03/06/2026
The 3rd of June!
Not everyone’s favourite time of the year with it being the start of state exams but to put things into perspective it’s actually a very special day for us.
This day 17yrs ago we walked Robyn down the steps at Crumlin children’s hospital to theatre for her 3rd major heart surgery.
One of the hardest & happiest days of our lives. A mix of saying goodbye possibly forever at the beginning of that day to rejoicing that evening knowing that all was going to be ok.
This was a very tricky surgery called The Fontan.Our hearts were breaking & thankfully she was off her head on happy drugs! Here I am kissing her over & over again repeating ‘please’ as in please let her make it.
A funny story we like to tell is that when Robyn woke up after the 9hr surgery in ICU, the first thing she asked for was, broccoli & she still loves it! See last video of her 6 days after surgery🥰
Robyns surgeon & cardiologist are true life savers. They are the miracle workers. Many say the miracle comes from some place else but it doesn’t really. It comes because these people have dedicated their life to saving lives. Unless you’ve spent time in an ICU unit for children, it’s very hard to really know how hard they work, do their best to figure out what each child needs, round the clock attention. I’ve one memory of her surgeon coming into ICU dressed in his Sunday best just to check in on her. It doesn’t always have a happy ending but boy do they try. Then there’s the amazing nurses that pick up the pieces, listen to you wail, hold your hand, mind your child like their own, stay way past their shifts end to keep caring, give you cards & gifts as you leave. They must see so much heartache & happiness yet always greet you with a smile.
I also mark this day 17yrs ago because it was the very day our 5mth old son all of a sudden stopped his non-stop screaming with colic & reflux. This was HUGE. Getting through 5 months of colic & waiting for that call to Crumlin really sucked. It just about broke us!
June 3rd 2009 you will forever be etched in our memory for a successful surgery & for banishing colic!
Wishing all the JC & LC students all the luck we had that day ☘️