Easter Sunday 2011

Today, I started working on Dominic's story so that I could share it with people. I have come to notice so much!  Until I started actually typing it all out, I didn't understand all that I went through. I'm on page 4 and I'm hardly through the significant occasions that happened in the first week of his life! It's still so surreal to me, that when I reread it, it feels like an out of body experience. I feel like I'm reading someone else's life because, I just don't remember all of the feelings attached to the actions that were happening around me. Some how I started to realize, it isn't just Dominic's story.... it's OUR Story. 

It's funny that I chose this day to write about all of this. The day that Jesus rose from the grave. The day of the rebirth of my savior. In a way, becoming a mother to anyone is like a rebirth. For me, it was a complete mortification of the old me. Being a mom to my Dude has completely changed everything about who I am and what I stand for. It changed the way I look at life. It has shown me the significance of positive thinking and forgiveness. There is so much more to life than I realized until I had a child of my own; and that realization grew even bigger when I entered the situation we are in.

Dominc, my love, your teachings are spreading quick. Your joy enlightens many. Keep it up kiddo! I love you.

{Today, Alaina, my 7 year old step-daughter got baptized. She decided that she loved and believed in Jesus with her whole heart and she was ready to be baptized. I cried, I was so proud of her. Afterward, we were talking about it and she told me that the pastor explained everything and she understood it very well. She said, "Whitney, when I went into the water I had my heart, but after I was dunked, Jesus gave me a new heart. Maybe Dominic should try that!" [so that he could get a new heart] What a sweetheart!}

Do you know Happiness?

“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” - Albus Dumbledore

Living like this has been the only way to get through some of the hard times we have seen. Every situation and in everything there is good and there is evil. In my eyes, it's our job to seek the light and follow it. We weren't put on this beautiful planet to be miserable. We were put here to enjoy ourselves. And yes, there are going to be days that are harder than others. And yes, we are going to struggle. But do you dwell on it? At every cross road, do you think... "This is it, I'm giving up" ???

We are only dealt the cards we can play. Unfortunately, not everyone is dealt a full house. Some of us Most of us have to go through the deck a few times until we get there, but the point is, we keep playing!

Remember to laugh. Remember to love. And most of all... Remember to forgive.


There's nothing better than waking up and being excited about who I might get to see or talk to or even dream about! I have a wonderful life and even better people in it! So THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me in every endeavor. THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me out along the way. THANK YOU to everyone who has ever loved me and cared about me. Because with out all of you, I wouldn't be strong enough to deal with the cards I have been dealt.

Dominic my love, THANK YOU for teaching me all that you have taught me.

This is so special!

I am so greatful for all of the people that God has put into my life! I have had the pleasure of growing up with a wonderful person [Ashley Drury] and with our hearts and minds working together we are on the brink of something amazing

If you have been following my blog you know my story, and you know my son's story. With that in mind, we have announcement to make {soon} and it's going to be big!

This will be a community wide event and Everyone is Invited!

If you are a business, if you are a helper, if you are a human being and you are interested, you can email me at

whitfitz.wf@gmail.com

or Ashley at

ashleyadrury@gmail.com

Don't forget to follow her blog either at

www.ashleydrurymylife.blogspot.com

We are going to make headlines and we want you to be apart of it all! Hint: We really used our hearts for this.

Dominic my love, You are such and inspiraton :)

home...we're on our way

Dominic got out of the Cath Lab at about 8pm last night. He was OUT! At about 9:30 we gave up on trying to get him to play with us and we just waited. The nurse in the recovery unit also gave up on him waking up anytime soon and sent us to Doernbecher at about 12:30. We got settled in our room around 1am and got to sleep around 1:45. What a long day! It didn't stop there because Dude woke up in pain and I crawled in bed with him just to wake up to him puking an hour later. Needless to say, we're all a little exhausted today for this journey home.
As far as his cath results, things are looking wonderful. Dr. Armsby thinks he is ready for the Fontan. (I'll explain more about that later) she will present his case to all of the cardiologists in the next couple of weeks and we will get some dates on surgery.
As we were getting ready to be discharged, the nurse and I were trying to remove dude's dressings. We're trying to make this as painless as possible for my little man. Nurse Meaghan started removing the first one and Dominic starts crying saying it hurts.
"Mom, I just want to go home!"
"I know baby, we just have two more to go, then all of these stickers on your chest and we can go home"
Right then, Meaghan walked away to get more detachol and Dominic just starts ripping the next one off! He had it off before I could stop him!!! (The first one took about 5 mins of two adults working and tugging because they are SO sticky!) Then he started working on the last one and I asked if he needed or wanted help. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said "Mommy, I am all done. I want to go home." So we got our stuff done, he thanked his nurse for helping him get better, and we're on the road home as we speak. He is so amazing. Thank God for that sweet angel of mine.

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...the pictures pre cath

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...in the waiting room...

We got here at 11:00 this morning. Poor dude hasn't eaten since 8:30 last night. He was scheduled as the second case of the day, and of course as we all know, procedures all run longer than expected. We were supposed to check in at 11 and he was going under about 1. Well we got called in at 1:30 and Dude went back at about 3.
He has been cracking us up all morning! Sometimes I get so caught up in being the mom and teaching him what's right and wrong that I miss how fun he is. I lobe this little guy. I hope that I get half the strength that he has. :)

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Tomorrow...

Today we spent the day in Portland. We ate gellato at Bridgeport, spent some good quality time at borders getting books to read and looked around some other shops. We ate lunch together, and had some good laughs. After the docs, we met up with "Timmy" and had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. All in all, it was a wonderful day before the craziness we will live tomorrow. At dinner, Dominic was SO funny! We decided that he could have anything he wanted since he won't be able to eat until he wakes up tomorrow. So we told the server that it was his birthday! They brought him ice cream AND this little glass full of fudge and whipped cream. He was definitely was chocolate wasted by the end of the night :)












Dominic my love: be brave tomorrow. There are so many people praying for you and sending you love! It's just another step in our crazy lives. I love you my sweet sweet boy!

The Time is Here

I'm up still, just getting ready for the last leg of our adventure. It feels like this week was so far away, and now here it is. This is the week that we will be scheduling Dominic's last surgery. Friday morning we will be checking in at Doernbecher/OHSU for a Cardiac Cath. There will be lots of yawns, and hopefully eating some good Portland food, catching up on a good book and maybe a little catching up on some much needed business attention.
For me, the key to getting through anything and everything I have been through is to keep busy and laugh! I'm a HUGE believer in God, and no matter what I do, or think, or say to anyone, in the end it's Him that makes the decisions. I just wait here and stay as positive as I possibly can because without that, I have nothing. So I make friends with my Doctors and Nurses. I cuddle with my Dude. I watch kid shows on TV. I laugh when I want to cry and I keep my mind busy when it could wander and make me worry.
I thank God every single day for everything he has given me. My wonderful family and especially the strength of my beautiful little boy. Without him I would be so lost in this crazy world. I'm not sure I could get any luckier.
Tonight after dinner, and after sticking fries in our noses, Dominic asked us what was going to happen at the "Hostable" on Friday. When we explained it to him he says "OH! Well that's not so bad!! They aren't gonna give me that big scary owie?? hmmm okay!" And it reminded me that that is the type of attitude we needed to have.

Dominic my love, I'm so proud of you for your love, your strength, and your laughter through everything that you have seen in your little life! I love you!