Today was Gavin's follow up with his cardiologist. We discussed his surgery date and he had labs done. His surgery date has been moved from Monday, June 13th, to Friday, June 10th. Apparently, the brainstorming didn't stop with the decision for his surgery that was made a couple of weeks ago.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
We're going home!
FINALLY! We are being discharged today.
His lab results are still dropping. His AST are 77 ALT 400'S but we have lab orders to have his blood drawn from outside U of M. He will be on asprin until his surgery, he has a follow up appointment May 19.
I am so excited to be going home with our little bundle of energy.
We will be back soon enough.
His lab results are still dropping. His AST are 77 ALT 400'S but we have lab orders to have his blood drawn from outside U of M. He will be on asprin until his surgery, he has a follow up appointment May 19.
I am so excited to be going home with our little bundle of energy.
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| No we didn't paint it during our stay but we thought it was cute! Mom, Dad & Gavin |
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Not home yet, but soon we hope.
We didn't get go home today. He had his echo this morning. We didn't see the images but apparently he doctors didn't get all the information they wanted from that test, so they are going ahead with the CT Scan tomorrow morning. With the CT they hope to get a clearer image of the pseudo aneurysm and the stent along with the area around the heart and lungs (i guess) The results of the test may move the surgery date up from June 13th. I don't suspect having to stay in the hospital until that time come. They are also continuing to watch his liver enzymes.
Labs. AST in the 280's from 193 yesterday, 2nd day of an increase since we've been here. Weight 10.7 down from 11.1 yesterday. Considering they dry weight they are looking at is the weight he came in at, which he was retaining fluid. So I'm assuming they are going a little under the 11.4. I'm assuming because I can't get a clear answer. I know they want to keep the fluid off of him but Im not sure why twice a day rather than once when he's already down.
Other than the echo, its been an uneventful day. I can't speculate when we are going home, since you can tell that has already changed so much since we've been here, which is quite common.
Monday, May 9, 2011
There's that smiling face, we've missed so much!
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| Mommy and Gavin sat in the courtyard for awhile today. Yet another beautiful day with my beautiful baby boy! Daddy went back to work today, we really missed him! |
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| He couldn't be any cutier! Gavin is laying with the quilt the women's ministry "Quilts of Compassion" dropped off on Mother's Day. A prayer was said with each stitch and each little knot that was made. Mommy and Daddy got a purple quilt, Im thinking the purple is for hope, it's so pretty! I'll be sure to post a pic of it soon. |
May 10th
Another great night for Gavin. He has been eating like a champ, it seems as though he hasn't stopped eating since they removed the vent. He is showing his personality more and more.
His liver enzymes, the AST 193 up from 148 his ALT 954 down from 1182. The doc didn't think that was alarming. We will just watch them and if they go up again tomorrow then I think they will look more closely to them.
His liver enzymes, the AST 193 up from 148 his ALT 954 down from 1182. The doc didn't think that was alarming. We will just watch them and if they go up again tomorrow then I think they will look more closely to them.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Mother's Day
Gavin gave us a few moments of comedy, letting us all know that he's still a ball of fun and ENERGY! I can not tell you how wonderful it is to see that beautiful smile.
We met a nice couple who attends our church, Metro South. They came to the see us today and set up a skype session for Gavin's dedication. What a wonderful experience. We finally dedicated our little baby boy to the Lord. We owe everything to him! Three people also showed up at Gavin's bedside with prayer blankets, one for Gavin and one for Justin and I. They are so beautiful and soft. I will post pictures of them soon.
Tomorrow he is scheduled for an echo and he is to get a CT Scan, time is still to be determined. Most likely, discharge the day after these tests. So we really don't have a definite discharge date, but we are expecting early this week. I can't wait to go home so we can relax and allow our little guy time to relax before his big day in June. There is no such thing as relaxing in the hospital.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Sat May7th.
Gavin's numbers are great.
Liver AST 1200'S from 2100's and ALT 220 from 600
His states are great. He is off air. They did put him back on diuretic, his weight went up past his dry weight. to about 11.46, which means he wasn't ready for such an aggressive transition from the diuretic to nothing.
So he is getting it a few times today, overall his swelling has gone down.
He is getting a CTScan and since they don't do them on Sundays, Im assuming he will be here to atleast Monday, possible Tuesday. They are watching his electrolyes, they've been low as well as his phosphates. So all and all he will be discharged in the next few days. His surgery is schedule for June, we will get a set date upon our discharge. The surgery is sooner than we all anticipated originally (3-4 years of age) but this is happening for a reason.
Liver AST 1200'S from 2100's and ALT 220 from 600
His states are great. He is off air. They did put him back on diuretic, his weight went up past his dry weight. to about 11.46, which means he wasn't ready for such an aggressive transition from the diuretic to nothing.
So he is getting it a few times today, overall his swelling has gone down.
He is getting a CTScan and since they don't do them on Sundays, Im assuming he will be here to atleast Monday, possible Tuesday. They are watching his electrolyes, they've been low as well as his phosphates. So all and all he will be discharged in the next few days. His surgery is schedule for June, we will get a set date upon our discharge. The surgery is sooner than we all anticipated originally (3-4 years of age) but this is happening for a reason.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Friday May6th
We've all had a pretty busy day today. Gavin has been move from PTCU to Moderate Care, it would have been the General floor but there wasn't a bed available.
His liver enzymes continue to drop significantly! Stopped all diuretics. Feeding tube is out. He continues to take the bottle. We will know soon if he is being discharged this weekend. The plan is to have his surgery scheduled for next month. This will allow Gavin to recover as much as possible before he has his heart surgery.
He looks so good compared to the last week. Taking him home is going to be scary but atleast we will all be comfortable.
We will update when we know for sure what is going on.
His liver enzymes continue to drop significantly! Stopped all diuretics. Feeding tube is out. He continues to take the bottle. We will know soon if he is being discharged this weekend. The plan is to have his surgery scheduled for next month. This will allow Gavin to recover as much as possible before he has his heart surgery.
He looks so good compared to the last week. Taking him home is going to be scary but atleast we will all be comfortable.
We will update when we know for sure what is going on.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
May 5th PM Update
Im so sorry I forgot to inform you guys on the liver enzymes earlier.
His AST went from 2283 yesterday to 1359
His ALT went from 3179 yesterday to 2824, docs are pleased with the direction of everything.
He was extubated at 3pm this afternoon and as you can imagine, it was so wonderful to see his beautiful face again. He is breathing beautifully on his own. They have since taken him off his BP meds and Adevan (spelling). He is receiving a steroid to help prevent his throat from swelling due to the intubation so that medicine does increase his BP but not to alarming levels. He was able to drink from the bottle tonight and he was so excited to see a bottle. He took 6 oz like a champ.
Still no date for his surgery as of yet, there is still debate.
We are very happy with the direction things are going. We should be able to hold him tomorrow.
Our church is having their baby dedication ceremony on Mother's Day. We were scheduled for the 9:30 service but due to is stay at the hospital we are going to miss that. However, we were able to work out skypeing the dedication service from his hospital bed for the 3rd service, We are so happy we aren't going to miss this years ceremony.
Hopefully we will have more good news to share with you tomorrow.
His AST went from 2283 yesterday to 1359
His ALT went from 3179 yesterday to 2824, docs are pleased with the direction of everything.
He was extubated at 3pm this afternoon and as you can imagine, it was so wonderful to see his beautiful face again. He is breathing beautifully on his own. They have since taken him off his BP meds and Adevan (spelling). He is receiving a steroid to help prevent his throat from swelling due to the intubation so that medicine does increase his BP but not to alarming levels. He was able to drink from the bottle tonight and he was so excited to see a bottle. He took 6 oz like a champ.
Still no date for his surgery as of yet, there is still debate.
We are very happy with the direction things are going. We should be able to hold him tomorrow.
Our church is having their baby dedication ceremony on Mother's Day. We were scheduled for the 9:30 service but due to is stay at the hospital we are going to miss that. However, we were able to work out skypeing the dedication service from his hospital bed for the 3rd service, We are so happy we aren't going to miss this years ceremony.
Hopefully we will have more good news to share with you tomorrow.
Thursday AM Update
He looks GREAT! His weight is down to 11.6k from his dry weight of 11.4 (25.5lb-25.1lb) so they backed of Lasix(diuretic) from every 6hrs to every 12. They never started the second diuretic.
He is taking 1oz/hr by continueous feed. They will try PO feeding(mouth feeding) after he is extubated, waiting 4 hrs after extubation to feed him, just incase they have to reintubate.
He's been sprinting on the vent this morning and they are going to sprint again at 1pm and if his blood gases are good they will extubate around 3pm. They have to wait 6 hours after his last feed, so they stopped his feed this morning at 9:30am while we were back there.
Decreased his blood pressure med. Miliranone, may remove it after extubation.
White cell count down to 6.4
Abdomen ultrasound later today to check for possible clots, they are always possible after all the internal trama he has experienced.
They will check to see how his blood clotting, he's been given plasma because his blood has been thin.
Removing his adevan after his extubation.
All and all hie looks fantastic! His swelling is down significantly. You can see creases in his eye lids. :)
We are going to have a good day, I can feel it :)
xoxo's
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Wednesday Night Update
Our little rockstar is practically breathing on his own. He is still vented but during the whining process he has shown great progress, they have turned it down and he is doing well. The plan is to start whining in the early morning hours. Whining consists of turning it all the way down, allowing him to breath on his own for an hour, should he skip a couple of breaths or not respond very well anytime during that hour, the machine will take over or fill in the gaps for him. All goes well, he will be extubated tomorrow, FINGERS CROSSED.
He is moving quite a bit, which is good and scary at the same time. Man oh man we don't need him to knock out the tube. His arms are restrained a little to try to keep that from happening. He responds very well to us when we are talking and touching him, so it's best that we back off a little bit. He just moves to much. A few times we saw him tonight it looked as though he had tears pooling in the corner of his eyes. Ofcourse they were closed but it was so sad. Sometimes he whinces an a tear look alike comes out. They are trying to reasure me that it's not tears but drainage. I sure hope its not, that simply breaks our heart to think of such a thing as him being in pain an not being able to let us know or respond. :( I guess his stats would indicates some discomfort.
Doctors rounds are between 7 and 9am each morning so we will have more updates after them.
Thank you to all of you for your concerns and your prayers!
Please continue to pray for his recovery but also please extend a prayer to all of the children an families in that ward. There is so much hurt and sorrow walking those halls it can be so depressing and it sometimes make us feel guilty for having a happy moment while so many are hurting at that very same moment.
He is moving quite a bit, which is good and scary at the same time. Man oh man we don't need him to knock out the tube. His arms are restrained a little to try to keep that from happening. He responds very well to us when we are talking and touching him, so it's best that we back off a little bit. He just moves to much. A few times we saw him tonight it looked as though he had tears pooling in the corner of his eyes. Ofcourse they were closed but it was so sad. Sometimes he whinces an a tear look alike comes out. They are trying to reasure me that it's not tears but drainage. I sure hope its not, that simply breaks our heart to think of such a thing as him being in pain an not being able to let us know or respond. :( I guess his stats would indicates some discomfort.
Doctors rounds are between 7 and 9am each morning so we will have more updates after them.
Thank you to all of you for your concerns and your prayers!
Please continue to pray for his recovery but also please extend a prayer to all of the children an families in that ward. There is so much hurt and sorrow walking those halls it can be so depressing and it sometimes make us feel guilty for having a happy moment while so many are hurting at that very same moment.
Update 3
Last night was uneventful, nothing scary happened. So as I always say, Uneventful is good!
He still has excess water weight, about 2 lbs more than his dry weight. His eyes are less swollen and his color is much better. He is on Milredone for his blood pressure and to help his right ventricle rest.
Liver enzymes DROPPED! From 4500 to about 2000, int he opposite (and right) direction that the doc anticipated. He is still intubated and will be for a couple of days. They have lowered is sedation because they want him to be a little responsive, but obviously not enough for him to mess with everything. They also want to observe his neurological responses for possible damage, which is always a possibility. They may start weening him from the intubation and start sprinting tomorrow, which mean that for short periods, he will be breathing on his own. little by little. My little chubba wabba may start to eat today too, however through a pump feet/ NG tube. We are taking a teaspoon every hour and slowly increasing it. On Lasix/ diaretic every 6 hours now, they want to get the water off. They are also adding another diuretic for help with the fluid. His lung from yesterday looks good. I guess it has to perk up a bit. They are going to try to clear his lungs of any fluid and keep them clear to prevent pneumonia. White blood count is 7.6, i don't know what that means but I wrote it down so I thought I would type it out for ya.
All and all, today is a day of rest, watching him, allowing is body to heal.
He still has excess water weight, about 2 lbs more than his dry weight. His eyes are less swollen and his color is much better. He is on Milredone for his blood pressure and to help his right ventricle rest.
Liver enzymes DROPPED! From 4500 to about 2000, int he opposite (and right) direction that the doc anticipated. He is still intubated and will be for a couple of days. They have lowered is sedation because they want him to be a little responsive, but obviously not enough for him to mess with everything. They also want to observe his neurological responses for possible damage, which is always a possibility. They may start weening him from the intubation and start sprinting tomorrow, which mean that for short periods, he will be breathing on his own. little by little. My little chubba wabba may start to eat today too, however through a pump feet/ NG tube. We are taking a teaspoon every hour and slowly increasing it. On Lasix/ diaretic every 6 hours now, they want to get the water off. They are also adding another diuretic for help with the fluid. His lung from yesterday looks good. I guess it has to perk up a bit. They are going to try to clear his lungs of any fluid and keep them clear to prevent pneumonia. White blood count is 7.6, i don't know what that means but I wrote it down so I thought I would type it out for ya.
All and all, today is a day of rest, watching him, allowing is body to heal.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Update 2 Post Stent
Great News! They tapped into the fluid that was trapped around his lungs and they pulled out 25cc (almost 1 oz) of clear fluid and that was all. The right lung popped up. There is no need for a chest tube!!!!!!! Thank you Jesus! One less thing Gavin has to be put through, less chance of infection. I couldn't be happier.
Our little man is very puffy and is expected to be bigger tomorrow. Discolored and intubated (not breathing for himself), sedated, but no chest tube. :)
There is always a reason to smile!
Our little man is very puffy and is expected to be bigger tomorrow. Discolored and intubated (not breathing for himself), sedated, but no chest tube. :)
There is always a reason to smile!
Update1 Post Cath
He had is his Echo at 2:30 and came out at 5pm. The doctors found that his conduit that was placed last year had split inside, creating a flap that was creating a pseudo aneurysm. The flap was creating pressure and a very tight channel for the blood to flow into the pulmonary artery. They successfully placed a stent pushing the flap back to the wall of the conduit to allow the blood to flow properly and the pressure and stress on the Right Ventricle. The stent also allows the blood to flow through the aneurysm into the conduit if needed. The stent is a very temporary solution to Gavin's heart problem.
Along with his Right Ventricle Heat Failure, he is in Acute Liver Failure, due to his RV not working properly. His liver functions were 4500 last night (normal is 20-40) and are expected to be higher tomorrow just because that's how the liver works.
Having open heart surgery with any heart failure leads to a more difficult recovery. Having open heart surgery while in liver failure is not a good way to go into surgery either. Both of which make for a very difficult recovery.
He currently is intubated from the stent procedure. He will need a chest tube tonight because they found fluid around the lungs, it may be blood so they are taking a sample out to see what they are dealing with. The fluid whatever it may be is causing the right lung to collapse.
If we are talking numbers here. Pressure in the heart after the stent has dropped about 50% estimating, point is they docs are optimistic that the stent is doing what it should. Now we just have to weight for his liver to start acting right. He will be sedated for some time, remaining intubated.
I must say that seeing my little man all hooked up like this brings back so many strong emotions and new emotions too. The best way to describe him is to picture him as he was a newborn all hooked up and picture him 4 times bigger with all the same tubes.
We are asking for prayers that they successfully drain the fluid and that he is not leaking blood into that area. We ask that you pray his liver enzymes take a dramatic drop in numbers and it rebounds beautifully soon!
Also, pray that his right ventricle relaxes and recovers so that it too is strong enough for surgery, when ever that may be. Lastly (well all that I can think of right now) is PRAY that he does not contract ANY infections anywhere in his body! Please that is sooo important.
Along with his Right Ventricle Heat Failure, he is in Acute Liver Failure, due to his RV not working properly. His liver functions were 4500 last night (normal is 20-40) and are expected to be higher tomorrow just because that's how the liver works.
Having open heart surgery with any heart failure leads to a more difficult recovery. Having open heart surgery while in liver failure is not a good way to go into surgery either. Both of which make for a very difficult recovery.
He currently is intubated from the stent procedure. He will need a chest tube tonight because they found fluid around the lungs, it may be blood so they are taking a sample out to see what they are dealing with. The fluid whatever it may be is causing the right lung to collapse.
If we are talking numbers here. Pressure in the heart after the stent has dropped about 50% estimating, point is they docs are optimistic that the stent is doing what it should. Now we just have to weight for his liver to start acting right. He will be sedated for some time, remaining intubated.
I must say that seeing my little man all hooked up like this brings back so many strong emotions and new emotions too. The best way to describe him is to picture him as he was a newborn all hooked up and picture him 4 times bigger with all the same tubes.
We are asking for prayers that they successfully drain the fluid and that he is not leaking blood into that area. We ask that you pray his liver enzymes take a dramatic drop in numbers and it rebounds beautifully soon!
Also, pray that his right ventricle relaxes and recovers so that it too is strong enough for surgery, when ever that may be. Lastly (well all that I can think of right now) is PRAY that he does not contract ANY infections anywhere in his body! Please that is sooo important.
"Could be worse"
My wonderful friend Megan sent me a few passages from her devotion today:
our sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth~ Psalms 71:5
so don't fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. ~ Isaiah 41:10
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him ~ Jeremiah 17:7
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is your refuge! Psalms 62:8
May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit ! Romans 15:13
I just updated Gavin's blog Sunday night after his 1st birthday party, kind of kicking myself for slacking a bit in the updating however he has been doing so great there really wasn't news to tell. Well all things changed...
Monday afternoon, I thought that nothing added up. No fever, no pee, no crying, no eating, no dirty diapers, just sleep and sweat and cold and no fever. "What is wrong with him?" I asked, while staring at him on the floor, looking so pitiful, sleeping still. Something dawned on me, it was like a light bulb went off. I heard, "He has Congestive Heart Failure" No, seriously? 1 year after his surgery? His anniversary is this Friday, can that be possible. I read my handbook given to us by U of M, it was clear as could be. Gavin was a checklist of symptoms. He had 95% of the symptoms. Daddy and I took him to U of M ER.
I can not explain the comfort and happiness we felt being there. Yes, it was sad and we were scared but so relieved to be here where we knew we would get answers and he would get the care he needed.
The little guy was retaining fluid, yet he was intravascular dehydrated. They gave him a chest xray and stomach xray( to check for obstruction of the bowl ), tired to take blood labs but he was so dehydrated and swollen that his vein were disappearing, once poked here or there he wasn't giving up any blood. I've never seen nurses struggle so much to get drops of blood from a someone. His poor little limbs, hands and feet were so puffy/swollen. He came back and they gave him an echo. Gavin layed there as still as can be for an 80min echo. There was the answer. He had stenosis( narrowing) of the pulmonary arteries, his Right ventricle was dilated, not pumping well at all, working extremely hard.
After evaluation a heart cath is ordered for sometime this afternoon (Tuesday) to look at the conduit that is now to narrow/ tight for his body. This is not a defect of the conduit, it's just how is body has healed. There is obstruction in the bottom of the conduit, the valve and it happens. They are hoping by the cath, that a balloon or stint will open the narrowing and to investigate the pulmonary arteries and take pressure readings and intervine if needed there.
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| Echo in the U of M ER. Answers to so many questions. A 12month old does not sit stil for a min. He didnt move for over an hour while they looked at his heart. We are so proud of you Gavin. |
Surgery is definitely in his near future. Closer than we all had prepared for. The news was scary and it still. I immediately fell relieved that we were here. Some people don't believe that God can talk to you. I hasn't happened to my allot but I can say that I am confident that he spoke to me yesterday. No, it's not rumbling voice that I hear telling me what's wrong with my son, in a deep voice, but more like a clear statement, direct and to the point. After asking to myself, "What is wrong with him?" It clicked, I clearly heard, He has Congestive Heart Failure. Complete clairity. No hesitation, no questions. just answers. I got my handbook, read the symptoms, called U of M, made plans to have a cardiac nurse call back, I immediately started packing, with out thinking. We decided we just need to go, they are going to send us up there anyway and even if they said to just see, we were still driving out there regardless, so here we arel. Waiting for news weather or not he's going to need surgery this week ?
I thank God that we came and he received these test. His condition since we've been here less than 24 hrs has rapidly decreased. God led us here! His Will, will be done.
Is it wrong to pray that his "Will" is to heal and allow us to keep Gavin longer? It feels like it's wrong. Our faith is in him, Our God, Our Healer.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Our baby boy is "1"
Gavin turned "1" on April 29th. Friday was a day of recollection and I am sure this Friday, May 6th, marking 1 year from his first open heart surgery will be the same. I'm sure most parents can relate, the day he was born was one of the happiest and scariest times of our lives. What a mix of emotions that day and days that followed brought us. I still don't think we have processed it all. At times, thinking of everything feels quite overwhelming. The first month of Gavin's was a whirlwind of emotions, crazy emotions.
This year has been simply amazing in the recovery, growth and development of Gavin. He is right on key with his milestones. His weight and height are right in line with where they are suppose to be. Needless to say, Gavin has completely made up for the time he wouldn't eat. This little boy eats everything! He is extremely healthy, active and very bright. He currently weights 24 lbs and is 30 inches tall. Although he hasn't taken his first steps, we can tell they are just around the corner. Gavin has been pulling himself up and standing "look mom no hanging" for the past 2 weeks. We will be chasing after our little daredevil soon enough.
Gavin has his 1 year sedated echo scheduled for June 9th. He never did have a 4th swallow study. We have however, taken it upon ourselves to greatly reduce the thicker we use to, well nothing. He seems to be doing really well with the normal consistency of his formula, juice and food.
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