Little Miracle Man

copyright photo: Gijs de Louw

A little update in English (as requested^^)
Noah's surgery went well!
Sooner than predicted he woke up at the Intensive Care and the next morning Maartje and Gijs were told Noah had been restless that night. He obviously was missing his parents and he was hungry (good sign!).
After such a surgery, it could last 10-14 days before he'd be ready to leave the IC. Well, stubborn little Noah doesn't care for odds very much: one by one the tubes were removed and Thursday morning he was ready to move to his own room at the children's ward!

We're so proud of our miracle nephew! And of his parents as well!
It's amazing to see support coming from unexpected angles, Maartje and Gijs really appreciate it. I bet loads of candles have been burning last Tuesday and I'm pretty convinced it has helped.

On the day of Noah's surgery, Albert and I were too restless to sit at home waiting, so we went shopping for a little gift for Noah. I'd been killing time during the night by thinking of what would be a nice gesture. A hand puppet would be great as Noah responds to movement and bright colours. So wonderful: we arrived at the shop of choice and saw this cute butterfly rightaway. Usually I'm not too good at making decisions, but we didn't need any 2nd thoughts or further browsing. Ain't it lovely? :)

Went straight to the post office to mail it and afterwards we sat down for coffee in a pavement. The sun was shining and we were talking about Noah when a little pigeon feather landed on the table. I smiled and put it in my pocket, convinced this was a good sign.

It was; when we came home my mom had just called to tell the surgery went well! A & I cheered! :)

I think doctors want to stay at the safe side of prognoses; they said Noah would maybe need 10-14 days at the IC, followed by some more weeks on the children's ward. But it looks like Noah could be home at the end of this week already!!!
Wednesday it's Gijs' birthday...no question what his biggest wish will be...

Noah truly is a little miracle man!

Week 6, bye bye

Bye bye herstellingsoord!
It wasn't heart-breaking to leave, although I've had a good stay. Not a life-changing experience, but I got to recharge my accu, enough to continue life at home.
some last impressions:

Fingers Crossed for Noah!!

Tomorrow, the youngest member of our family, gorgeous Noah, will undergo a major heart surgery. He's got a condition called AVSD, which means a hole between his heart chambers. He needs surgery in order to keep growing and being healthy. You can read more about AVSD in English here and in Dutch over here.
Surgery will start around 8 a.m. and we'll hear more between 3 and 4 p.m.
That's a looooooong & huge surgery for such a tiny guy (he's 4 months now) and I think I can speak for the whole family when I say it makes us worry a lot.

Maartje en Gijs are taking it all so well. My respect for them grows day by day (and it was already high), I don't think Noah could have had better parents than these 2 people.

Noah, the candles will burn for you all day.
We're there, with you, in our thoughts & prayers.

Updates about Noah in Dutch can be found here.
Please keep your fingers crossed tomorrow...

Week 5

(laundry day)

Week 5 was a week of mood swings, short nights and headaches, but I also got to make some new style of bookmarks, worked on my ceramic project and have read a lot more than the weeks before. So, mixed signs...what's new? ;)

Only shot a few pics:

(reading the instructions first can be very useful...^^)

bookmarks

in progress

the new smokers' location xD

"don't flush" (plumming problems)

headache

Dearly Beloved

I guess I can't say no one is thinking of me... :D

Day by day, cards keep arriving in my mailbox in Wolfheze,

reminding me every moment of the wonderful people in my life.

THANK YOU!!!

<3

Some new pics:

(click on this link)

(some pics are kinda crappy, but wanted to share them anyway)

The 4th week is over, time is going faster than I'd expected.

Last week began with a mega down weekend; realising the depression is deeper than I hoped was a tough and confronting something. It's not gonna be over after these 6 weeks, but I'm hoping I'll gather enough stability to keep on walking through the storm. It will clear up. Some day.