Madelynn's Heart 1

Today is the beginning of a series of anniversaries. This is the day that everything about my life changed forever.

As we reach another anniversary, I will tell you about that day.

First thing in the morning I took Madelynn to the Urgent Care for a really bad cough. An x-ray was taken to make sure there was no fluid in her lungs. There was not. However, the Urgent Care Doctor was uncomfortable with what her saw and wanted a second opinion. He sent us home and said he would call after he received the second opinion.

I was sitting on the couch and the phone rang...............

I was told that Madelynn's heart was abnormally shaped and that she needed to see a pediatric cardiologist. The Urgent Care doctor told us that we needed to call the pediatrician as soon as possible and to call him Monday morning. As the Doctor spoke tears streamed down my face faster and faster.

By this time, Phil did not know what the doctor had said but he knew I was upset. Kaitlynn and Jackson saw me crying and rushed to my side. "Mommy, Mommy.....what's wrong!!!" I took a deep breath and told Katie and Jack this..............

Do you know what the shape of a heart is.....and I traced the shape of a heart where Kaitlynn;'s heart is? Yes Mommy. Well Madelynn's heart is not shaped like yours. They think she has a very special heart. In a few days we are going to see how special her heart is.

At that moment in time I have no idea where those words came from. My mouth was moving but I should not have been able to actually speak those words so my other children would not be afraid. Kaitlynn seemed okay with that and she and Jack went back to play. Phil calmed me down and told me not to worry until we knew something concrete. However, my racing mind got the best of me. I tried to remember some of the key words the doctor had said and started surfing the web. This was a bad idea.

There were way too many possibilities and my heart couldn't handle most of them. So I cried myself to sleep and would have to wait until we saw the pediatrician. Madelynn already had an appointment for shots in two days. So I just had to wait 48 hours. Easier said than done.

As this journey progressed, I would soon find out that this Urgent Care doctor, Dr. Alfred Kendrick, saved her life.

TTFN