Our Sweet Teddy

Happy Birthday Teddy !

 Teddy is a very special part of our family. 
Our second grandson, Braylon, was born with a heart problem, but we did not know that until he had come home from the hospital. Prior to leaving the hospital they had done some tests but allowed him to go home before test results were back. On the second day home, our daughter received a phone call from the doctor who said, "You need to get him to the emergency room immediately. We have a flight for life helicopter on its way." 
Needless to say, we were all extremely surprised and concerned. 

The helicopter came and got Braylon and headed back toward Omaha. Braylon's parents could not ride with him so they headed up in the car. We took our other grandson and packed some suitcases for everyone. We really didn't know what we were facing. It was all happening very quickly.

Braylon had an uncle that lived in the Omaha area so he met the helicopter when it landed. 
By the time we got to Omaha, Braylon had been put into a medically induced coma. He had cords and iv's and machines hooked to him everywhere. He even had needles in his head and his belly button.The only place that did not have something poked in it was his little left foot. :( It was a rough time for everyone.

In layman's terms, Braylon's heart had a small hole in it, but that wasn't the cause of so much concern. Off the top part of the heart is an artery that pumps blood to the lower half of the body. That artery was closed except for a pin prick sized opening. So in essence, Braylon wasn't getting blood to his lower body. It would require heart surgery to fix.
By the time he reached Children's Hospital in Omaha, he was too weak for surgery so they kept him in a coma for about a week until he could get stronger and then at nine days old he had heart surgery. That.... is where Teddy comes into the story. After heart surgery, Teddy joined Braylon in his hospital bed. Teddy shared the 'scar' on his chest just like Braylon now had. 

 Teddy and Braylon have been inseparable ever since. Teddy accompanies him to doctor's appointments, sits in the stands at basketball games and of course sleeps with Braylon every night. 

For whatever reason, Braylon has always said that Teddy's birthday is February 23rd. A few weeks ago, we were walking into the Rec center for soccer and Braylon reminded me that Teddy's birthday was almost here. 

"Maybe we should have a party for Teddy this year." I said. 

Braylon thought that was a great idea! 

So on February 23rd, Teddy had an official birthday party at Grandma's house, along with balloons, cupcakes, and presents. Braylon was so incredibly excited about it. *And it was a surprise party because Braylon hadn't told Teddy about it yet.* ha!

At first Jaxon thought it was kind of silly but he quickly got on board and then said, "Hey. what about me?"
"What about you?" I asked.  
"Well, Brown Bear's birthday is November 29th." Jaxon said.
"Well, we will definitely have to have a party for Brown Bear then." I said.
(Gosh, I love being a grandma.)


We began by opening presents, where Teddy got new pajamas, a new stocking cap, and new Legos.
:)

We then sang Happy Birthday to Teddy before eating our cupcakes. (Teddy likes heart cakes you know.)

What a FUN birthday party we had! And Teddy said thank you for all the presents (but Teddy can't really talk  you know Grandma, he just talks inside his head.)   :)  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEDDY. You are the best bear this little boy could ever wish for.