The text message updates every few hours made me feel like I was sitting in the waiting room. As if, Jinu was peeking his head out of the hospital doors, letting us know things were going well with Joshua's surgery. He'd then rush back inside to be with his wife, Ann.
I often try to imagine the strength of these two; parents who got news in April that their baby was going to be born without the left ventricle of his heart. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. The surgery was scheduled, doctors visited, ultrasound after ultrasound completed. And, as they left for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia prior to the birth, there were hundreds of people grieving and praying for this boy.
The procedure Joshua had was one of three open heart surgeries to re-route the right side of the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. There was no better place than the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for such a surgery; no better surgeon than the one that they had.
Joshua, much to our joy, shocked the hospital staff with his recovery. In 14 days, they released him to go home, and as Ann and Jinu will tell you—he knew when he was home.
He's been growing in strength since that day. 9 lbs. 8 ounces today. Smiling, forming baby words, and is strong enough to fight getting his medicines. All good things. Praise God. His second surgery is scheduled for January, so please keep this little tike in your prayers. To read more about Joshua Luke's story, check out iamacollyder.com, where Jinu has shared very candidly about their journey.
