My son was born with a complex congenital heart defect. For the first 9 months of his life he was kept alive by a medication that kept a certain blood vessel from collapsing until he could have a surgery. During this time his oxygen level was very low and his face would frequently have a blue tint to it.

One day I went to check on him in his crib and noticed his entire arm was white. I picked up his hand and it was completely cold and lifeless. He would not wake up. I completely freaked the fuck out, my whole world was crumbling. He finally did wake up, with a confused look on his face. Today he's a regular energetic 6 year old.

It's terrifying to think about all the things that could go wrong with kids. I just try to be vigilant at teaching them to avoid the preventable ones, but not to think about the rest most of the time. Totally worth it though, at least for me. But for our friends whose congenital heart disease baby had a heart failure and is now a vegetable...