Thrills of "Daddyhood"

Well,

My new son Trey was born on November 18, 2005. But, Trey's birth was not your normal birth. See, Trey was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect called Truncus Arteriosus when my wife was 20 weeks pregnant. I'll never forget that day--July 6th. When you're expecting your first child, this is not the type of thing you expect to hear at the appointment where you find out the sex of the baby. One of the most exciting days of my life turned into one of the most devastating days of my life in the span of about an hour. If not for the grace of my savior Jesus Christ, I don't know that I could have made it through that time. We met with a wonderful pediatric cardiologist named Dr. Ben Horne who actually, get this, prayed with us after he told us about the defect!! We were amazed and touched in a way that I'll never forget. Dr. Horne's compassion and concern for us will be cherished my whole life.

After working through the initial emotions this kind of news brings, a plan was put in place to induce labor one week early at MUSC Hospital in Charleston, SC...about 4 hours away from home. When the time finally came, Trey was born weighing 6 lbs, 13 oz., 21 inches long. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. He amazingly didn't look sick at all. No blue color, no need for the ventilator, nada. You would have never known there was anything wrong with him. We had prayed for this, and God answered our prayer by allowing our baby boy to be in good health upon arrival. Ten days after his birth, Trey underwent successful open-heart surgery on Nov. 28 to repair the defect. Again, but for the grace of Christ, there's no way I could have made it through that day. When we finally recieved word that he had come out of the surgery and was doing well, all I could do was cry. What a blessing and miracle!! Again, we are forever indebted to Dr. Scott Bradley, the most gifted cardiac surgeon around!!

After finally coming home on December 13, I have had almost two months now in "daddyhood". I can honestly say that it has been all I thought it would be and so much more. I can't imagine loving another person as much as I love my son!! He's my miracle baby and a true gift from God. Every time he looks up at me and grins, my eyes begin to water. I can't wait to teach him things and do things with him like I did with my dad. I only hope I can be as positive an influence on my son as my father was to me. Sorry for such a long post, but this is something I've wanted to type out and express for a while. I'll try to post often, and please feel free to leave me feedback!!