I'm sorry I've been so quiet on here lately, but it's very hard trying to put the way I feel into words. It's so hard coming to terms with the fact that Logan will be having a major open heart surgery in just a matter of days. I don't think anything can prepare you as a parent to deal with something like this. It's evident that hundreds of prayers are going up for Logan and us because my fear has slowly been replaced with peace. I'm still a bit anxious (looking forward to with dread... not to be confused with eager :P), but I know that God is with me.
One thing that I've tried to avoid is asking or accusing God... I don't really feel the need to ask "why?" or "why him?" or "why us?" In the 9 months of having Logan here with us, I think I have figured part of it out myself. God gave Logan a special heart because he truly has a special heart. He touches everyone he crosses paths with and brings joy to so many people. One great example is when we participated in the Directed Donor program through the Red Cross last week. The surgeon ordered 4 units of red cells and 1 unit of platelets so Jason, Ellen, and I all went in to donate on the same day. Logan was with us and all of the nurses fell in love with him. He walked around the waiting area with Ellen and when we left, everyone I saw had a smile on their face. The last person to donate blood was the office manager from my chiropractor's office. When I went in for adjustments, she would hold Logan and walk around with him and I think she kinda fell in love with him :). I just can't get over the fact that she, someone we didn't even know 6 months ago, was willing to give blood - life - to my son. There are no words that I can express to tell her how grateful I am. God is so amazing and never ceases to surprise me.
The nurses asked me to send in a picture and story to tell why we gave blood. They want to put stories up on a wall to encourage other people to donate. I don't think it would take anything more than one of Logan's smiles to convince someone to give blood :).
I could go on and on about the lives he has touched... people at my work are in prayer for him and have added him to prayer lists all over the country. Family and friends spanning from Washington state all the way down to Florida and across the ocean in England are praying for him. He is a precious, loved little boy! I pray that this surgery will be the last one he'll need and that he will be completely healed. I know he will have a powerful testimony :).
I'll end this post with a bit of scripture that I absolutely love... I've read it many times before I got pregnant, but now it holds a completely different meaning to me:
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. - Psalm 139: 13-16
Now that I'm all weepy, I'm going to head to bed. Please keep us and especially Logan in your prayers leading up to his surgery. He has been coughing today and has a bit of a temperature :(. I hate to see him not feeling well... and besides that, if he is sick or has a fever when we go in for pre-op, they will have to reschedule his surgery.
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2012
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
9 Week Update
Sorry it has been such a long time since my last update. Logan is asleep in his bouncer right now and I'm waiting for the Papa John's delivery guy to arrive with dinner, so I figured this would be a good time to post an update :).
Things have been going pretty well lately. I got cleared by my doctor at my 6-week checkup, so I can now start exercising slowly. I'm actually looking forward to exercising a little bit... while I was very comfortable with my body during the pregnancy, I'm not so enthusiastic anymore. I know it takes a while for everything to go back into place and whatnot, but I'm not used to having so much loose skin and I'd rather avoid having to answer the "how far along are you?" question. Even though it's only been 9 weeks since I had a baby, I know that people are still critical of women's bodies afterward and I really just want to feel good about myself.
On that note, I tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans and they all fit in the legs and butt, but were a little tight in the waist. I was still pretty psyched about them fitting, though :). I was pretty terrified to try them on in the first place.
I started working again full-time on Thursday last week and it was a very emotional day. Jason's sister is watching Logan until she goes off to college, which is great because I'm comfortable with her and I like the idea of Logan being at home instead of in a daycare. Even though it was her watching him, though, that didn't keep me from breaking down when I passed him along to her so that I could leave in the morning. Once I left, I was fine until I came home for lunch. I had eaten and was about to leave again when I got a phonecall from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to schedule his first surgery. She told me it was scheduled for this Friday, July 15th and proceeded to give me instructions for Thursday when all of his pre-op will be taken care of. I was ok when I got off the phone but as soon as I got in my car and started to call Jason, I lost it. We've had a lot of time to prepare for the idea of surgery, but now that it's a reality, it's a whole new ballgame. Logan is real now, not just something bumping around in my belly and I would do anything to take care of and protect him. I just wish there was something I could do so that he wouldn't have to go through surgery :(. The thought of it just breaks my heart. *sigh* Anyway, I should be ok until we get to the hospital, but I can almost guarantee I will fall apart when we have to take him in to his surgery. God will be hearing a lot from me on Friday :).
Oh, I guess I should probably say what the surgery is for. They're going to put a band on his pulmonary artery to restrict the bloodflow to the side of his heart that's pumping to his lungs. Since his heart is basically backwards, the side of the heart that should be pumping to his body is pumping to his lungs and vice versa. This means his lungs are getting too much blood. Also, his heart is having to work harder to pump and his lungs are building up some fluid which is making him work harder to breathe. He was put on a medication called Lasix a few weeks ago to take some of the fluid out of his lungs... I'm hoping that this surgery will make it so that he won't have to take it anymore but we'll see. I'm not sure how long the surgery itself will take but he will be in the hospital for about a week following. We'll be staying with him so visitors (and food) are welcome :).
Logan is doing really well right now, though. He continues to put on weight like a champ and he is probably about 5lbs heavier than he was when he was born and about 4" longer. He's growing like crazy! He's already wearing his 3 month clothes and he even fit into a 6 month onesie this week. His hair is growing in on the top of his head a little bit (peach fuzz) so he doesn't look so much like a little old man :). His eyes are lightening to a pretty blue color and he has started to make lots of cute baby sounds. He likes to stand when we hold him up and he's got some strong little legs! He's finally starting to do more than just eat, sleep, poop, and cry :). I love this little guy so much!
I'm still breastfeeding and it has its ups and downs. I love that he's getting the nutrition he needs along with all the extras breastmilk add: vitamins, immunity, etc. On top of that, it's free and it keeps producing :). Pumping at work has been difficult, mainly because I keep forgetting, but I don't think my supply has been affected by the couple of times I forgot to pump.
Well, this has been sitting here a couple of days unpublished, so I'm just going to go ahead and post it and hope I didn't leave anything out. Logan's pre-op is tomorrow so we would appreciate more prayers. I'll try to post another update soon :).
Things have been going pretty well lately. I got cleared by my doctor at my 6-week checkup, so I can now start exercising slowly. I'm actually looking forward to exercising a little bit... while I was very comfortable with my body during the pregnancy, I'm not so enthusiastic anymore. I know it takes a while for everything to go back into place and whatnot, but I'm not used to having so much loose skin and I'd rather avoid having to answer the "how far along are you?" question. Even though it's only been 9 weeks since I had a baby, I know that people are still critical of women's bodies afterward and I really just want to feel good about myself.
On that note, I tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans and they all fit in the legs and butt, but were a little tight in the waist. I was still pretty psyched about them fitting, though :). I was pretty terrified to try them on in the first place.
I started working again full-time on Thursday last week and it was a very emotional day. Jason's sister is watching Logan until she goes off to college, which is great because I'm comfortable with her and I like the idea of Logan being at home instead of in a daycare. Even though it was her watching him, though, that didn't keep me from breaking down when I passed him along to her so that I could leave in the morning. Once I left, I was fine until I came home for lunch. I had eaten and was about to leave again when I got a phonecall from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to schedule his first surgery. She told me it was scheduled for this Friday, July 15th and proceeded to give me instructions for Thursday when all of his pre-op will be taken care of. I was ok when I got off the phone but as soon as I got in my car and started to call Jason, I lost it. We've had a lot of time to prepare for the idea of surgery, but now that it's a reality, it's a whole new ballgame. Logan is real now, not just something bumping around in my belly and I would do anything to take care of and protect him. I just wish there was something I could do so that he wouldn't have to go through surgery :(. The thought of it just breaks my heart. *sigh* Anyway, I should be ok until we get to the hospital, but I can almost guarantee I will fall apart when we have to take him in to his surgery. God will be hearing a lot from me on Friday :).
Oh, I guess I should probably say what the surgery is for. They're going to put a band on his pulmonary artery to restrict the bloodflow to the side of his heart that's pumping to his lungs. Since his heart is basically backwards, the side of the heart that should be pumping to his body is pumping to his lungs and vice versa. This means his lungs are getting too much blood. Also, his heart is having to work harder to pump and his lungs are building up some fluid which is making him work harder to breathe. He was put on a medication called Lasix a few weeks ago to take some of the fluid out of his lungs... I'm hoping that this surgery will make it so that he won't have to take it anymore but we'll see. I'm not sure how long the surgery itself will take but he will be in the hospital for about a week following. We'll be staying with him so visitors (and food) are welcome :).
Logan is doing really well right now, though. He continues to put on weight like a champ and he is probably about 5lbs heavier than he was when he was born and about 4" longer. He's growing like crazy! He's already wearing his 3 month clothes and he even fit into a 6 month onesie this week. His hair is growing in on the top of his head a little bit (peach fuzz) so he doesn't look so much like a little old man :). His eyes are lightening to a pretty blue color and he has started to make lots of cute baby sounds. He likes to stand when we hold him up and he's got some strong little legs! He's finally starting to do more than just eat, sleep, poop, and cry :). I love this little guy so much!
I'm still breastfeeding and it has its ups and downs. I love that he's getting the nutrition he needs along with all the extras breastmilk add: vitamins, immunity, etc. On top of that, it's free and it keeps producing :). Pumping at work has been difficult, mainly because I keep forgetting, but I don't think my supply has been affected by the couple of times I forgot to pump.
Well, this has been sitting here a couple of days unpublished, so I'm just going to go ahead and post it and hope I didn't leave anything out. Logan's pre-op is tomorrow so we would appreciate more prayers. I'll try to post another update soon :).
Monday, March 7, 2011
Ultrasound #5 & Consultation
Jason and I went downtown today to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for another echo ultrasound and a consultation with a surgeon. The ultrasound was pretty quick and straightforward. The technician told me that Logan is head-down (yay!) and that the bulge I've been feeling on the right side of my stomach is his behind. She then spent the rest of the time taking pictures of his heart. Logan was pretty active the whole time. He had the hiccups when she started and he spent the rest of the appointment kicking and turning :). The technician was still able to get all the pictures she needed, though, and when she was done we met with Dr. Mahle. He said that the results were consistent with what the cardiologist found at our last ultrasound. Logan still has L Transposition and VSD (the hole in his heart). He didn't really give us any other information, though.
After the ultrasound, a woman took us on a tour of the cardiology wing - the ICU and Step-Down area, which is where we'll be staying when Logan has his surgery. We'll have a room with a tv, vcr (yay!), dvd player (whoa technology!), fold-out bed, and shower. Honestly, I'm just glad that they offer an area for us to stay so that we can be right there with Logan while he's recovering... even if we won't have much to do :). While we toured the ICU, we got to see a baby that had surgery this morning. She was still under anesthesia, but we got to see all the tubes and wires that Logan will be hooked up to. It was sad to see, but I'm sure it'll be much harder when it's my own baby :(.
After the tour, we met with Dr. Kirshbom, who is the Assistant Chief of the cardiology department. He just talked with us about Logan's heart and the different options we'll have. Unless God performs a miracle, Logan will have to have surgery. It could be as simple as fixing the hole in his heart, which is a pretty common defect and procedure. However, in Logan's case, it could be much more serious of an operation. The doctor said that they may need to do a "double switch" procedure, which would basically put the ventricles of his heart back to where they are supposed to be and also realign the major arteries so that everything works properly. There are risks with both surgeries, but there are also benefits to both of them. It sounds like if we don't have the "double switch" surgery, Logan will probably have more heart problems when he reaches his 20's and 30's.
While we were talking to Dr. Kirshbom, he told us that Logan's heart condition is pretty rare. He said that CHOA only does the "double switch" operation about 3-4 times each year. It sounds like they do it more than any other hospital in the country, though, which is slightly reassuring. He also said that the children who have had the operation seem to be doing very well, although they have only been doing it in Atlanta for the past 10-12 years, so it's still fairly early gauge the results.
Anyway, he gave us a lot of good information and answered a lot of our questions, but basically told us that we won't know which direction to go in until Logan is born. Once he's here, they will do an echo on his heart, which will make things easier to see than when he's in the womb. He said that I shouldn't have any problems with going full-term and delivering vaginally, which is what I want. He also said that Logan should be able to wait a few months (or more) before requiring surgery. It will most likely need to be done sometime between 5-18 months, though.
So basically, everything is up in the air right now. We'll probably need to go back in another month to check his heart again, but we won't know much until after he's born. I guess right now we need to pray that things will be clear so that we can make the right decision. We would appreciate your continued prayers for his heart, health, and guidance for us. Thanks for reading and I'll try to keep everyone updated :).
After the ultrasound, a woman took us on a tour of the cardiology wing - the ICU and Step-Down area, which is where we'll be staying when Logan has his surgery. We'll have a room with a tv, vcr (yay!), dvd player (whoa technology!), fold-out bed, and shower. Honestly, I'm just glad that they offer an area for us to stay so that we can be right there with Logan while he's recovering... even if we won't have much to do :). While we toured the ICU, we got to see a baby that had surgery this morning. She was still under anesthesia, but we got to see all the tubes and wires that Logan will be hooked up to. It was sad to see, but I'm sure it'll be much harder when it's my own baby :(.
After the tour, we met with Dr. Kirshbom, who is the Assistant Chief of the cardiology department. He just talked with us about Logan's heart and the different options we'll have. Unless God performs a miracle, Logan will have to have surgery. It could be as simple as fixing the hole in his heart, which is a pretty common defect and procedure. However, in Logan's case, it could be much more serious of an operation. The doctor said that they may need to do a "double switch" procedure, which would basically put the ventricles of his heart back to where they are supposed to be and also realign the major arteries so that everything works properly. There are risks with both surgeries, but there are also benefits to both of them. It sounds like if we don't have the "double switch" surgery, Logan will probably have more heart problems when he reaches his 20's and 30's.
While we were talking to Dr. Kirshbom, he told us that Logan's heart condition is pretty rare. He said that CHOA only does the "double switch" operation about 3-4 times each year. It sounds like they do it more than any other hospital in the country, though, which is slightly reassuring. He also said that the children who have had the operation seem to be doing very well, although they have only been doing it in Atlanta for the past 10-12 years, so it's still fairly early gauge the results.
Anyway, he gave us a lot of good information and answered a lot of our questions, but basically told us that we won't know which direction to go in until Logan is born. Once he's here, they will do an echo on his heart, which will make things easier to see than when he's in the womb. He said that I shouldn't have any problems with going full-term and delivering vaginally, which is what I want. He also said that Logan should be able to wait a few months (or more) before requiring surgery. It will most likely need to be done sometime between 5-18 months, though.
So basically, everything is up in the air right now. We'll probably need to go back in another month to check his heart again, but we won't know much until after he's born. I guess right now we need to pray that things will be clear so that we can make the right decision. We would appreciate your continued prayers for his heart, health, and guidance for us. Thanks for reading and I'll try to keep everyone updated :).
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