Painting her picture.

Today was a day we had been waiting on for three months. It was the day our precious gift was going to get fixed. The excitement of saying those words was something I cannot describe.

We arrived at the hospital at 10pm on Thursday. The staff was nice enough to allow us to stay in "The Suite". We got to spend some quality time with her before we went to sleep. The next day started early. We went to see her around 5:30 am. She was moving all over the place. She looked so good. She was happy and upset at the same time. I knew she was hungry. We eventually moved our way down to the 5th floor. I will never be able to thank the nurses enough for their care of Levins. Her primary nurse stayed later this morning to make sure everything was squared away for surgery. Saying goodbye was tough. It was tough because I knew she would be under for a while and I knew how serious it was.

All four of our parents waited with us. We laughed a lot and I'll admit I went to the bathroom to cry a few times. It was the longest 8 hours of my life. I know our Levins was fighting down the hall. Finally, we heard our surgeon was on the way up to talk with us. I could have thrown up immediately. I wanted to know, but at the same time I didn't. I wanted to go back to this morning and see my beautiful daughter smiling at Cullie. How was she going to continue to fight like this everyday?

He talked with us for a while. He said everything went well. They were able to accomplish everything they had set out to do. He is someone I will never be able to thank enough. He has given our little girl the chance to live. I would do anything for him. I hope one day I can thank him enough. He told us recovery was going to be a long process. We are still not out of the woods. She is still at high risk of complications. But she is one day closer to being home with us.

The support we have is unbelievable. I was texting a good friend of mine and he said "Think about the big picture." That hit home. I know she will be home soon. I know she will continue to fight. I prayed to God to let her picture not be so big. I know it was wrong, but I needed to say it. I'll admit this has been the hardest blog to write. I wish I had more to say. I am heartbroken seeing our little girl like this. I know she is in God's hands. Please continue to pray for Levins. She has a rough couple weeks ahead. Pray for Cullie and her strength. She is our rock. Pray for Rett as she wants Levins home. Pray for me. Pray that I will have the strength to be the stable presence my family needs. Her picture is going to be big one day. God is the painter of her picture. I know one day I will look back on this and it will be a small part of it. Pray that God gives her the strength to keep fighting.