shine she did

i traveled to utah twice in july. the first trip was a sudden solo plane ride. when my mom called to tell me katrice was in the hospital, i was overwhelmed with the need to be at her bedside. with encouragement from brian and tiffanie i acted on that instinct and quickly packed my carry-on. my gut (along with brian and tiff's) had been dead on, and i can't begin to express how grateful i am for that.

i flew home from utah the day before katrice was released from the hospital and almost immediately began preparing my return. i'd spent 72 hours watching that little stinker sleep, i wasn't about to miss out on her being awake. nothing was going to stand in my way, not even a scary 700 mile stretch of interstate in a car full of restless kiddos.

as soon as i saw her, the tention that had been building in my body for the last 8 days began to loosen. with every giggle, stink eye, and skip-bo game another little piece broke off. katrice probably thought we'd all gone mad that week: wondering why we were sitting there starring at her, why we wouldn't let her out of our hugs, and why her every wish was being happily granted. it was her week to shine, and shine she did.

katrice had her follow-up with the cardiologist today. he is pleased as punch with her progress. she has been taken off oxygen and given the okay to swim with her class tomorrow.

swim on girl, swim on!