Have I got to have another scar?

My story takes us through the years of my post university life. Meeting my now wife and the subsequent years that followed. The birth of my daughter and the worrying times that lay ahead. I knew becoming a dad for the first time would have its tough times. I just didn’t realise how tough. But then I hadn’t reckoned on anything other than a ‘normal’ birth. And perfectly healthy offspring. It had crossed my mind of course, but how many of us really think it could happen to us? I’d certainly never imagined I would have to stand by and watch my little girl, 2 days old, being driven off in an ambulance with its lights flashing and sirens blaring. Isn’t that just something that happens to other people? Our destination was Addenbrookes Hospital, the specialist hospital for babies in our area. I had never been so frightened. I have been ever present since the birth of my little princess. Changed her first nappy and carried her to the operating theatre for her first operation and every subsequent operation. I have been consoled and been the one consoling. I have had many days and nights when my emotions and those of my wife and extended family have been stretched to a limit above and beyond anything I ever thought I would be able to cope with. But I have also laughed so hard its hurt.This book takes in everything. From simple tales of splashing about in puddles, changing nappies and ending up with the contents of a soiled nappy on my forehead, to not being able to pick my daughter up for a cuddle as she was “way to poorly” and being told by an intensive care nurse “I genuinely thought she was going to die”. I’ve had days when I have thought “why us” and days where I have been thankful it wasn’t us.I never thought anything could be more frightening than that first operation when Charlotte was just two weeks old. But then came open heart surgery in Gt Ormond St. and what happened in Addenbrookes in June 2008 made the heart surgery operation feel more like a check up at the dentist. Seven operations later and the memories are as fresh today as if it was yesterday.Being a parent is the most amazing experience that has ever happened to me and ultimately I love being a dad, it is without doubt the best feeling in the world, If we could just stop having to go through so many life saving operations………..