The Beat Goes On

On the one year anniversary of receiving the New Heart, the father of Baby Christopher posted this update on the Caring Bridge site. We have copied and pasted it here to share with those of you who are following his saga.

The phone rang early in the morning. Shannon was calling from halfway across the country, relaying the news we’d wanted so desperately to hear.

“Wow, Lord,” I remember thinking. “You’ve answered our prayers.”

One year ago today, surgeons at Arkansas Children’s Hospital skillfully transplanted a heart into our seven-week-old son. Right now, as he sleeps peacefully in the other room, that little heart beats steady and strong.

And I find myself thinking: Wow, Lord! You’ve answered our prayers!

Isn't God good?

It has been a year already. One intensely difficult, amazingly wonderful year.

Long months in hospitals in two cities. Progress followed by setbacks. Setbacks followed by more setbacks. So many instances when, exhausted and discouraged, we found ourselves sustained by our loving Father.

Christopher received wonderful care from skilled physicians and nurses at Arkansas Children’s in Little Rock and Doernbecher Children’s in Portland. It extended far beyond medicine, and beyond their tiny patient. Their concern for us – Shannon and me – is something we still marvel over.

Likewise, we experienced an overwhelming outpouring of prayer and giving, so many acts of love and kindness from so many people. We’ll never be able to thank everyone from our home church of University Fellowship, and our friends at the Bible Church of Little Rock, Redeemer Community Church, Immanuel Baptist Church, Pulaski Heights Baptist Church -- and so many other friends in Eugene, Little Rock, Portland and all over the map. Please know that we’ve thanked God often for all of you.

Most of all, and most important of all, we have encountered an absolutely awe-inspiring God Who cares, and Who is always in control, and upon Whom we all depend for each and every breath. He is good, whatever He brings. We thank Him!

Christopher came home from the hospital last fall. We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas together as a family, as well as a wonderful birthday party for five that lasted five great minutes.

Today, we’ll have a quiet, sweet remembering. Christopher will play in his exer-saucer. He'll bang his toys. He'll growl. He’ll smile. And we’ll melt – just like every other day. Our life has settled into a rhythm. Sometimes it’s monotonous, but we have a happy, relatively healthy little guy – and a happy little family. Christopher ranks at the bottom of the growth chart, and he’s way behind in development, but we’re seeing and delighting in evidence of growth and development.

We continue to pray with persistence that his little kidneys would restart, even as we continue with daily dialysis and move toward a probable kidney transplant. We pray he would have a long, healthy and happy life. But more than that, we pray Christopher’s life – long or short, healthy or not – would continue to bring glory to God. We believe it has so far.

Today would not be complete without acknowledging that somewhere, someone is mourning a very different, incredibly difficult anniversary. Christopher was provided the gift of life only after another precious infant died. We are forever grateful to parents we may never know. Would you pray with us for them, that God would continue to comfort them and draw them to Himself?

Thank all of you for praying with us, and for us. Thank you for loving us during this wonderful year. We love you all, and we thank God for you all.

Happy heartday, Christopher. The beat goes on.

On that day a year ago, after the surgeon had given us the good news – the surgery had gone very well, the heart worked immediately, and our little guy was in recovery – our friend Todd Murray led us in prayer in the waiting room. The way he closed remains perfect today:

“We just say thank you, thank you. You are a good God.”

(Our friend Carolyne Park, while at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, captured the emotion and intensity of that day with a comprehensive report. If you haven't read it, here's the link. It's the second in a three-part series; if you'd like you can find the other two parts linked from this one.)

Sunday, January 16, 2011 1:41 AM, CST