Poem about a special bond...

I met up with a dear friend today.  We haven't been able to meet up since Hailey was born so we had a lot to talk about.  We talked about Hailey's birth and her open heart surgery.  Needless to say, I've thought a lot about her heart, her struggles before surgery, and her surgery today.  I ran across this poem that I know a lot of fellow heart moms will be able to relate to.

Some Bonds Cannot Be Understood
Posted on Dec 16, 2007

Some bonds cannot be understood... Unless you have walked them before...
A path that I would not have chosen...
A future I just can't ignore.

We've all watched our children intently...
Memorizing each line...
And let them leave our loving arms...
And prayed things would be fine.
We've paced the halls awaiting news...
And wondered just what lie in store...
We've felt our own heart's racing as...
We walked through an ICU door...
We've seen the child we love so much...
Struggling to overcome...
The lines...the cords....the monitors...
No thoughts...no words...would come...
We've prayed for an improvement...
We've laid it in God's hands..
We've cried...we've hoped...we've worried...
We've wondered of God's plans.
We've learned just how a heart works...
Each valve and artery...
We've asked alot of questions...
We've faced each surgery.
And somewhere down this well worn path...
We've met more families...
Who know exactly what it means...
To live with this disease.
We've smiled at every triumph...
And shared in every sigh...
We've prayed for a child that struggles...
And each family that must say goodbye.
Some battles are fought with bullets...
And weapons made for war...
While these are fought in silence...
Behind a hospital door...
We've wondered what lies in our future...
We've been thankful for just one more day...
We've stopped and watched with tear-filled eyes...
Our children...as they play.
We've struggled with ounces and weight gain...
Why won't my child just eat?
But heart mom's ...we're a tough group...
We've learned how to face a defeat.
We've faced those moments...others do...
When life has got us stressed...
But it doesn't take long to remember...
That we are richly blessed.
We've taken on a whole new role...
One we we wouldn't exchange if we could...
We know that life is difficult...
We hold onto all that is good.
God chose each of us carefully...
I do believe he smiled...
Some bonds begin with strangers...
And just one special child.
~hearsofhopeemi.org

Here are a couple of my favorite pics of Hailey from her heart surgery/recovery.

The day after surgery...the look that said "Mom, everything will be okay"

My tiny little peanut is such a fighter & survivor!

What her incision looked like when we brought her home.

Hailey's tutu and her badge of honor (her incision scar)

What her incision looks like a couple of weeks ago

Some days it feels like it is hard to believe it has only been 4 months ago and other days it seems like a different lifetime!