6:00a.m. - Get to the hospiatl for tests, etc
8:00 a.m. - They take Gabe back for surgery and he was surprisingly agreeable all morning. He went with the nurse with no problem
9:30 - They made the first incision
10:30 - He is now on the heart-lung bypass
4:00 - They keep telling us that things are going well, but they are expecting another 3-4 hours and he is still on bypass
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Tomorrow is the Big Day
We are getting everything prepared for tomorrow. I have decided that having gone through this once and knowing what to expect is both good and bad. I know what to pack for him and what he will need to be comfortable. However, I know what to expect from him before and after surgery. Unfortunately, after our nightmare EKG last week, I think he knows what to expect when he sees the people in scrubs.
The last time, after he was extubated and the heaviest sedation had worn off, I felt that he was really mad at me. I didn't get this vibe towards anyone else. Maybe I read too much into this, but I felt that I had broken his trust by putting him through this. It was really hard. That lasted a couple days and then he was better. Towards the end of the last surgery was a total disconnect and he got really depressed. The nurses all said at that point, he needed to go home. I felt that he had resigned himself to living a life like he had in the orphanage. Again, people think that I read too much into this and he can't comprehend to that level, but I still disagree. Either way, I feel very guilty knowing what he is going to go through. It has to be done, but I just wish we were able to explain all of this to him. We have some last minute tests and information to gather today, but we are really trying to enjoy our last day before the hospital.
I will be blogging through the surgery and hospital stay. We really appreciate all of the continued support and love from all of you. Thanks.
Ludlums
The last time, after he was extubated and the heaviest sedation had worn off, I felt that he was really mad at me. I didn't get this vibe towards anyone else. Maybe I read too much into this, but I felt that I had broken his trust by putting him through this. It was really hard. That lasted a couple days and then he was better. Towards the end of the last surgery was a total disconnect and he got really depressed. The nurses all said at that point, he needed to go home. I felt that he had resigned himself to living a life like he had in the orphanage. Again, people think that I read too much into this and he can't comprehend to that level, but I still disagree. Either way, I feel very guilty knowing what he is going to go through. It has to be done, but I just wish we were able to explain all of this to him. We have some last minute tests and information to gather today, but we are really trying to enjoy our last day before the hospital.
I will be blogging through the surgery and hospital stay. We really appreciate all of the continued support and love from all of you. Thanks.
Ludlums
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wrapping up 2009
Gabe had a terrific Birthday and Christmas. He started getting into the gift opening towards the end. Next year will be a very different story. He spent some time with all of his cousins and had so much fun. It is so great to see them all together and they are all so good with him.
We are one week out from surgery. We had a day full of appointments today and things did not go well. We started with an EKG, which should have been very simple. He totally freaked as soon as he saw the nurses. They struggled getting the leads on and were finally able to get something of a read. This was with him bawling (which is NOT him at all) and him continually reaching for me. We were both laying on the bed, both crying, but he wouldn't really roll over for them and the leads kept falling off. We tried lights off and then after about 20 minutes, we were going to try to calm him down and try again. He couldn't calm down and actually made himself throw up. I decided to call it and I thanked the nurses. There was no way I could watch him continue and know that they probably weren't even going to get the information they needed. Next was the chest xray and Brian took him in for that. I could hear him crying, but it wasn't quite as bad as the EKG.
Then the H and P at the surgeon's office which didn't take too long. Finally, we had to go to the PICU to get his blood drawn. There are a couple nurses there who do such a good job (you know who you are) and can get the job done so fast. We love them for it! We were all so worn out after that, the whole family had to take a nap. He was in a much better mood after he woke up. However, I think we got a taste for next week. Gabe is starting to figure all of this out and he knows a lot more than before. Unfortunately, we can't reason with him or explain anything. He has been through so much and he is starting to make the connections. I think that this next surgery is going to be more difficult emotionally than we imagined.
Keep the prayers coming. We plan on really enjoying our time together this week before he goes in. I will be posting more before the surgery and daily when we are in the hospital. Thanks for your support.
Ang, Brian and Gabe
PS I will get more Birthday and Christmas pictures up. I will have SO much time in the hospital to get caught up on all kinds of things.
We are one week out from surgery. We had a day full of appointments today and things did not go well. We started with an EKG, which should have been very simple. He totally freaked as soon as he saw the nurses. They struggled getting the leads on and were finally able to get something of a read. This was with him bawling (which is NOT him at all) and him continually reaching for me. We were both laying on the bed, both crying, but he wouldn't really roll over for them and the leads kept falling off. We tried lights off and then after about 20 minutes, we were going to try to calm him down and try again. He couldn't calm down and actually made himself throw up. I decided to call it and I thanked the nurses. There was no way I could watch him continue and know that they probably weren't even going to get the information they needed. Next was the chest xray and Brian took him in for that. I could hear him crying, but it wasn't quite as bad as the EKG.
Then the H and P at the surgeon's office which didn't take too long. Finally, we had to go to the PICU to get his blood drawn. There are a couple nurses there who do such a good job (you know who you are) and can get the job done so fast. We love them for it! We were all so worn out after that, the whole family had to take a nap. He was in a much better mood after he woke up. However, I think we got a taste for next week. Gabe is starting to figure all of this out and he knows a lot more than before. Unfortunately, we can't reason with him or explain anything. He has been through so much and he is starting to make the connections. I think that this next surgery is going to be more difficult emotionally than we imagined.
Keep the prayers coming. We plan on really enjoying our time together this week before he goes in. I will be posting more before the surgery and daily when we are in the hospital. Thanks for your support.
Ang, Brian and Gabe
PS I will get more Birthday and Christmas pictures up. I will have SO much time in the hospital to get caught up on all kinds of things.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Happy Birthday!
Gabe turned two on Friday and we are having an Elmo party today! He has no idea what is going on, but this is so exciting. We are really looking forward to a holiday season with a child. I also wanted to let everyone know that he is on the calendar for his big surgery on January 5. This is a short post, I have to get him ready for church and then for the Elmo extravaganza. I will post more this week with the details. Also, I will have some birthday pictures up this week.
Ludlums
Ludlums
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Getting Answers
Gabe has his cardiac cath yesterday. The procedure was supposed to last an hour, but it ended up lasting three hours. They had a hard time getting the wire around his shunt. We have decided that when they give us a time frame, we just need to multiply it by three. That seems to be the formula so far. We were at the hospital for eleven hours and we were all so tired when we got home. Gabe has been a little cranky today, which is to be expected. The worst part of the whole thing is that he has to lay flat and he can't move his leg for six hours after the procedure. If anyone has any ideas for how to keep a toddler still that long, I am all ears.
The doctor said that the pulmonary artery has grown, but he doesn't expect it to get any bigger with this shunt. That leaves us with a couple options; the first is that they put in a bigger shunt and way for the artery to grow or they go ahead and do the repairs. He thinks that the repairs will allow more blood flow to the right PA, which will encourage growth, although, they will never be equal. He thinks the larger shunt won't make much difference and it will, obviously, add another surgery. The team conferences on Monday morning, so they will discuss it and call us. I am really hoping for just one more surgery for now, but I also want to do what is best for Gabe. It is looking like January for the procedure. I thought I was ready, but after seeing him yesterday, I don't know. He was more upset than I have EVER seen him during recovery. It was really hard to watch. It was even harder to hand him off to a the nurses this time. I just keep thinking about how much better he will be when this is all over. The doc said that we can expect NO blueness and we shouldn't see him getting so out of breath anymore. I completely trust the doctors and I feel that he is in great hands.
All in all, there is so much to be thankful for this year. Gabe still has a tough road, but he is going to be ok. We are so blessed that he is our son. We are also so blessed to have so many family and friends supporting us and loving our family. Thanks to all! Enjoy the holiday!!!!
Ludlums
The doctor said that the pulmonary artery has grown, but he doesn't expect it to get any bigger with this shunt. That leaves us with a couple options; the first is that they put in a bigger shunt and way for the artery to grow or they go ahead and do the repairs. He thinks that the repairs will allow more blood flow to the right PA, which will encourage growth, although, they will never be equal. He thinks the larger shunt won't make much difference and it will, obviously, add another surgery. The team conferences on Monday morning, so they will discuss it and call us. I am really hoping for just one more surgery for now, but I also want to do what is best for Gabe. It is looking like January for the procedure. I thought I was ready, but after seeing him yesterday, I don't know. He was more upset than I have EVER seen him during recovery. It was really hard to watch. It was even harder to hand him off to a the nurses this time. I just keep thinking about how much better he will be when this is all over. The doc said that we can expect NO blueness and we shouldn't see him getting so out of breath anymore. I completely trust the doctors and I feel that he is in great hands.
All in all, there is so much to be thankful for this year. Gabe still has a tough road, but he is going to be ok. We are so blessed that he is our son. We are also so blessed to have so many family and friends supporting us and loving our family. Thanks to all! Enjoy the holiday!!!!
Ludlums
Friday, November 13, 2009
Next step
Things are going pretty well here. Gabe has now added dog (or duck, we aren't sure) and ball to his repetoire. Speech therapy starts next week, so I am sure we will be hearing much more very soon. We are so excited for his first holiday season. Not to mention, he turns two the week before Christmas.
As far as his health goes, he continues to gain weight and grow. The last time we were at the doctor, he made it to the charts. Before, he was too small and the last visit he was at 10th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. He is still getting really winded, which concerns the doctors. He is scheduled for another angiogram on November 24. They will know more about how things are going at that point. Then we will work on a plan for his big surgery. They still want to hold off until after flu season, so assuming things are going ok, he will have it in the spring.
Not much else to report at this time. I promise, I will put up some new pictures this weekend. I will also post as soon as we get the information from the angiogram.
Thanks for the thoughts!
As far as his health goes, he continues to gain weight and grow. The last time we were at the doctor, he made it to the charts. Before, he was too small and the last visit he was at 10th percentile for height and 25th percentile for weight. He is still getting really winded, which concerns the doctors. He is scheduled for another angiogram on November 24. They will know more about how things are going at that point. Then we will work on a plan for his big surgery. They still want to hold off until after flu season, so assuming things are going ok, he will have it in the spring.
Not much else to report at this time. I promise, I will put up some new pictures this weekend. I will also post as soon as we get the information from the angiogram.
Thanks for the thoughts!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Still progessing
I have been terrible about posting! It is nice that some people have asked for more, so here goes. Yesterday was our first Halloween and Gabe was the cutest penguin ever. We went to a few houses of friends, but I don't really think Gabe "got" the trick or treating. He enjoyed seeing friends, but was very glad to get out of the costume at the end of the night.
We went to see the cardiologist on Friday because Gabe is still having problems with getting winded. The doctor says that there is no reason for him to be so winded and the echo cardiogram they did on Friday looks good. His right pulmonary artery has benefited from the shunt put in during the August surgery. It started at 2.7 mm and the last time, it was at 4.1 mm. Friday is measured 4.9 mm. The cardiologist still wants to put the big surgery off longer, so Gabe will get bigger and stronger. Not only that, he would like to wait until the flu season is over. He and the surgeon do want to have another angiogram done within the month. That way, they will know exactly what is going on and we can come up with our plan. Gabe is thriving and it doesn't seem like this next surgery is as pressing as it was before the shunt was put in. I am guessing we will be doing this in the spring. Gabe now weighs 24.2 pounds, which is almost 7 pounds that we have put on him in 4 months.
It is amazing to see how great he is doing. Not only is he growing like a weed, he is learning so much. He says more words everyday. Brian and I are always singing to him and yesterday in the car, he just starting with "row row row" just like the beginning of Row Row Row Your Boat. The first three words were as far as he got, mostly because he couldn't stop clapping and cheering for himself. He has also gotten very lovey. He likes to give hugs and kisses to everyone. He will occasionally grab your face with two hands and give you the biggest kiss. That is the best!
We are so excited for the holidays this year. It is going to be so exciting to experience them through his eyes. We also have his birthday coming up the week before Christmas. It sounds like the cardiac cath will be around Thanksgiving and I will keep everyone posted. I will also make sure that I get some more pictures posted. Additionally, I will try to not be such a stranger. Thanks for all of the continued thoughts and prayers.
Ludlums
We went to see the cardiologist on Friday because Gabe is still having problems with getting winded. The doctor says that there is no reason for him to be so winded and the echo cardiogram they did on Friday looks good. His right pulmonary artery has benefited from the shunt put in during the August surgery. It started at 2.7 mm and the last time, it was at 4.1 mm. Friday is measured 4.9 mm. The cardiologist still wants to put the big surgery off longer, so Gabe will get bigger and stronger. Not only that, he would like to wait until the flu season is over. He and the surgeon do want to have another angiogram done within the month. That way, they will know exactly what is going on and we can come up with our plan. Gabe is thriving and it doesn't seem like this next surgery is as pressing as it was before the shunt was put in. I am guessing we will be doing this in the spring. Gabe now weighs 24.2 pounds, which is almost 7 pounds that we have put on him in 4 months.
It is amazing to see how great he is doing. Not only is he growing like a weed, he is learning so much. He says more words everyday. Brian and I are always singing to him and yesterday in the car, he just starting with "row row row" just like the beginning of Row Row Row Your Boat. The first three words were as far as he got, mostly because he couldn't stop clapping and cheering for himself. He has also gotten very lovey. He likes to give hugs and kisses to everyone. He will occasionally grab your face with two hands and give you the biggest kiss. That is the best!
We are so excited for the holidays this year. It is going to be so exciting to experience them through his eyes. We also have his birthday coming up the week before Christmas. It sounds like the cardiac cath will be around Thanksgiving and I will keep everyone posted. I will also make sure that I get some more pictures posted. Additionally, I will try to not be such a stranger. Thanks for all of the continued thoughts and prayers.
Ludlums
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