Big Sigh, but not of Relief

That's right, she is still on the machine, let's go on and get that out of the way. Now, with that said, Dr. Salazar said there were alot of improvements today. He said that he is very encourgaged by what he saw, but still does not feel that her heart is able to pump on its on and wants it to rest more. I believe that they are going to try again tomorrow morning, so we need to continue the rally, I have my rally cap on as I write this message, literally, I think the "new" people think I have lost my mind, but who cares, I am still rallying. It was a hard pill to swallow today, but our chins are still high and Dr. Salazar is hopeful. He said he has seen kids get better on the fifth day, seventh day, and even the eighth and so Ali and I stand knee deep in hope and we must wade out just a little farther. As they looked at Baby Cate's heart again today, everyone that has looked at it has said they have never seen anything like her heart before, that's comforting uh?? There have been numerous cardiologists and even the chief of surgery said they have never seen a heart quiet like Cate's. The average kid Baby Cate's size would have a heart the size of a plum, her heart is about the size of an orange due to the thickness of her muscle tissue that has built up over the past few months. This is part of the problem with her heart not pumping correctly, because it was in surgery for so long and not beating for so long, what they call "klamp" time the heart became very stiff. Dr. Salazar believes that with another day or two or three it could very well do the trick. Now, with that being said I have to once again call for some serious prayer and I mean serious. We had to have a hard talk with Dr. Salazar today. He, as the Surgeon must look beyond today or tomorrow. He informed us that they have to start looking at other options if Cate's heart does not recover. They cannont wait until day seven and then start preparing for these other options. The best analogy I can give is, and you Louisianians will probably better understand this. It's June, which means hurricane season is upon us. It's the time we start getting batteries, bottled water, gas for our generators, and canned good in case a hurricane hits, we may have a quiet season and not need any of those things, but we have to be prepared in the event that one would strike our area. Well, that is what is going on with Baby Cate right now, they are having to get other options and other teams lined up in case Baby Cate's heart does not recover. So, we are going to have start meeting with other Doctors and Surgeons to prepare for these possible events. These are options that no one wants, but options that we are forced to start considering and planning for. Please Please pray that Baby Cate's heart will kick back in and these plans will never have to be put into motion. If these events are put into motion we will, at that time, then begin to keep you all informed on the new procedures that we will be pursuing.
Now, my two God stories for the day. First, We were planning on attending Mass here in the hospital because they have it on Wednesdays at noon, but due to the length of Cate's operation today and meetings that followed we were unable to make it. We were a little dissappointed that we were unable to receive the Eucharist, especially today, but we were called into duty as parents so unable to attend Mass. Ali and I sat and had tearful conversations for a while after meeting with Dr. Salazar and then proceeded to go upstairs to see our precious Baby Cate. We rounded the corner heading to the elevator and we nearly ran into the Catholic Chaplian of the hospital Fr. Noble. He was shuffling some papers through his hands and asked, Are you the Cantrells? I immediately figured he wasn't with the IRS, that would be low, even for the IRS. We said yes we are, he told us that he had just come from praying with Baby Cate and asked us if we had a good support network, I kinda laughed to myself, thinking Father, if you only knew. We told him yes and that we had friends who had been bringing Communion to us. He told us that they had Mass on Wednesdays here in the hospital, we told him that we had all intentions of going, but due to consultations were unable to make it. He asked, Do you want to receieve Communion, Our eye's lit up, Ali and I both said in one voice, YES, he pulled the pyx out of his pocket and said, well, let's do this. Again, Jesus coming in the middle of the storm! The second run in with God, was after we went to see Baby Cate we were heading down to get some lunch in the Cafeteria. We got on the elevator and there was only one gentleman on it, which is odd, the elevators are usually full during the day. I stood looking at the buttons on the elevator because I couldn't figure out where we were going, so my lovely bride hit the button for me, to which I replied, I don't even know where I am going in life. The guy behind me looked at me and said, "Then you need to strike a match, light your candle and get back on the path, and if your on the path that everyone else is on, your on the wrong path." Ali and I both just stopped in our tracks looking at this guy and him looking at us. The door opened and we got off. There was a resolve that fell into my heart, not an easy resolve, but at least a resolve. God is in our midst and we are seeing Him move. Just continue to pray that we may be sustained by Him during this time. We love you all, thank you for your continued support and for running this marathon with us, please do not let Baby Cate or us go, you will never know how encouraged we are by your messages and support. We love you all!