to the untamed heart.: Here is where my eyes swell with tears.

Because the girls got life.

I watch her swinging & her smile & her innocence. I imagine her first day of school & a mother kissing her little girl goodbye, waving to her through that yellow bus window. & I have never met the darling, but I see that the girl's got some abundant life. She is a slice of heaven & a cup of joy.

& her story has disheveled my togetherness.

Because I can't be together & feel alright when I see all she's gone through & the challenges her & her mother have & will battle.

I hope you're walls aren't high enough to guard against this sweet soul, either.
I pray to God you are moved, mangled, & torn.

This is about Sparrow Song.

& I'll let her mother tell most of it.

"Sparrow Song was born August 16th, 2010 via c-section. She had been diagnosed in the womb with several major heart defects a few months prior: double-inlet left ventricle, transposition of the great vessels and an interrupted aortic arch.
At 4 days old she had her first major heart surgery. Her heart was the size of a walnut. She stayed in the hospital for almost 3 weeks post-op, then we finally were able to bring her home, however she still had an NG (nasal gastric) tube down her nose for feedings because during surgery her vocal chords were damaged and she was left unable to swallow – or make any sounds. I didn't nurse her or feed her with a bottle, we had to feed Sparrow through a syringe, through the tube that went down her nose – for 4 months. She also didn’t cry. Her vocal chords were paralyzed during surgery thus making it impossible to hear her cry. If things weren’t hard enough, Sparrow also came home on oxygen. The repairs done to her heart only helped her to live longer, they didn’t “fix” her heart. We kept our newborn baby alive this way for four months." (somestuffaboutstuff.com)

This was the first of three open heart surgeries Sparrow will have to face. The last surgery is tomorrow, October 16, 2013 at 6:00 am.

I am asking you to move your body off the lump in your throat.

I am asking your knees to hit the floor at 5:30 am & to pray for Sparrow, her mother, the surgeons, & the recovery.

I am asking those of you who can give financially to visit the website link at the bottom to donate. As she was born with these disabilities, health insurance won't cover any of it. She has been helped through a government assistance for children with disabilities, they will only cover a small fraction of the bills. The heart catheter lab done to tell Sparrow she was eligible for the final surgery was one day, & the bill was over $62,000.

Her mother also put together a list of things for her two week stay at the hospital after surgery. You might be thinking it's too late, but rather late than never.

"A dear friend advised me to put together a list of items that Sparrow may need during her recovery time. It always surprises me, but people ask me what they can do to help. Here’s a list of ways you can help, or items you might already have that you can donate. I am going to donate most of the items to Levine Children’s Hospital after Sparrow’s stay, so that more sick children will be blessed by your donations.

*Age-appropriate movies (DVD’s)

*Books & puzzles – the girl LOVES books and puzzles!

*Art & Education – paper, pens, colors, crayons and anything that would assist her in learning how to write her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, etc… She is VERY interested in learning and naturally with me being a teacher, I’d rather stoke that fire than let her watch 5 Disney movies a day.

*Anything with or having to do kitties – she’s obsessed. Hello Kitty, stuffed kitties, cats, kittens, lions, tigers, she loves them all. She sings Katy Perry’s “Roar” everyday." (somestuffaboutstuff.com)