On The Youngest, Strongest Trooper I've Ever Met

So it's been over a month since I posted anything here on The Spartan's Kitchen.  To be honest, I haven't really done much cooking at all lately.

My sister's been in the hospital since Tuesday, only about a week and a half after she was discharged from her last visit.  Long story short, she came down with pneumonia again, as her damaged heart valve served as a long-time conduit for blood to flush into her lungs, and everyone collectively decided that we couldn't put off surgery any longer.

She had to have her damaged valve replaced with a functional silicone valve. 

Now if you or someone in your family has undergone frequent hospital visits and/or important surgery, you know as well as I do that the stress factor is enough to shut you down from everything else in the world.

You're not interested in school,

Or work,

Hobbies start taking a backseat,

And sometimes, even just talking to someone is difficult underneath the weight of all the worry.

Because someone you love and cherish infinitely more than you ever thought possible is suffering from ailments that are putting their entire life on hold or at risk.

Imagine this:

A bright, beautiful sixteen year old girl.  It takes virtually nothing to make her happy.  She loves music, swimming, and school.  Some of her favorite activities are playing with her dogs (or any animal, rather), watching her favorite TV shows, splashing around in the water, and, of course, eating good food.

Now imagine this wonderful girl has been dealing with heart complications all her life.

Since the day she was born, one of her heart valves has been dramatically unreliable.  The first few months of her life were spent under constant intensive care from the staff at a top children's hospital.  Her very first heart surgery happened when most children aren't capable of retaining memories in life yet.  Since then, doctor's appointments and hospital visits have peppered the otherwise delightfully bright color of her existence.  Her school and play has to work around her next appointment.  Extreme caution must be taken to avoid allowing her to catch so much as a common cold, lest she spend the next week flushing out the fluid that will likely build up in her lungs because of it.

And you know what some of her doctors used to say about all of this?

"There's no hope for her case.  She won't live for very long.  Spend as much time with her while you can, because it won't be much.  There's just no helping her."

Doesn't that make you angry?  Are you mildly frustrated, maybe even livid, at the notion that anyone ever dared to deny a child hope for their life?

You know what she does?

She smiles.

And when you spend all your life rooting for this beautiful, wonderful person with the purest soul that surely ever graced the human race, watch her grow, play, learn, and enjoy her life more than most people, 

You hurt for them.

Now, to lighten the mood, her heart surgery was a complete success.

After being postponed several times for more reasons than there are spices in my kitchen (from colds we didn't know about to minor fender-benders), she finally went under on Wednesday.  It was a lot shorter than I personally expected, and we got frequent updates from one of her awesome nurses.  Everything was smooth sailing, and her body is now adjusting to the presence of the new valve and, more importantly, the sensation of her heart working properly for the first time ever.

Granted, she's still under sedation in the cardiac ICU, still swollen from the aftermath of the operation, and struggling to adjust her blood pressure properly.  She's also penciled in to be administered a paralytic drug that will force her body to stay still for a while to allow healing to take place, so we won't really be able to interact with her until maybe Sunday.  After that, it's 24/7 care from us (not like she doesn't get it already, but you know).  She'll hang out here, in probably the best hospital she's ever been in--A.I. duPont Hospital for Children--for a week to ten days, and when she gets home, she'll need to take it easy for a good month or so.  I mean, this is the third time she's had her chest cracked open and her heart worked on.  Her body is way overdue for vacation.

So in short, I'm devoting a lot of my time to visiting her with my family often, and being her second biggest advocate (because let's be real: moms are the best everything for their kids, especially our mom).  I'll cook and post when I can, but for the most part, I'll be right here, cheering my baby sister on and waiting for her to wake up and feel her body work like it was meant to.

And I know the first words that will come out of her mouth:

"Yay, you did it!!"

This is the prom dress Rachael would have worn this Saturday to her school's prom.  Handmade by our mom (told you moms are the best).

ECHO out.