15 percent

I have not wanted to write this post. Since Monday I have avoided writing. The plan was to get through the surgery to remove the nasal tubes and end the blog. All would be well and we could move on. But plans do not always go "as planned." I have heard several times in the last few years, "If you want to make God laugh--Just tell him your plans." The plan has changed. We have another issue to confront.

This past Monday we took Joseph to see the cardiologist. At first we received great news. Joseph is thriving. He is over 13 pounds and 24 1/2 inches in length. In just a month and a half since his leaving the hospital he has gone from 25th percentile in weight to 75th percentile. He is happy and doing well. Then came his echo-cardiogram. The technician looked concerned. I asked if everything looked OK and got the line I have learned not to like; "the doctor will explain it to you." In fairness to the technicians that run this test, they are not allowed to give opinions--only the doctors can. But having been through this procedure before you can certainly get a sense that something is not quite right. Mary and I exchanged nervous glances and waited for the doctor. Fortunately, the cardiologist is truly outstanding. He is caring and he is one of the professors in this amazing teaching hospital. He broke the news to us as easily as he could. Joseph's aorta had narrowed again. The doctor anticipated our first thought. He assured us that there would not be a need for another open heart surgery. This could be taken care of in other ways. Because Joseph had emergency heart surgery at three weeks old there is a higher possibility for complications to develop. Fifteen percent of the infants that have their aorta repaired for a narrowing like Joseph had, develop further narrowing. Joseph falls in the 15 percent group. His aorta has narrowed. The first time around this was life threatening because his heart was inefficient due to the pair of holes that needed repair. Joseph's heart is doing very well now and is very efficient. This is not life threatening but this gives him high blood pressure in his upper body. The blood pressure is supposed to be the same in the upper and lower body, but his is 17 points apart.

So-------what does this mean?---how do we fix this? The medical answer is a long term issue. They will deal with it first with angioplasty. It would be best to make it to a year before angioplasty but Joseph will probably have the procedure in December or January. Angioplasty is a procedure where a tiny balloon is inserted in his artery in his leg and fed up to the narrowing in the aorta. The balloon is then inflated and this opens up his aorta. This may have to be done a few times to get him to around age 8. At about 8 years old he can have a stent inserted in the aorta to keep it wide open. As he reaches his late teens the stent can be expanded to full adult opening and then he is good for life. At least ---that's the plan.

The spiritual answer is: "just keep praying." That came directly from several Carmelite sisters I spoke to this weekend. The Carmelites had their Fall Festival on Saturday and I was able to take the girls there. As I updated the sisters on Joseph's condition, I was reminded to keep on praying and to rest assured that the sisters pray for Joseph every day. It was great to be reminded that Joseph has friends in high places. I was surprised by a sister I did not recognize as we were leaving. She was dressed in white and walked straight up to me. She looked me right in the eye and said, "Mr. Lund, why don't you just pray to Mother Luisita? She needs a miracle to be canonized and Joseph needs a miracle." I was struck by her directness and calmed by her conviction. I responded that Joseph had a picture of Mother Luisita on his bed in the hospital and that we would continue to pray for her intervention. I would be more than thrilled to have her canonized for a miracle for Joseph. Mother Luisita is the foundress of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. More info on her process to become a saint is at http://www.saintjoecenter.com/makesaint.html. I invite you to join me in prayer to Mother Luisita to intervene on behalf of Joseph and bring him another miracle.

Life is still good and we will follow this path to wherever it takes us. We continue to walk the path with family and friends at our side and for that we will always be grateful. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Kenny

P.S. Here is a shot of Joseph hanging out with his sisters.