessica on PICU.

 

She is recovering well so far although has been sedated and ventilated since her op as she has some secretions on her chest which the team are trying to help her clear before waking her up. Hopefully she can be extubated today though.

 

It looks like we will be seeing the new year in on PICU. We might not be all together for new year but we are all here. It is a huge relief to be finishing 2017 on the other side of the surgery, with Jessica doing well. Our family is still complete. To end the year knowing that my prayers have been answered once again is the best feeling ever. We have been truly blessed.

 

Of course, no December Me and Mine post is complete without looking back over our year of family photos. I can really see how much the girls have grown up over the past year looking back on them. Each of the photos brings back memories of a happy family moment and it is lovely to look back on them all. Our year started with a big achievement for Sophie and ends with a big achievement for Jessica. I wonder what happy moments we will capture over the next year together.

 

 

Happy New Year to you all. Hope that 2018 will be all you wish it to be.