The Hard Place It Is Then

The decision of how to fix Nathan's VSD weighed heavy on our minds and hearts. We knew that it was something that needed to be done in order to have Nathan continue to get better and eventually come home. But at the same time, I felt like it was kind of being forced on us.

Obviously, doing nothing was not an option. But did this have to be done right now? Couldn't we have more time to think about it? Nathan was stable, but still seemed so fragile.

The medical staff were highly in favor of the Cath Lab procedure over open heart surgery.

So after 2 days of thought, discussion, and prayer, we decided to go ahead and have them close Nathan's VSD in the Cath Lab. We informed them of our decision on Friday, October 19th, and they scheduled Nathan for the procedure on Tuesday, October 23rd.

It wasn't a decision that I was very comfortable with, but it seemed that it was the best option, considering the alternatives.

We had had only 1 day to decide on the procedure and over 3 days to agonize over it. And agonize I did. I worried all weekend if we had made the correct decision. There was still time to back out, but if we did, would that be the best decision for Nathan? Nothing seemed to calm my fears or ease the burden I felt upon me.

After more discussion, we decided that it would be best if Nathan got a blessing some time before the procedure on Tuesday. With no family in the area, I thought it would be nice and appropriate to ask the leader of our local church congregation if he would be able to assist me in the blessing.

So at church on Sunday, I explained to him Nathan's situation and our fears over the procedure and asked if he would be able to come to the hospital either that night or the following night to help give Nathan a blessing. He said he would check with his wife and get back to us.

Later that evening (later than I anticipated), he called and informed me that due to prior commitments, he would be unable to come to the hospital and assist.

Due to the lateness of the hour, that left us scrambling to try and find someone who could help. With really no one that we knew very well or that we thought would be able to drop everything and come up to the hospital on such short notice, I was thankfully able to get in touch with a friend from work and asked if her boyfriend (whom I had never met but that I knew was from the Salt Lake area) was available and willing to help. Thankfully, he was!

They met us at the hospital later that night and he helped me to give Nathan blessing. I appreciated the help. And while not completely assuaging my fears and forbodings about the procedure, I was very grateful for friends and the Priesthood that night.