Maddie was discharged from the hospital Thurs evening and she’s had a great first day home!  Abby has been busy making her giggle like a squeaky toy.  She is going to be on a special formula to help her lymphatic system recover and we’re still adjusting to the new handling instructions from the doctors to prevent any stress on her incision wounds.  She’s making a lot of progress, but we have a long road ahead.

God has really blessed our family and little Maddie.  We are so grateful for your prayers and support over the past 6 weeks.  We truly believe in the power of prayer. One of our Fairfax cardiologists was amazed by Maddie‘s recovery when we returned from Children’s and knowing we were Christians, commented: “You must have a big church praying for you, Maddie!”  We are humbled that so many of you have asked for God’s healing and protection on our behalf and cannot thank you enough.

Maddie‘s next milestone will be to graduate from the special formula and return to breast milk and normal solids.  She also has many follow up doctor appointments; from the cardiologist to the electro-physiologist to early intervention.  Her musculature has atrophied considerably and it will take a while before she is as strong as she should be at this age.  We really appreciate your continued prayers for her recovery.

Additionally, please pray for all of those afflicted by health issues and those that work to heal them.  We witnessed a lot of suffering in the ICUs: from the mother who refused to let go of her son’s hand for days to a woman weeping uncontrollably in the hallway at Inova to the young father sitting in the waiting room with bloodshot eyes and ruffled hair to the seemingly endless announcements of impending arrivals by ground and air.  Many of the health care workers we met went way beyond their job descriptions and you could tell truly cared about the person, not just the diagnoses and medicines.

Once we are settled and Maddie gets into a good routine, we would love to have visitors.  Bill’s already gone back to work, but Jen is going to be home for a few more weeks.  We will send out more information as we get settled.

In Him,

Bill, Jen, Abby, and Maddie