Nothing compares to the moment when you hold your child in your arms for the very first time, or when he stares at you and you wonder what it is he's thinking, or that first smile he gives you. We prayed that God would give us the chance for those moments with our baby Remy.

When we found out we were going to have another baby after two years of trying to conceive, we were overjoyed. We did everything we were supposed to from pre-natal care to genetics testing. Every completed test came back with a normal result. I couldn't wait for the first trimester to be over with. The second trimester came and went. Finally, the third trimester arrived and I felt relieved because I thought it would just be smooth sailing until the baby's arrival in July. It didn't quite turned out like I had envisioned it would be.

 At 31 weeks of pregnancy, Remy had a very fast heart rate, which was thought to be an atrial flutter. Doctors tried to control the high rate with Digoxin and hoped that the rate would normalize after birth.

 As a result of the Digoxin, the rate remained quite consistent, beating between 160 and 170bpm. However, at 34 weeks, his rate began to increase again, and this time, Sotalol was given in addition to Digoxin to try and stabilize the heart rate. My body reacted negatively to this and I ended up going into labor.

 Remy was born at 35 weeks at Baylor Medical Center, Frisco, Texas. Within an hour of his birth his cardiologist, Dr. Michael Day, decided that it would be in Remy's best interest to be transferred to Children's Medical Center Intensive Care Unit in Dallas, Texas, where he would be given the specialized care he needed. After being rushed by ambulance to Children's, doctors tried treating him with several medications, but his heart would not respond to them. Within three hours of his short life, his heart began to fail. He was quickly put on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, also known as, ECMO, to allow his heart to rest. Doctors finally diagnosed him with a rare heart condition called Congenital Junctional Ectopic Tachycardia, a rare form of arrhythmia.

 Within his first week of life, Remy underwent two ablation surgeries, of which the initial surgery caused permanent atrioventricular block (AV Node). Due to this complete heart block, Remy now has a permanent pacemaker. Doctors were not able to ablate the problem area completely due to the size of his heart; therefore, he will need to undergo additional ablation surgeries in the future. Remy was hospitalized for 43 days and then was finally able to come home. Since then, he has had to be hospitalized three more times due to the increased heart rate, 170 – 240bpm.  He is now on four daily heart medications, given three times a day, in addition to taking Synthroid for the treatment of Hypothyroidism.

 As of right now, there is no specific known cure for this disease. We are hoping that the medication regiment he is currently on will continue to do its job of keeping his heart rate where it should be, and that the next ablation he has will cure him.

 We call him our superhero, hence the name Remy, aka Gambit, from the X-Men. His chance of survival was questionable at best, but he has come this far and continues to fight everyday. Our lives have changed in so many ways because of this. Yes, we've been faced with a great deal of challenges, both physically and emotionally. And yes, we have unimagined medical bills, but we continue to fight along with Remy, and are doing the best we can to survive. We are also so thankful for Remy and what he has taught us. We are reminded everyday when we look at all the scars on his neck, chest and tummy, there was a reason for all of it, and that reason is live life fully with patience, respect, and kindness. Someone once said, "God doesn't give you something you can't handle." I truly believe this.