2011 was without a doubt a great year for us and Mason. Mason joined the rest of us and started eating food by mouth in early 2011 (it hasn't been quite a year!). He underwent the Fontan procedure over the summer (surgery #3 of 3). Started taking all of his meds by mouth this past fall and had his G-Tube successfully removed by Dr. Mom this past winter. All milestones in-and-of-themselves. In the meantime he has developed into a loving, energetic (hard to believe), and ORNARY little boy. At any one time Mason has at least half-a-dozen bruises on himself. The kid has no fear.
Through all of this he has developed into a little boy who looks absolutely nothing like me. I would be concerned about this but he does love the Jayhawks and the Chiefs, and oh yeah me, so I will accept him no matter what he looks like. Kind of like how Amy has accepted me. ; ) Looks aside it is still amazing how far he has come, and others like him. I was going through the camera tonight, looking at some older photos, and to see how much he has grown and developed over the past 2+ years is truly amazing. We are blessed and Mason is a blessing. As a father of a heart baby I just hope Mason and every kid like him will always have access to the wonderful thing we have here in America, and that is our healthcare system.
The one "challenge" we have ahead of us is getting Mason off of his Viagra. We had a plan coming back from Michigan this last time, decided to wait several months to make sure he is stable at the recommendation of his cardiologist here in Wichita, and now she won't commit to anything. So second opinions here we come. It's always something! His pneumonia seems to be behind him so we are thankful for that.
Mason playing in his toy grill he got for xmas
The kids at Xmas and their stash
Mason chomping down on a cupcake at Sissy's birthday party
Mason showing off his beach body!
A special bond
