A fine week

Joseph continues to do well and he is still gaining weight rapidly. He just graduated to the next size in clothes and diapers. It does not seem possible that he is growing so fast. He smiles all the time and is a very easy baby at this point. (outside of the fact that he has to be watched 24/7) He does not cry much and he sleeps well at night. Of course--by writing that I guaranteed that he will wake up four times tonight.

Joseph's next surgery to remove the nasal tubes is scheduled for November 27. It will be good to have that behind us and then the goal will be to get through flu season. He sees his heart doctor on Monday. We pray that it will be all good news.

Joseph enjoyed watching the World Series but he did not like the sweep. We will have to wait all the way until April to watch the next baseball game. That made Joseph cry. He cheered himself up by watching a little NASCAR today. He likes the fast cars.

Her are a few pictures that are much better than my writing tonight:

A new outfit

Maxing out the waistband!

Showing off his cool scar

Hanging out with Grandma Sue

Life is good!

All the best,

Kenny

Joseph watches his first World Series Game

I know, I know---I did not post on Sunday night. But that is Mary's fault. Mary is so amazing that she made it possiblefor me to go on the annual Utah trip with my dad, my brothers and some friends. Mary had some help from her sister, her mom and my mom---but she really had to work hard to take care of Joseph and the girls. I came back late Monday and have been playing catch up ever since. I want to thank Mary on this blog because I needed the time away and I had a great trip. Mary could use a weekend off, but cannot do that because she has to stay with Joseph to feed him and he cannot leave the house. Mary has handled this whole situation with grace and a commitment level that is inspiring.
Joseph continues to do well. His monitor has gone off twice due to a low heart rate (or it could have been a false reading) and that has really kept us on our toes. It is a loud alarm and makes it tough to go back to sleep. Not for Joseph---he has slept through the alarms. It is not a concern at this point unless it keeps on happening.
Joseph is growing so fast that I could tell a difference after being gone just three and 1/2 days. He looks great and so far we have managed to keep him from getting a cold. It is tough to keep him protected because so many want to see him. We would love to take him out but we still have to keep him at home.
Last night he watched his first World Series. It was not a very good game but it was great to watch it with the family. He only watched a few innings but I will always remember this and in a few short years he will be out there playing in his first baseball game. Baseball (and softball) has been an important game for our family. It is a connection between generations and there is a connection to the future. There will always be baseball and the World Series. Terance Mann in FIELD OF DREAMS says this memorable quote about baseball;
"...And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."
It is easy to imagine Joseph in the future playing and watching baseball. He will be able to do that because of the miracles he received at this young age. He will be connected to his past and will be building for his future. These thoughts of the future are so comforting and we look forward to the great times ahead. Thank you for helping to give Joseph a future.

God Bless,

Kenny

P.S. Pictures to follow on Friday

Community and Smiles

Big Smile

Bigger smile!

I finally caught his smile with the camera!

Joseph is doing very well. He went to the pediatrician on Thursday and Dr. Yim thought he looked great. Joseph is almost 11 pounds and he has kept up with the ounce a day gain rate. His ENT doctor saw him this week as well. He liked his progress as well and they are working on scheduling his surgery to remove the nasal tubes. It should be sometime before Thanksgiving.

We sort of lost track of a couple of months through all this. I cannot believe that we are talking about Thanksgiving--but we look forward to its arrival. This will really be a special Thanksgiving as we have so much to be thankful for. It will be even better if he Joseph can be done with his bionic nose.

Last week I wrote about the miracle of breathing for Joseph. Tonight we were watching the video tape of the day he was born. We had not seen it yet and it was amazing to relive the time just two months ago (Joseph turned two months old on the 12th) when he was born. On the tape I heard myself mention that it seemed like he was having a little trouble breathing through his nose but I kept reassuring Mary that all was well. Little did I know that a few hours after that moment I would be in an ambulance with Joseph heading to another hospital while Mary stayed at Verdugo Hills Hospital. I am glad we did not watch the tape until now, because we know that it all turns out OK. In fact it turns out better than OK! These two months have taught us more than we could have imagined. We are closer as a family and a community. We have a closer relationship with God. People who have never even seen Joseph except through this blog have a closer relationship with God. I listed many of the faith communities that have been praying for Joseph in a blog back before his heart surgery. I think it is worth mentioning again. Joseph was in the care of:

The Franciscans

The Holy Cross Fathers at the University of Portland and Notre Dame

The Carmelites Sisters (Mother Regina Marie was on pilgrimage and had a whole busload of religious praying for Joseph--and cheering when they heard good news!)

The Dominicans (especially those up at Flintridge Sacred Heart)

Sisters of Saint Joseph (alerted by Sister Maryann who is at Saints Felicitas and Perpetua)

The Jesuits (Fr. Schall is a relative and teaches at Georgetown)

A cloistered nun in the Midwest who takes prayer request over the Internet!

The parishes of:

Saints Felicitas and Perpetua (The church and the school were all praying--thank you Fr. Paul and Mrs. Aparicio)

St. Bedes

Holy Family

Pope John Paul II, in Montana---yes -- Montana!

Our Lady of Lourdes

St. Andrews---Fr. Paul Sustayta is there. He was a classmate of mine at St. Francis High School. I asked him to pray for Joseph on the day before his surgery. Fr. Paul got in his car and drove down to the hospital to spend time praying for Joseph. The next week at mass they mentioned Joseph in the intentions. A lady walked up to Fr. Paul and asked, "just who is this Joseph Lund---They have been praying for him over at HolyFamily too!"

There were churches and people in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Massachusetts, Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, France, England and Scotland.

I know of individuals who were praying for Joseph from several different faith traditions. There were so many in fact that I have often thought that maybe Joseph is destined to grow up and assist with the unification of the church.

Many of the staff of the hospital told us they were praying for Joseph. We even received notes from people we do not know who heard about Joseph and were adding their voices to the chorus of prayer.

I am sure that I have not listed all of the faith communities that united around this little child. There are many more and I will probably have an addendum next week. But the point is that it has been a miracle that this single child could bring about so much prayer. I have often thought about this and I am absolutely convinced that this is the case. People have shared stories with us about how this has helped them with their faith, their family, and their perspective. The power of prayer was felt so strongly by our family that there could be no doubt of its presence. We never felt alone even at one in the morning while pacing the halls of Children's Hospital. Once again with thank you for your miracle of prayer and I hope you feel the power of prayer as strongly in your life as we have.

God Bless,

Kenny

Time

How about a song?



Ready to sleep!


How is it that such a little kid can take up so much time? Mary and I keep asking that. He sleeps and eats. Those are the two highlights of his day and night. It seems simple, but any parent can tell you, a little one can take up quite a bit of your time. Now this is sounding like a complaint, but I can assure you it is not. It has been a great week. Joseph has done well. He continues to grow. We watched the baseball playoff games together and even some football and NASCAR. He was very happy that Notre Dame got their first win of the season---although I scared him a bit when I celebrated an interception as he was falling asleep. While Joseph hung out at home we mixed in soccer games with the girls, work, practice, school, homework, church, and a few movies at home. Hunkering down is pretty good when you are with family. Mary has many scheduling issues to deal with to keep things operating. She has done an amazing job of keeping everything running somewhat smoothly.

We have been in a good rhythm, however, Joseph has given us a few scares just to keep us on our toes. The tubes in his nose get clogged on occasion. We have to suction them out several times a day. I will spare you the gross details but I will say that it takes a little getting used to. He has trouble breathing and he is still learning to breathe through his mouth when his tubes are blocked. He will have to master this skill before the surgery to remove the tubes. I think I have written before that infants are "obligate breathers." This means that they have to breathe through their nose because they do not know to open their mouth to breathe. Joseph had 100 percent blockage of both nasal passageways. What is interesting about this fact is that Joseph went two days after he was born without a breathing tube. Medically this is not supposed to happen. Infants with 100 percent nasal blockage have to be put on a breathing tube right away. They figured that he had some opening on at least one side because he was able to keep breathing. The doctors were shocked during the surgery to find out that he was completely blocked. Devine intervention is how I explain it. Joseph had several miracles along this path and I thought it was important that you know about the first one he received. The prayers kept him breathing.

We are and always will be, grateful for what Joseph has received. Until next week---

Kenny and Mary

Gaining weight!

Joseph continues to do well and his main goal is to gain weight. I sure would like to have that as my goal but weight LOSS should be the goal for me. He is gaining about one ounce per day. He is over 9 pounds now and he is getting very good at eating and sleeping since most of the time he is doing one of the two. I think you can tell from this picture that he is looking a little "rounder."

He is still hunkered down at the house and he cannot have visitors. The pediatrician is worried about him getting the flu or a flu like illness called RSV. This illness has put many healthy kids and infants in the hospital with breathing issues. He will have a vaccine for it but it takes three months to administer the vaccine. So, we are still being very protective of him and that will continue on into the new year. (insert heavy sigh here) His sisters have to take showers before they can hold him when they come home from school and we are buying Purell by the case now.

His next surgery is in about six weeks. The surgery will be to remove the tubes in his nose. He tolerates the tubes very well and does not seem to mind the suctioning that we have to do to keep them clear. All in all he is a pretty good baby at this point.

I finally caught a smile on camera and it is in this video clip:

That is Megan holding him. Joseph's sisters still complain they do not get enough time with him but that is because there are four of them and only one of him. Patience is a virtue!

This blog has been a great tool to get the word out on Joseph. We will keep it going until after his next surgery, but it will only be updated once a week since there is not as much going on. We will update the blog on the weekends (which probably means late Sunday night) so you can check it on Mondays.

It is still amazing how many people have read this blog. We get notes and emails from people who we had no idea were reading this. It continues to be very uplifting and we are able to feel connected to this community pulling for Joseph. We offer prayers of thanks everyday for all of you and for the health of Joseph. Please continue to keep the babies in the NICU and CT-ICU in your prayers.

Thank you and God bless,

Kenny and Mary

Pictures and a movie!

Almost a smile

Thinking about Geometry

cars on the crib-fish on the blanket-sport

stuff on the outfit and no pink

Practicing Karate

Is it time to eat yet?

Joseph "the movie" --coming soon to a theater near you!

(hit the play button)

Life is wonderful!

Kenny

Two Doctors--Two good reports

Joseph was seen by his cardiologist (heart doctor) on Monday and his ENT (ear nose and throat) doctor today. The doctors agreed that he is doing well and he just needs to stay healthy and keep growing. We thought that the cardiologist was going to want to see him at least every two weeks but he said to come back in 6 weeks. That was a good indication that he is doing well. Dr. Lewis, the cardiologist, was so good to him and he commented that he was the best behaved infant that day. I think that Joseph is comfortable in the medical world because he spent his first five weeks of life there. Maybe that will lead to his being a doctor when he grows up--That would be cool.
Joseph is being a little fussy lately during the day but he sleeps like a champ at night. We are worried he may be getting a cold. We really hope not because it will make breathing through his tubes that much more difficult. He almost at the halfway point on the tubes and they will come out in about 6 weeks. Unfortunately, that has to be done in surgery. After what he has been through it should be a piece of cake.
The visit to the cardiologist took us back to Children's Hospital. It was a little eerie being back and brought back the emotions we felt as we walked through the hallways. It was great to leave there and go home. It is a fine place, but it is soooooo good to have your child leaving there with you.
We were able to visit the NICU while we were there. We saw a few of the nurses that took care of him. They said he looked great and bigger. Nurse Dana said she reads the blog so ---HELLO DANA! Thanks for taking care of Joseph! Nurse Lindsey reads this too --- so a big shout out to NURSE LINDSEY. 3rd floor NICU ROCKS!
The blog is a little random tonight--lack of sleep will do that. I will have some pictures to post tomorrow. Sorry there are none with this blog. Thanks to all who continue to read this and to pray for Joseph. You ROCK too!
God Bless,

Kenny

Finding a routine

OK OK OK I did not make the Thursday night deadline for the next post. I had the best intentions. I had the camera in my hand and was heading to the computer when there was a request by my kids to spend some time with them. Somehow I misplaced the camera and did not find it until today. That sounds like a pretty thin excuse but it really happened.

We have shifted into a routine again but it is one that is easily disrupted by the cry of our new little child. He has a pretty good attitude but I think he got a little spoiled at the hospital. He always had someone right there and now he has to learn just a little patience. Joseph continues to feed well and he gained five ounces from Monday to Friday. He is sleeping OK at night and only wakes up a few times to feed. We really appreciate that! Here he is resting up in his new bouncy chair before feeding again.


Now to Children's Hospital. I wanted to write about how anyone can get involved with the hospital. The hospital is like good insurance. You hope you never have to use it, but if you do you are really glad it is there. In our case the hospital may very well have saved our son's life. They have amazing staff and the hospital of the future will be completed in 2010. The hospital is supported through incredible fundraising efforts and through service and support guilds. Our contacts with the groups we are involved in really came through for us. Bonnie McClure coordinates all the guilds for the hospital. I think there are about 30. I mentioned before that Mary and I are involved in the Spiritual Care Guild and I am a member of the Men's Guild. The Spiritual Care Guild supports the religious services at the hospital. There is a full time Catholic Priest at the hospital and many other religions are represented. They even have a training program to teach chaplains for other hospitals. The guild is a great group and the fundraising events are creative and fun. The men's Guild is newer and hosts a yearly Texas Hold 'em Poker Tournament. The next one is in May 2008. The dues are just 50 bucks and the commitment is fairly minimal. I have been tasked with finding at least two new members. Please let me know if you join so I can get my free poker chips for finding new members. Bonnie sent me this information on how to join: "For anyone wanting to join the Spiritual Care Guild or the Men's Guild, please direct them to our office - 323-361-2367. Connie Harding is the president of the Spiritual care Guild and John Winnek is the presidents of the Men's Guild. Another easy way to support the hospital is to donate blood. They have a new donation facility and the staff is very friendly. For anyone who wants to donate blood, call the Blood Donor Center - 323-361-2441 to schedule an appointment. If anyone has any other kinds of CHLA questions, have them call me at 323-361-5431." Bonnie was very helpful during our stay at the hospital. Tell her you are a friend of Joseph and that will make you an automatic friend of Bonnie. She is an amazingly kind and dedicated person and a true ambassador for the hospital.

I will write again early next week and post some more pictures. Joseph has a doctor's appointment on Monday and I will let you know how that goes. He still has a few more hurdles to get over but he is well on his way to full health. That is an accomplishment we can all be proud of.

God Bless,

Kenny Lund

There's no place like home

Tonight we sat as a family and watched a little bit of the Dodger game. We were all there--even Baily the dog. It was our first time all together at home in one room. It was great. We had forgotten how wonderful moments like that are. A nice boring evening is sometimes the best evening there could be.

Joseph is feeding very well and sleeps OK at night. He saw his pediatrician today and everything checked out. He needed a follow-up blood test and after two tries Mary took him home. He has had enough of that. We will get that another day. Now is the time to grow and to continue to heal. Here is a picture of his first bath at home. It is amazing how good the scar on his chest looks.

The girls are being very good about holding him. They have to work so hard to contain their excitement. Here is Megan holding him:

They love their brother so much even though several months ago they all wanted another sister because according to them, "boys are gross." Their Auntie Ann is in town to help out. She is a pediatric nurse and has been areal help through all of this. She has been so great that we even let her hold him:

Every day now we count our blessings and ask God to bless this wonderful community brought together by a special little kid named Joseph. It is one of several miracles that have happened over the last 5 weeks. Keep the faith.

Love,

The Lund family

p.s. The next update will be Thursday night. We will include some info on Children's Hospital and ways to be involved, in that post.

JOSEPH IS HOME!

Yes you read that correctly. We can use the word "home" now because he is actually at home. They surprised Mary on Sunday morning and told her she could take her son home. What great news. On Friday they moved Joseph up to the sixth floor. This was great because it meant that Joseph was doing well. But it was tough on us because it meant we had to have someone with him 24 hours a day. Poor Mary had to pull night duty because they started allowing her to nurse Joseph. So it was really music to her ears that she could go home and not have to sleep in the "hospital barkalounger." Clare was able to tell her sisters that her brother was coming home. You could hear the screams of joy all the way to the Arizona border. Here he is in his car seat ready to go:We said goodbye to the sixth floor but we had to stop on the third floor to say goodbye to the great staff there. Here are of few of his AWESOME nurses:
They took our picture---don't we look happy?


Steve and Christina helped us get the last minute things ready for the homecoming. The girls were so excited they could almost fly! Up the driveway came the car and there was Joseph and mom!! More shrieks! Who would hold him first? Who could change him first? (yes they actually argue over who gets to change him) Who gets to feed him? Hold on girls---form a line. We will all get a chance.

We are finally---five weeks to the day of his birth and less than two weeks after open heart surgery---all together at home. Life is wonderful and we sings songs of praise. We thank God for his blessings and our family and friends for getting us through this. We could not have done it without you. Our miracle boy is home and all is well.

This next week I will post pictures of his life at home. Unfortunately, Joseph has to stay at home and hunker down. He is not yet up to his birth weight and he has some growing to do. He systems are recovering and he cannot get sick. We are going to be protective for awhile. But we promise to post many pictures.

Here are a few to start:
Clare, the proud big sister, gets to hold her little brother at home and she does not have to wear that yellow gown!

Time to start playing baseball. He will be out on the field soon! Thanks Paul for the cool baseball stuff!

God bless you all,

Kenny and Mary

Going to Disneyland

Today was a very good day for Joseph. He is eating better after hitting a plateau at 30cc's. He can now go up from there. His numbers are all good and the cardiologists have taken him off one more medicine. He is doing so well that when the doctors were on rounds tonight I said I was looking forward to him being at h___ (rhymes with Rome.) The nurses and a few of the doctors said to me don't say they "H" word out loud. It is bad luck . It is kind of like packing up the gear in baseball before the game is over. It will guarantee a loss. Instead of saying the "H" word they all say "Disneyland." So, if an infant is close to being discharged they all say "oh how nice---he is going to Disneyland." Well hopefully in several more days we can take Joseph to Disneyland!

Several times over the last few says Joseph has smiled. I have been trying to capture that smile with the camera to no avail. Here is the closest I have come so far:

That is Clare holding Joseph. On Wednesday we packed up the kids and took all of them down to the hospital to see their brother. Joseph went from the crib and into each of the girls eager arms. Not once during the visit did he wake up! Unbelievable! But they were pleased as could be to be there with Joseph. Here are a few more pics of the encounter:

I look forward to reporting to you that we are all safe and sound at Disneyland.

Peace,

Kenny and Mary

p.s. Please remember the other infants in the NICU in your prayers. There are a few that really need the help.

Happy One Month Birthday Joseph!

Wednesday at 10:38AM will mark one full month since the birth of Joseph Edward Lund. It has been an amazing month. Joseph has new nasal passageways, an improved heart, and more well wishers than can be counted----so please, no gifts! He is one really fortunate little boy.

I find it hard to believe that he is one month old---and yet, the day of his birth seems so long ago. This journey has been a most amazing one and though it has been very difficult at times, Mary and I have had a front row seat to small miracles, large miracles, incredible acts of love and kindness, sacrifice, surgical skill, compassionate care, the bridging of faith, and the tremendous healing power of prayer. We have learned so much and it has given us new perspective on the world. I was talking to a father who had gone through a similar experience several years ago. He said that he was forever changed by his journey. We are forever changed by ours. The change is not a bad change at all but I certainly would not wish the situation on anyone.

Today Joseph continued to get better. He is up to 30cc's of milk at feeding. This puts him more than 1/3 of the way to full feeds. He was more fussy today indicating that he is getting to be more like a typical baby. He was awake more in the evening and asleep more during the day. WE HAVE TO GET THAT TURNED AROUND BEFORE HE COMES HOME! We are missing enough sleep as it is. He has been able to stay in the NICU because they are out of bed space on "the floor." That is fine with us but we know the move will be soon. The doctors are happy with his progress but there is not a firm date that he can come home.

Here are a few pictures from today:

Sorry but there are no pictures today of him with his eyes open.

Joseph is one month old and we say a prayer of thanks for this miracle baby and all the family and friends we can share our joy with. Have a great day today!

Peace,

Kenny and Mary

More Progress

Today they began to talk more about Joseph's move. He may go to the 6th floor or even back to Glendale Adventist Hospital. It all depends on how many beds they have. It is a good sign because they think he is strong enough to graduate from the NICU. We were hoping he would stay in the NICU until he goes home but that looks unlikely at this point. We will deal with that when we know for sure. Today Cardiology visited him. They took out the leads for the pacemaker so he is down to an IV and a PICC line. They are doing a few more tests but hopefully they will consider his heart "good to go." The surgeon said that would mean he could be going home soon! He feeding increased and can take his medication by mouth now. That does not seem possible considering where he was just 7 days ago. His recovery is happening too fast for us to comprehend.

Elizabeth had her first day of school and her Auntie Cindy picked her up and brought her to the hospital. They let her feed Joseph. The other girls are thoroughly green with envy but they will get their chance soon enough.

I wish I could write more but I am trying to catch up on sleep in anticipation of his homecoming. Hopefully there will be more time tomorrow.

God Bless,

Kenny

Another Great Day!

Joseph hit some more milestones but I think this quick story says it best. Christina, my younger sister, has been helping watch Joseph at the hospital so Mary and I can spend some time with the other kids at their events. She saw him Saturday morning and then again today. She walked in to his room. By the way, his room has changed. Joseph was in a private room but now he is in a larger room with up to six infants in it. (I like to think that he moved to a much larger private room and he just has a bunch of friends over) But it was the same room as Saturday although they had moved a few kids around. Christina walked up to Joseph's bed and saw such a change from Saturday that she looked around to make sure she was in the right place and even checked his name tag on the crib. It was Joseph alright. He has really changed and looks so much better. This is him sleeping today:
I think you can see why Christina did a double take. He looks like a a happy little baby just ready to go home! Going home will still take awhile as he must be able to tolerate "full feeds" (as the nurses say) That is about 75 cc's every three hours. Today he went from 3 cc's to 10 cc's. Hey---it's a start!
It was very nice to attend mass at Saints Felicitas and Perpetua Church today. They prayed for "baby Joseph" and many people came up to say they had seen the blog. I am constantly amazed at how many people read the ramblings of a grateful father. I am pleased to be able to share this journey and to have you walking along with us. It has made all the difference.

Peace,

Kenny