Happy Birthday!!

Today is the 17th birthday of my #2 daughter. So much has transpired in 17 years.

She had heart surgury to correct a heart defect at 8 days old. I remember getting the call while at work that I needed to come to the hospital as there was something wrong. I drove over as fast as I could and arrived to see an abulance sitting at the hospital. As I was going to the baby ward I passed a couple of EMTs who were taking my baby girl the other way unknown to me. Looked like they were taking some equipment, but under all that techo stuff was my newborn daughter. Then I get to the room and the doctor is waiting with my wife to tell me my daughter has a problem and is being transfered to Tulsa. I head directly there as my wife would not be discharged till the next day and find my little girl in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She was there with all the preemies and babies with health issues and I could not believe that this was happening to me.

They eventually transfered her to Oklahoma City where a team of doctors did open heart surgury to repair her defects. She was not given a very good prognosis, the man who did her heart ultrasound said that not only did she have an artery and a vein in the wrong locations she was also suffering from numerous holes in the chambers of her heart. At 8 days old they did surgury, at one point she flat lined as they took her off the heart lung machine and they had to restart her heart. She spend the next 12 days with tubes going in and out of her, a few of those days on a ventilator in a small glass room with lots of beeping and nurses and doctors checking in on her.

On day 20 they said we could take her home. We loaded her up and brought her back to our home which seemed like we had not seen in ages. She acted like a normal baby other than all the medicines we had to give her and the check ups she had to endure. She grew up like all the other kids, and I have to admit I would forget she had open heart surgury till I saw the scar running the length of her breastbone.

She had another procedure when she was younger to check on her arteries and later received a pacemaker to make her heart stay in rythem. She just a couple of weeks ago received her new and improved pacemaker as her original was starting to wear out.
It amazes me that she pretty much has not allowed this liability from keeping her out of the game of life. From gymnastics, to basketball and softball to cheerleading, to acting and modeling she has continued to live life to the fullest. She inspires me every time I think of what she has accomplished in the short time she has been in my life.
She is smart, funny, and articulate. Beautiful and gracefull and is always a ray of sunshine on cloudy days. I can't wait to see what achievements she has in front of her as she lives her life to the fullest.
It seems like only yesterday we celebrated her first birthday and her mom and I both felt so blessed to have her in our lives. We have celebrated many birthdays since then and she is still as much of a blessing now as she was then.
Happy Birthday Cam, we love you and are so proud of you!
Dad