Hello everyone! Our family is so happy to say that Bradley had a wonderful visit with his cardiologist in Charlotte yesterday. His echocardiogram looked "beautiful" according to Dr. Stern. He said even he didn't expect such an excellent outcome. He said it is almost a miracle that Bradley was able to have such a successful repair. I'm sure it is very difficult for some people to understand because anyone who knows Bradley probably finds it hard to believe that he had such a complex condition.

I have to share this with you. Yesterday before Dr. Stern came in to see Bradley, one of the Sanger surgeons, Dr. Baird, came in to see Bradley's echo as it was being performed. While in the room, Dr. Baird's cell phone rang and when he answered it he said, "Oh, hi Pedro! I'm looking at one of your patients right now...Bradley Cox". Ken, Bradley and I just looked at each other and grinned in amazement! As it turns out, Dr. Baird trained under Dr. del Nido. When we told Dr. Stern about Dr. Baird getting the phone call, he told us that they are like a group of "fraternity brothers" with Boston. :)

Dr. Stern told us that he wouldn't be surprised if Bradley experienced a real growth spurt as a result of this repair. He said that it will probably be January before Bradley feels back to himself (except better!!). Bradley asked Dr. Stern if he could try to go back to school on Monday and he agreed to let him try to go back 1/2 days to start. But he told Bradley that if he feels he can't do it, then he wants him to wait. He told us that as a result of this surgery, and the length of time on by-pass, Bradley's body is equivelent to someone being hit by a big-mack truck. It will take a while for his breast bone to heal, and re-gain his muscle tone.

Bradley's x-ray yesterday still showed a small amount of fluid, so he will remain on his meds, at a lower dose for now. He will return to see Dr. Stern on October 3.

I feel as though I can not express it enough, my family's gratitude for all of the prayers that Bradley received during this past month. We believe in the power of prayer and know that everyone of these prayers were heard and answered. We've told Bradley never to forget that he has been given one of the greatest gifts by God. So with this said, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR REMEMBERING BRADLEY, AND OUR FAMILY, DURING THIS MOST CHALLENGING TIME. WE LOVE YOU!!

I also wanted to share with you that through this wonderful CaringBridge website, I am able to preserve this site on a CD. So we will always be able to reflect back on these events and all of the heartfelt guestbook entries. It has been theraputic for me to share this experience with our family & friends, and read every single guestbook entry--including those from people who we don't know but we now consider our friends, and those who we may not have seen in years, but still took the time to get to know Bradley and pray for him. THANK YOU ALL!

MUCH LOVE FROM ALL OF BRADLEY'S FAMILY!! GOD BLESS YOU!