A word about names

We spent a long time deliberating about what to name our new baby. We had mostly decided well in advance, though. Jack got to pick the first name, and Elijah is one of his favorite prophets from the scriptures. I really liked the name when we made our original list of favorite names about six years ago with our first pregnancy, but then I met lots of kids named Elijah and thought it was getting to be too trendy. But Jack wouldn't be swayed, and the more I read about the prophet Elijah, the more and more I liked the idea of naming our baby after that amazingly faithful man.

I got to pick the second name. David is my mom's father's name. He also was an amazingly faithful man, and I loved spending time with him as a child and teenager. He passed away in an accident when I was in high school, the first person close to me to die. While my parents were gone to attend the funeral, my sister and I were performing in a major musical production at school, and I realized that my grandfather could finally hear me sing. We had always lived too far from grandparents for them to be able to attend events like that.

When we found out about our baby's heart defect and prepared to leave Lubbock, a dear friend told me that one thing she had learned from her own child's serious illness was that there is help on both sides of the veil. I hadn't thought of that before, but from that moment on, I was comforted to think that many loved family members, both of my grandfathers included, were helping our little boy prepare for his great adventure on earth. I hope he will grow into the name we have given him: Elijah David Starks.

Seventeen hours and a few minutes post surgery, Elijah is still in critical condition and will be for some time. He is stable, but is being cared for and monitored 24/7 in the Congenital Heart Surgery Unit, a specialized ICU. Almost every part of his body is attached to a monitor, tube, or line of some kind. Some are IVs to administer fluids and medicines. Some are tubes for drainage, and some keep tabs on his vital signs.

His chest is still open, but covered by a protective "skin" to allow for swelling and recovery. As time goes by, tubes will be removed, and his chest will be sewn up by the surgeon in an in-room procedure. For now, we allow time to take its course and Elijah's body to heal at its own pace. Elijah started to move his limbs and wake a little, but in his condition him moving can cause serious complications, so the doctor ordered more sedatives for the time being.

For the brave of heart here are a few pictures. They aren't that bad, but if you want to see a video of the type of surgery Elijah had, as always, check out youtube. The first video listed is the most legitimate.

There is a non-graphic video featuring Elijah's heart surgeon on the right side of this page.