Hudson's Rocking Chair

While in the hospital with Hudson, Malynda's great Aunt JoAnne asked us if it would be OK if a friend of hers built a rocking chair for Hudson for when he made it home with us. Of course we agreed and were thrilled that someone would want to be so kind toward our little Warrior. As we all know, Hudson made it home, but not our home on earth. He's in daddy Jesus' arms until we can hold him again. A few weeks after returning home JoAnne asked us if we still wanted the chair, and we agreed that it would be a lasting memory and a happy reminder of our Warrior. However, we had no idea the manner in which it would touch our hearts. We received the chair in the mail just a few weeks ago and upon opening it, we were brought to tears. The picture painted on his chair and the word "Warrior" painted on his chair truly reflects his spirit and where he is now - in daddy Jesus' arms. What really hit home for us though was the little teddy bear Hudson is holding - sword in hand and band-aid affixed to his heart. It is a reminder to us and a symbol to keep fighting for all of these precious heart babies out there that can so easily be forgotten if we're not careful. We believe one of the reasons Hudson was brought into our lives was to carry on his legacy and the cause for babies with

congenital heart disease. Not only babies - but kids growing up with CHD and adults living with CHD as well. As I (Mike) graduated my first class of lieutenants from their Officer Basic Course, Malynda and I received a gift from the class that was truly the best gift we could have received from my students. Throughout the duration of the course, the students raised $300 and made a donation to the Children's Heart Foundation in Hudson's name. Needless to say, Malynda and I were speechless and honored to receive such a perfect gift. It was another reminder to never forget and to always fight for all of the heart babies, kids, teenagers, and adults living with CHD. We'll never forget our Warrior, and we will continue to keep his legacy alive and keep fighting in his honor. As the little teddy bear depicted on his rocking chair reminds us, these kids are very special and deserve any and all treatment doctors can offer, in addition to the advancement of research and development of new and improved treatment. In closing, we read a very interesting and enlightening article from the Wall Street Journal, which we learned about from a family currently in the hospital with their little fighter, healing from multiple surgery/procedures to repair his heart. Please take a moment to read the article (link at the end of this blog post), and then forward it on to some friends/family/coworkers and keep our Warriors legacy alive - keep up the cause of furthering CHD research and development; most of all let's not let anyone forget about all these kids out there fighting for their lives, literally. Thanks for keeping our family in your prayers - we will have some more blog posts throughout the week as we've been very busy this past month and wish to share some of the fun with you! Thanks again JoAnne for the beautiful rocking chair. Blessings,

Mike, Malynda, Conner & our Warrior in Heaven

WSJ Online - Little Hearts, Big Problems