Homecoming
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." — Jeremiah 29:11-12
Days before Discharge
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him." — Psalm 28:7 Our first chapter in the hospital is finally approaching its end after almost 50 consecutive days.
Step-Down
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." - James 1:2-4 After just over
Barrett is 1 month old!
"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13 The hours have turned to days, and the days to weeks; suddenly our son is a month old! It's been an enormous joy and comfort chronicling
Week #4 Update
"But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53:5 After a few weeks of mixed news and disorientation (which ultimately felt more like months to
Week #3 Update
"fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10 Thus far our journey through Barrett's hospitalization has been hallmarked by
Week #2 Update
"For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." - Romans 8:24-25 Predictably our updates have become less
Chest Closure
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" - Proverbs 4:23 After a mere 48 hours Barrett has already healed enough from his Norwood operation for the follow-up chest closure procedure. After the Norwood operation the chest cavity is purposefully left open
The Norwood Procedure
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer" - Romans 12:12 Barrett's Norwood operation was an incredible success, and truly an answered prayer. There were no significant complications and his new single-ventricle heart will soon allow him to breathe and oxygenate his
Days before Norwood
Given our midnight delivery and Shannon's c-section our first day in the hospital with Barrett was largely spent navigating our exhaustion and excitement. We spent some time observing Barrett in the morning while he was undergoing some minor procedures and then spent the majority of the afternoon
Barrett's Birthday
Barrett Leo Schram was born at 12:24am on July 22nd 2026, weighing 8 pounds 3 ounces. Since the very start of our journey with Barrett's diagnosis we knew that July 22nd would be his last day in the womb. Shannon's induction was scheduled very early
Stress Tests and Induction
In advance of our scheduled induction, Shannon and Barrett underwent a series of 4 "Non-Stress Tests" (NSTs) which are typically used for higher risk pregnancies to determine if the baby is properly adapting to contractions/labor. They involve the use of two sensors (one for the baby&