In addition to the prayer team I asked some of my friends on face book to pray and they did. This morning we got up at 5ish am and headed over to Stanford Children's Hospital. All was going according to plan right up until the moment we were ready to go into surgery. All the papers were signed, tubes and monitors were hooked up and all the different surgical departments had consulted with me regarding what was going to happen over the next two hours.

So, right before we headed out the door, the primary surgeon popped in and met with me for a minute. She asked if we tried fixing the line with a special procedure I had never heard of - of course I said NO. This "Plan B" was less risky since it was a procedure not a surgery. It would attempt to fix the placement of the tube (that delivers chemo directly into Natalie's heart). She then said if this new "Plan B" doesn't work, we can get surgery later today. I said, "OK, good plan!"

The surgical team called over to the Stanford (Adult) side of the hospital (since this is where the procedure would be taking place). Wouldn't you know there was an immediate opening (Never happens). I gowned up with a smock, mask and surgical hat and helped calm Natalie down as Anastesia put her under once we got there. I said goodbye and waited outside. 10 minutes later they came out. This was odd considering the team just told me it would be an hour long procedure. The first words out of their mouth was "All's fixed!" They said, "we didn't have to do anything. The tube apparently flipped back into place all by itself as they were surprised when it showed up on the x-ray monitor." AND it's in perfect placement.

Later that day as we met with our Oncologist (who ordered the surgery), said she didn't know how it flipped out of place. The angles were pretty sharp and seemed really unlikely to have come out of place and back into alignment again. Though the Surgeons claimed the issue could have been caused by a simple coughing spell, I choose to think IT WAS SOMETHING ELSE. Thanks for praying everyone :)

The Orlando's :)

We're continually being reminded in new and fun ways that our kids are growing up. The other day we took a long drive. As usual, the hum of the tires put the girls to sleep.

When Natalie woke up we heard her say the word, "Boat." "Were you dreaming you were on a boat?" we asked. She immediately said, "yes," as she rubbed her eyes. Dana asked, "Were you on the ocean?"Again she said in a sweet voice "yes!" "Were there fish?" "No!" she replied emphatically. We asked "Were there birds?" She smiled, "Yes." Then she pointed up as if to describe more of her dream, "Moooon!" Dana continued "Oh, you were on a boat at night? "Yes" she said. I then added, "Was mom there?" of course... she said "Yes!" Then she babbled a long string of words. Who knows what she was saying, but I like to imagine that she was saying that we were all there, enjoying the moon on the water, content since we were all together. What a fun insight it was into the dreams of our little 4 year old.

We often wish our kids can stay sweet and innocent like this forever. It's in these times we get rare views into who God has created(ing) them to be. More the reason to fight against the currents of our busy schedules, to be present as much as possible, because this time only comes once.

Natalie Orlando

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