Look, I'm a Christian; a Christian with obstacles to faith; obstacles to belief, but a Christian none-the-less. Right now I'm watching a series by Andy Stanley of Northpoint Community Church titled "It's Personal". It has really impacted me and where I am in my faith journey right now. In light of everything that has gone on with us and our new baby, this is impacting me where I am. I challenge you to watch this series. Start with the first one, then when you're ready watch the rest. They're about 45 minutes a piece so you prolly won't do it all in one sitting, but I challenge you to check them out. Below is a link to where you can find all of his messages. The first in the "It's Personal" series is titled "A New Approach". Start with it and follow the next three. Even with my obstacles, God made himself entirely too personal for me to deny him.
NorthPoint Community Church messagesElliot Thomas Payne
Born July 24, 2007; diagnosed with HLHS and restricted Atrial septum; completed Norwood procedure 7-30-07 and Glenn procedure on 11-30-07.
What is HLHS? HLHS stands for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and is a congenital heart defect where the left side of the heart, usually the left ventricle, is underdeveloped. The left ventricle is tasked with pumping blood to the body, whereas the right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs for oxidation. This condition is usually caught at the 20 week ultrasound, as was our case, and a game plan is put into place for treatment just after birth.
The Wiki page is found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoplastic_left_heart_syndrome
Elliot had an additional diagnosis of having a restricted atrial septum, often called Restricted Septal Defect or RSD. The problem with this secondary diagnosis is that the HLHS repair procedure counts on passive blood flow to the lungs, which is dependent on having low pressure in the lungs. Having RSD creates a high pressure environment in the lungs which can nullify the effectiveness of the 3-stage HLHS procedure. The treatment for RSD usually calls for immediate surgery upon birth to open up the atrial septum to allow blood flow to the lungs and body.
So for Elliot's birth, that's what we were prepared for; birth, then immediate heart surgery to open the atrial septum, followed by the first of his 3 surgeries to repair HLHS. All the while not knowing if the RSD would even allow his lungs to function properly after the repair.
Where are we now? Elliot's doing great, getting big and developing normally. He's still on oxygen right now, about 1/2 liter 24 hours a day, and still gets most of his nutrition through a feeding tube. However, he's a happy baby...and we're happy to have him.
Photo Journeys
- Various pics from our weekend outings
Travel
- Here are some pictures from our various travels. Several from our most recent trip to Arizona.
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JP's CD!
- Step right up and get a copy of my CD. I produced this project a few years ago and am just now making it available on my blog. Timely, I know. It's acoustic based folk-pop with a positive vibe. The CD's are priced at only $5 plus $3 shipping. Go ahead and pick one up for yourself and 500 of your closest friends.
Choking on Air
In Need of Eve
- Here's a zip file of Two Years on a Tuesday Night by In Need of Eve, an acoustic trio that I had a while back. This is a link to 13 of our original songs. Free for you. Download and enjoy.
On the iPod
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