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THE BLESSED BLEDSOES On August 31, 2016, Chloé lay in a hospital bed at Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt surrounded by her parents, extended family, a team of doctors, and the Mt. Zion Flock Ministry joined hand-in-hand to By Charlane Oliver | Charlaneoliver@gmail. com | @CharlaneO It’s a sunny Saturday morning. The neighborhood streets are quiet. Cordney Bledsoe opens the door to greet me but quickly returns to being preoccupied with motherly duties. Omari, Cordney’s eightyear old son, is in his bedroom watching television, while Bailey, age 4, sits on the sofa and plays with her mom’s iPad. Yancey, Cordney’s husband, has just returned from taking out the trash. Baby Chloé, still in her pajamas, glides across the room in a walker, mesmerized by my flashy mobile device on the coffee table. The 11-month-old then coasts over to the TV stand, tinkers with family photos, and chuckles at the sight of her own reflection smiling back at her in the portrait. By the sounds of Chloé’s coos and laughter, you’d never know that she had been in the battle of her young life just five months earlier. On August 31, 2016, Chloé lay in a hospital bed at Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt surrounded by her parents, extended family, a team of doctors, and the Mt. Zion Flock Ministry joined handin hand to pray for a successful heart surgery. Days after being born a mere 2 lbs. and 2 oz., Chloé was diagnosed with tetralogy of fallot, a rare congenital heart defect that changes the normal flow of blood through the heart. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, this disease occurs in about 5 out of every 10,000 babies. With two older, healthy children, the thought of having a sick child weighed heavily on Cordney. She was in denial and believed the situation would cure itself. Embarrassment was the primary reason few family members and friends knew what was going on. “All my friends were having healthy babies at the time,” said Cordney, a nurse assistant at Vanderbilt Medical Center. “But then my baby was not progressing and gaining weight. I kept wondering, ‘How could this happen to my child?’ Why, Lord? Why me? What did I do?” Over the next several months, Chloé’s rapid breathing, shortness of breath, and her inability to keep food down persisted. It became clear to Cordney that Chloé needed surgery. Meanwhile, Yancey and Cordney were struggling financially and looked to Mt. Zion for assistance. The Flock Ministry came to pray for the Bledsoes, paid their electricity bill, and offered to bring them a food box. Three days prior to the surgery, Chloé was christened at Mt. Zion, where Bishop Joseph Walker, III led the congregation in a prayer for healing. “As a husband, I had to be a rock for my wife,” Yancey recalled of the hours before Chloé’s surgery. “I put it in God’s hands. Needless to say, the surgery was successful. Glory be to God, Chloé would not be required to wear a pacemaker for the rest of her life, and she would not need blood pressure support. She was even eating better. She was in ICU for only a day, whereas a normal stay for this type of procedure was three to four days. Chloé’s cardiologist predicted she would stay in the hospital for weeks. She stayed for only three days. “That was nobody but God!” Cordney proclaimed. “It was a very big test for us.” “God used us. God used Chloé for the good. When He wants to use you, let Him use you,” said Yancey. Today, Chloé is thriving and has to see a cardiologist only once a year. She has not been ill since the surgery, and she celebrated her first birthday in February. Cordney is able to be a stay-at-home mother while Yancey continues to provide for the family as an MTA bus operator. If you ask Cordney what a difference a year makes, she’d say, “God has really been blessing the Bledsoes.” pray for a successful heart surgery


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