In my defense, I wanted a copy for each of my five kids, a copy to frame, and copies to give friends.

So, here is the cover of the issue that “Nathan’s Wonder Slide” appears in, along with a clip of the article.

Darren and Megan write:

Our son will be needing the Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return surgery along with the ASD [atrial septal defect].  His name is Bradford and we are trying to figure out when it’s best to do it. Some doctors say soon, some say wait til he is at least 3.  He is currently 19 months old.  Obviously, we want to do what’s in his best interest.

Please pray for Bradford and that we are guided by God and remain confident and strong in him during these hard times.

Thank you. Your Website has made me confident that Bradford will get through it fine.

Last night, my Nathan asked if we could pray for the children on his website.  I agreed, pulled up the list, and prayed aloud as he bowed his head.  I thought we were finished, but he said, “Okay, now it’s my turn.”  He proceeded to thank God for successfully getting him through “venous return surgery” and asked God to get the other children through, too.  And he repeated my request to comfort the families.  I look forward to hearing his prayer for Bradford tonight.

I am asking for prayers for my daughter Chloe. We found out last month that she has Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return to the Coronary Sinus. She has an MRI coming up and surgery will take place in the next few months. I am scared beyond belief! She was always a healthy child and this was found at a well visit (the doc heard a murmur)! Please pray to guide the doctors and surgeons to correct her heart and a speedy recovery!

I feel your fear, Janielle.  I can remember feeling terrified when my son had cardiac catheterization, a straightforward diagnostic procedure.  I wondered how I was going to hold it together for the actual surgery if I felt this fearful for a less invasive event.  Remember Philippians 4:13.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Nathan regains consciousness after surgery to correct Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return (PAPVR), Scimitar Syndrome. This was taken in PICU at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Michigan.

Nathan also had heart surgery to correct PAPVR.  Check out this smiling face while he recovered in PICU.  He is doing fine now and barely remembers anything about our week at the University of Michigan Medical Center.

Stay strong–our prayers are with you!

Nathan Blakeney poses in front of his Banzai Sidewinder Blast.

Yesterday, I was in Tuscaloosa for the Southern Christian Writers Conference. While I was listening to one of the writing seminars, my cell phone vibrated.  I could see my husband was calling.  “How sweet,” I thought.  “He’s calling to wish me a Happy Anniversary.”

I quietly answered.  “Guess what,” he says.  “We just got Parents magazine in the mail.”  I was a little excited because the July issue has an article I wrote about Nathan.  “Oh, and Happy Anniversary…”

It was, indeed, a Happy Anniversary.  I hope you’ll take a look at “Nathan’s Wonder Slide.”  If I’ve bought all the issues in town , you can read it at Parents’ online magazine:  http://www.parents.com/kids/development/physical/nathans-wonder-slide-/

Many thanks to local photographer, Lisa Tilley-Newman, for the beautiful photos in the article.

Still, Nathan couldn’t resist referring to Mr. Allen as “Mr. Alien” to classmates one day for a laugh. When his teacher got wind of it, she required him to write a note of apology that night for homework.  I could tell he was mortified at the prospect of confessing this dastardly deed to his vice-principal.  Plus, he hates writing anything–usually requires a lot of coaching to get an original paragraph out of him.

“I can’t do this!” he kept protesting. “Sure you can,” I insisted.  I began to ask him questions:  “What would you *tell* Mr. Allen if you had to explain yourself in person?”  As he began to explain himself, I could see that the apology was more like a series of excuses (and aren’t we all a little guilty of that from time to time?); I let it ride.  The letter he came up with is below.  Somehow, I think Mr. Allen would be pretty forgiving…

The first time I saw these stretchy sensations was at the Hallmark Store at Edgewater Mall just before last Christmas.  Apparently, a new shipment had just come in, and a group of preteen girls were excitedly making their selections.  I asked one of the young ladies what they were, and she told me they were rubber bands in all kinds of shapes that kids wore on their wrists.  They were “very popular” she told me.

At the time, I thought Silly Bandz were only popular with girls, so I bought a set ($4.95 for a package of 24) to add to a Christmas present for one of my nieces.  After Christmas, my son (8 years old at the time) asked for a set.  New styles are coming out all the time, including dinosaurs, sports symbols, and other shapes that appeal to boys.

Each set of 24 usually has 5 or 6 different designs. Kids use their duplicates as traders.  On any given day, I get news of a great trade that went down at recess:  a brontosaurus for a castle, an umbrella for a guitar, or a music note for a horseshoe.   We even had a Silly Bandz swap at Nathan’s recent birthday party.  “I’ll trade you a cowboy for a mermaid.”  (Not the sort of trade you hear every day.)

What I’d like to know is how much fun is the fella’ who dreamed this up having? Is he vacationing in Miami?  Did he purchase a condo in Hawaii?  And what’s on his wrist?  The latest Silly Bandz?  Or a Rolex?

On the title page, I noticed an autograph and a mention of Nathan, so I realized the authors had run across our Nathan’s Prayer website.  How incredibly sweet, I thought.  And what a coincidence that it arrived on Nathan’s birthday.

The story is tender and precious; and although Amazon lists the reading level as ages 4-8, I suspect most fully grown folks will find themselves getting a little sentimental and teary.  I know I did!  I am a firm believer that from time to time God gives us little glimpses of eternity, even a few whispers from those who reside there. This tale may be fiction, but I have no doubt that it’s within the realm of possibility.  Like they say, God works in mysterious ways!

The Dragonfly Secret–share this heart-warming story with someone who has lost a loved one.

www.featherrockbooks.com

We feel blessed to be enjoying Nathan’s ninth birthday today. When he gets home from school this afternoon, I’m sure he’ll be enjoying some of his new games and toys.  It’s fun to watch as interests change over the years.  Not too long ago, he liked Power Rangers and Pokemon.  Now it’s Yugioh and Nintendo DSi.

His party this past Saturday was great fun. We enjoyed the usual birthday fare:  cake and ice cream.  For a change, we cranked up our little chocolate fountain, and we arranged an assortment of goodies across the kitchen counter for dipping:  strawberries, rice krispie treats, pound cake cubes, bananas, and pretzels.  We had little chocolate-covered mouths all over the place (not to mention several grown-up mouths!).

After a Silly Bandz swap, the kids played games to win prizes. We had a beanie baby toss, a clothes pin drop, and the kids paired up to play OgoDisk.   After his guests left, Nathan declared it was his “best day ever!”   (Of course, he has a tendency to say this frequently.)

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Despite a variety of surgeries during his childhood, Paul’s heart began to fail when he was a young adult.  One look at a photo of his beautiful wife and daughter, and clearly, he had no choice but to continue his fight.  Sadly, while Paul waited for a donor heart, his brother died unexpectedly.  His family experienced firsthand the painful emotions that come from being on the donor’s side of heart transplant surgery.  Ninety days later, a donor heart came available for Paul.

As I read some of the posts on Living for Eden, I couldn’t help but reflect on the years when our family fretted over finding the right surgeon for Nathan.  There is a temptation sometimes to hide in denial.  Maybe he’ll be all right without surgery, I wanted to believe; so fearful that my boy might not make it through open heart surgery.  Ultimately, I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I allowed his condition to go untreated.  I remember specifically telling myself that I did not want to be responsible for Nathan struggling with heart failure at a young age because I didn’t have the guts to follow through with surgery.

Of course, it’s always helpful to have a spare brain in the house (Bryan!). If Nathan’s mom had flaked out, Nathan’s dad would have definitely taken the reins.  Taking care of this in childhood will spare him the tragedy of heart failure as a young adult.  Similarly, Paul Cardall’s family saw to it that he had the best surgical treatments available during his childhood.  Unfortunately, that was not enough given the complexities of his heart defect.  But, thanks to a kind soul’s decision to be an organ donor, Paul continues to enjoy life with those who love him.

Living for Eden! A great congenital heart defects blog!  Know of another?  Write me.