Want to meet the bravest guy I know?
Meet Jones.
He is a living, breathing picture of strength. He has taught me in so many ways how to be strong yet at the same time has made me weak in the knees with worry.
He is the center of our story and was the reason for the start of We Carry Your Heart.
Jones was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect {CHD} at 6 months old. It was the most unexpected and terrifying day of my life and it only got worse from there. When Jones was diagnosed his heart was taking up half of his chest cavity and was twice the size it should have been. The muscle was entering into a state of failure.
After undergoing one procedure with the hopes of the heart returning to somewhat normal function, it became obvious to his doctors that this would not be the case.
We suddenly found ourselves on the path towards a full heart transplant.
After five days on the transplant list, our family received the gift of a lifetime…
On May 24th, 2018, we rolled our son back to the operating room with his incredible doctors.
I wasn’t ready to let him go. To face the ultimate fear that he may not come back to us.
And if he did return to us, the sweet heart we had been praying over for months would no longer be at the center of his body, circulating life.
There would be a new heart in its place. A heart given out of pure generosity… a gift we will never be able to repay but are eternally grateful for.
After an 8-hour surgery, we finally got to see our son again, and it was a moment I will never forget.
Jones spent three weeks in the hospital, and we spent six weeks as a family in Charleston, SC, where his surgery took place so he could recover.
As a transplant patient, you are trading in one set of symptoms for another set… but we accept these symptoms as they come and forge a path forward as best we can.
God remains faithful as He continues to lead us down this path. He holds each of us in His strong and willing hands as He helps us cope with the realities we face each day.