Happy, Happy Birthday, Rebekah!!

It is almost unbelievable to think that three years ago tonight we were sitting in a hospital room in Charleston anxiously waiting for the appearance of our sweet little Rebekah.  So much has happened in the last three years, and there were certainly times when we wondered if we would get to celebrate Rebekah's third birthday with her.  But God has blessed us beyond measure and has given us so much more time with Rebekah than we could have imagined a year ago.

Even though Rebekah was a little peanut at birth, she proved over and over that she was a fighter.  She never gave up, despite all the challenges and setbacks.  Rebekah underwent her first open heart surgery at just one week old.  She recovered amazingly well from that, and three weeks later we finally got to take our sweet little girl home!

When I look back at pictures from Rebekah's first few weeks, it amazes me that she is doing so well today! I remember how hard it was to find the baby in the midst of all the tubes, wires and medical accessories that she had. Today she still has a lot of accessories - just of a different, decidedly girly, nature!

Rebekah's first year was filled with ups and downs. She was in and out of the hospital with GI issues and respiratory infections. We decided to go ahead with a g-tube surgery and nissen fundoplication. Rebekah also started physical therapy and occupational therapy to help her catch up with her development.

By the end of Rebekah's first year, she was much more stable, medically speaking.  She began crawling just before her first birthday and was walking around 20 months.  We were so excited to see those major milestones!

Even from the beginning, Rebekah has loved her bows and bracelets.  :)

At sixteen months, Rebekah had her second open heart surgery.  She had a few ups and downs during recovery, but was back home in two weeks.  This surgery repaired her Truncus Arteriosus, with a few minor adjustments for Rebekah's unique anatomy.

Rebekah sailed through her second birthday!  She grew to love the water and swimming pool and began aquatic therapy to strengthen her muscles and build endurance.

Rebekah required oxygen for most of her second year.  She was treated for pulmonary hypertension as well as low oxygen saturations.  That still didn't stop Rebekah, though!  She just pulled her tubing along behind her as she went about being a normal two-year-old.  In addition to the physical and aquatic therapy, Rebekah also began speech therapy for a variety of speech issues.

Rebekah had her third open heart surgery at two and a half.  This was a Truncus revision, as well as an attempt to provide some use of her right lung.  Rebekah's surgeon was very honest with us when he admitted that he didn't know if the surgery would produce any of the desired results, but it was the last option we had to try.  We honestly didn't know going into the surgery if Rebekah would come back home, or if she did, how much longer we would have with her.

To God's glory, the surgery was more successful than even the surgeon hoped it might be!  Rebekah's heart and lung function are better today than they have ever been in her life.  She now only needs oxygen at night and just a handful of medications to keep her heart and lungs at their best.  What a blessing we have been given!

As we celebrate Rebekah's third birthday, we are ever grateful for God's blessings to us.  Rebekah is such a ray of sunshine in our house.  Her brothers absolutely adore her and would do almost anything for her.  We are so thankful to have another year to celebrate with our little Bekah Boo!

Instead of a big party this year, we have plans for a very girly day for Rebekah. She has been asking for "my earrings" for several weeks now. We are going to attempt to have her ears pierced for her birthday. Hopefully all goes well and by the end of her birthday she will have pink sparkly earrings. :)

Nancy