Ehpaynes!!! On ME!!!!

Well … I woke up this morning.  So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.  But I woke up before Bertha and the news.  So I began my morning with a video ... and I have already watched it about 40 times so far!!  It’s from a couple weekends ago while at the Country Estate for the Munchkins’ 2nd birthday party.  My dad, “Ampa,” was helping my niece, “Da Gurl,” put on the airplane pajamajam pants of my nephew, “Little Dude.”  I was holding Little Dude as I recorded the hysterical scene, and even he was laughing!  Once the pants were finally on her correctly, she came running up to us saying, “Oh wow!!! … Ehpaynes!!! … On ME!!!”  I’m not entirely sure why I chose to watch this particular video.  I mean, I have a ton of vids to choose from after that weekend, but the universe must’ve aligned in such a way that it can only be described as "fate.”

Some days, after doing the Frankenstein Crawl to get out of bed, it’s hard to find something positive on which to hold until the coffee kicks in.  That l’il stinker was just the right kind of motivation for my morning.  While waiting for Bertha to beep, I had time to reflect on what she’s been through in her short life and how she is just as bubbly and cute and headstrong as they come.  You cannot tell by looking at her that there is anything wrong with her!!  (sound familiar??)

She and her twin brother were born one month premature on Dec. 8.  The Little Dude was able to come home before Christmas that year, all kinds of happy and healthy … and stinkin cute!!  But Da Gurl was born with a few … um … issues, for lack of a better word, and wasn’t able to come home until after the new year.  She was born with Dextrocardia (her heart is on the right side, not the left), PDA - Patent Ductus Arteriosus  (a flap in her heart that allowed blood to flow both ways), and almost her entire urological tract was discombobulated which led to a plethora of UTI’s, discomforts and antibiotics.

In April of this year she had her heart surgery to fix the PDA flap thingy and to create a membrane bridge between her heart and lungs.  My sister, the Mommie/Goddess/Kindergarten teacher, said that her only real concern about the Dextrocardia is when it’s time for Da Gurl to learn the Pledge of Allegiance, she’ll put her left hand up over her heart instead of her right.  (yeah, that’s right, optimism runs in my family.)  Fast forward to September … Da Gurl’s heart and lungs were functioning great!!  She’d gained weight, her hair had grown and it was time to fix her “girl parts and stuff.”  That surgery was also successful!!  So … For the last couple of months, she’s been bopping around with a colostomy bag while her insides adhere to the ways of the docs.  Her last surgery to get everything sewn up is a week from today.

So I had a crappy Sunday (except for the Bronco’s win … that was freakin COOL!!).  Big deal!!  I gave myself 24 hours to wallow and I awoke to a hopeful new day … and Da Gurl’s face and Little Dude’s giggles.

So if I find my day heading south again, I’ll pull up my video files and I’ll watch her vids again.  Happy, goofy, crazy, smiley, dorky and sweet … she’s my hero … my inspiration!!  If I can be a third of the inspiration to her that she has been to me, that is what will keep me fighting.  I have faith that she will be happy and healthy for the rest of her life … and I kinda feel like I owe it to her to be the same … or at least give the appearance of it!!

Ehpaynes!!!!  On ME!!!!!  <LMAO> You go Gurl!!!!