Well, March 5th is no longer the date.

A lot has happened in 48 hours- we went to the pediatrician on Tuesday to get his RSV shot. While we were there, Liam's color looked off and they could not get a good pulse ox reading. Our pediatrician called CHOP and it was determined that we needed to get admitted to the nearest ER and get transported to Philly to be monitored. It was everyone's opinions that the change of color was spells, which could result in a number of issues including death. This began at noon on Tuesday.

Alex left work and met me at the ER. I ran home, packed bags and we had a friend come get the dogs over to PetSmart. Our neighbors came and got Alex's car from the hospital so we didn't have to leave it there. About 7pm, still in the ER, CHOP called and said they were going to take Liam by helicopter. I was a little concerned but at this point, I had the worst scenarios running through my head and didn't know what to do, but I said I wouldn't leave his side. Alex jumped on the road up to Philly so he could meet us there. My parents already had arrived and were waiting for us.

The helicopter came to our local ER around 10pm. They took vitals and packed us up. Liam was not happy, wanted to eat so we fed him a little before getting on board and they gave him something to calm him down. As soon as we got near the "hot" chopper, he shut up and was wide eyed staring at it and the noise it made. We took off and he stayed awake the entire ride, which the flight crew told me was a first. He just started at all the equipment while I held onto his teddy bear. Check out helpicopter from my bucket list- wish it was different circumstances.

We made it up to CHOP in an hour and were immediately brought to the cardiac ICU, CICU. We met the head of CICU, they did some evaluations and got him on monitors immediately. They then called our surgeon and cardiologist here at CHOP. The team decided to get Liam on the surgeons schedule later that morning. So, we really did not want to go through an emergency situation but so thankful that we were in the right place with the surgeon we chose.

I stayed with him while Alex slept in a parent room for a few hours and then we switched off for a little bit. My parents went back to the hotel to try to get some rest too. At about 6am, the surgical teams arrived and we learned he would be second of 5 surgeries by Dr. Spray that day. Talk about a busy calendar for one man..jeesh. We were able to feed him at 8am for the last time, breastmilk only because its considered a clear liquid. By the time the anesthesia team came to his room, he was starving and a little peeved at 10:30.

My parents, Alex and I walked him down to the OR and as my dad put it, its like walking the gauntlet. I held him in my arms the entire way and tried to keep him calm. Its the hardest thing imaginable to hand your son over to have him operated on, much less have his chest cracked open and his heart taken out of his body. I tried to hold it together but when he started screaming when they took him, I had to cry. It didn't last long but watching him leave was hard.

As the team began prepping him for surgery, we were led upstairs to meet with the surgeon, Dr. Spray, who we now refer to as God. It was a quick meeting, he told us it would be about 3 hours at the least, reassured us on the repair, etc. I just wanted Liam to be done so we said what I imagine is normal, thank you and take care of him. Of course, my mom says, by the way, he is my only grandchild...Oh my. This was about noon at this point.

We were led back to a waiting area and Alex's dad had arrived. The 5 of us sat trying to just make small conversation. Our nurse was going to check in at 1pm with an update on his status. At 12:45pm, she came in out of breath and said they already finished the repair and they had moved unbelievably fast. It was surprising and great news- the less time on a bypass machine means less potential developmental issues. At this point, they still had to take him off the heart lung machine, which is the biggest risk of the surgery.

So we were very surprised when she came running in again and said they were done. At 1:20pm. They were able to do the surgery in one hour and twenty minutes, and he was only on the bypass machine for 32 minutes. We were in shock and obviously relieved that his heart was beating on its own again. Dr. Spray was with Liam still and would come visit with us after he felt Liam was stable and safe back in ICU. When he came in, he said it went perfect, no surprises, easy repair for an open heart. So this time, instead of threatening him, Grandma professed her love..How do you thank the man who saves your sons life? A card seems like nothing and gifts seem ridiculous. The gift he has is unbelievable. And the fact he had 3 surgeries to go still, unbelievable.

Alex and I were brought back to see him about 3pm. He looked better than I imagined. He didn't have any breathing tubes in him, he was breathing on his own since surgery and while he had a lot of wires and tubes, he seemed ok. The worst part of it was his moaning, he just sounded so sad and out of it. His eyes were closed and he was just moaning out loud, very hoarse sounding. His complexion, as we joked later was no longer what it was before. Very white, pink pink cheeks, just like Mommy. His sat levels, which were 80's before and on Tuesday, 60-70's, was 100. Just like that. Fixed.

A lot more to come, but my little man is about to wake up for the first time and we are going to feed him for our first time. Its about Thursday at noon. To think this started two days ago, I left the house for a simple shot in sweats and no purse! Amazing.