Resting at Home

It has been a long day. We left home at 5:30AM and returned at 2:30PM. The surgery went fine but we had a little scare during post-op when Joseph's heart rate stayed elevated. It took longer than expected before we could go home. It turned out that he had become dehydrated and that was causing his heart to pump faster than it should. Once they got some fluids in him he was fine and we were given the OK to head out. However, for a short time we were reminded what it was like back when Joseph was in the ICU. It was a memory better left unstirred. There was also a good side to it. When things were once again out of control we relied on the thoughts and prayers of Joseph's community. Friends and family inside and outside of the hospital rallied to Joseph's aid and he responded well to the support.

Several of the staff at Childrens Hospital remembered us from our previous visits to the surgical unit. I remember thinking that it was both a good and a bad thing. It is nice to have friends there but it is not a place we want to hear phrases like, "oh--back so soon" or "one more visit and you get a free toaster!"

Doctor Geller was happy with how the surgery went and it was great to see his smiling face after the surgery. There will be follow up visits and maybe even a surgery or two to keep Joseph's nasal passageways open and functioning at 100% but for now he is good to go. It is interesting to see his face without tubes. Here are the before and after pictures hot off the presses:

As you can see he looks better. For us, it takes a little getting used to.

So we end the day having one more surgery behind us. In all likelihood Joseph has more time to spend at Childrens Hospital---but for now he is resting comfortably and and we can all take a collective sigh of relief and offer a prayer of thanksgiving. Tomorrow will be a wonderful day!

Kenny

out of surgery

All is well but Joseph is not very happy. We will be able to go home at 12:30

The surgery is on

It is 10:30PM and I just put Joseph in his crib. He got an extra feeding tonight because he will not be able to eat until after the surgery. He is first up and we report to the Hospital at 5:30AM to get him ready for his 7AM surgery. The surgery should be about 35 minutes. It is a little longer than we thought at first because they really want to check his nasal passageways to make sure the openings are good. Joseph's ENT surgeon is the best possible. Not only did he do the surgery to put the tubes in Joseph, but he also did the surgery for Megan to fix the same problem for her. The difference for Megan was that she only had one side affected so she did not need surgery until she was five. The surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Geller, has become very important to our family and we could never thank him enough for care he has given to our children. He has dedicated his life to treating children and he is teaching the next generation of doctors. They have the best teacher possible.
We have had our share of surgeries with Joseph. This will be his fourth time under general anesthesia. I still think that anytime your child goes under anesthesia they should put the parents under as well. Then you can all wake up at the same time---much less worry and grey hair in the process. I just don't think we can get our insurance to cover it---They have done enough already.
I promise to update the blog after the surgery. It will be a short note because I will write it using my cell phone. I am not as good at the small keyboard as the teenagers are with all their text messaging. I will write a longer blog in the evening when we are all back home. Thanks for visiting this blog. God Bless.

Kenny

Doing well and getting ready

Joseph is doing well and continues to grow. He can roll over back to front and front to back. He continues to be happy and except for knocking his bouncy chair over he has not had any setbacks.
It is now time to prepare for his next surgery. If all goes as planned he will have surgery on January 29. Compared to the other surgeries, this should be a snap. But, anytime he goes under anesthesia there is always that lingering fear. He will have surgery next week to remove the tubes in his nose that have allowed him to breathe. He is old enough to know that if his nasal passageways get blocked that he can open his mouth to keep breathing. It will be strange to see him without his tubes (or as I call them, his "nostril extenders") He has had them since he was less than a week old. His lungs are stronger and have more capacity so they whistle a bit when he breathes now. His sound will be less familiar.
We need to keep him from getting a cold before his surgery so we will tighten up his exposure to the world one more time. We do look forward to the day when we can take him and the entire family to a public area like church, school or even a restaurant. But what we look forward to most is taking him to see all the great people who have been pulling for him and praying for him. Until that time I will keep posting pictures and video clips. Here one that lets you see more of him than ever before!


Please keep Joseph and his doctors in your prayers. We will continue to keep you in our prayers.

Kenny and family

A Good Visit to the Cardiologist

The visit to the doctor's office went very well. Joseph was a champ during the echo-cardiogram. This test takes a little while and he has to hold still. Not an easy thing for a five month old. Yes, Joseph will be five months old on January 12. This is a great milestone and we find it hard to believe he is that old already! He is right where he should be with his development. Joseph is alert, jabbers constantly, is beginning to roll over, laughs, and grasps objects put in front of him. The cardiologist was very happy with how he looks. His exact words were, "He looks terrific!" The big surprise was that he told us not to come back for three months. We took this as a huge positive. Joseph still has a narrowed aorta but his blood flow is good enough to keep him out of the cardiologists office for three months. Hooray!!! God is good.

Happy in San Diego,

Kenny

Happy New Year

It has been a great start to the new year. Joseph is doing well. He has passed the 17 pound mark and does not show any signs that his heart is having trouble. He loves to smile and even lets out some giggles. However, this will be a tough week as I head down to San Diego for our annual managers meeting. Mary's sister Cindy is coming up from San Diego to help Mary out with all that goes each and every day. With five children to look after, there is a tremendous amount to accomplish. Mary handles it all very well. Luckily I married well!
Life is pretty good at this point, but just so that you know we are a normal everyday family I want to tell you what happened on Christmas Day. I must first preface it with --Overall it was a great day and there are no long term effects from the ordeal.
Christmas morning was a blast with the kids opening up their presents and we had a nice breakfast. Late in the morning Joseph was put on the bed and we (two of the girls and myself) were distracted by the new IPOD that the four girls received from Santa with a note about sharing. (yes--one IPOD for four girls) Well, Joseph picked that moments to roll over for the first time and he went right off the bed and when gravity took over he ended wedged between the night stand and the bed. He also hit his head. Well chaos entered the room. Joseph was screaming, Mary was trying to get to Joseph, the other girls ran in and started crying in unison with the two who were already crying. Mary and I quickly assessed Joseph as one of the girls asked if she should go call 911. "NO" we yelled in unison, "just get the icy bear---he is OK" It took a decent amount of time to get everyone calmed down. At about the five minute mark Joseph smiled at his mom and acted like nothing ever happened. The girls however, were traumatized for a few more hours. Looking back at it now it seems pretty funny and it was a good lesson for us all. Here is a little video clip to prove that he is OK.


Joseph goes to the Cardiologist on Tuesday, January 8. He is scheduled to have an echo-cardiogram to asses how well his aorta is doing. I will let you know the outcome as soon as I am able.
Happy New Year and may 2008 be a year of miracles and wonderful events.

Kenny