Graham went to the pediatrician yesterday to get his Synagis shot (to protect against RSV). He weighed 14lbs 10oz! And... the doctor confirmed that Graham's bottom 2 teeth are about to make an appearance. I can just barely feel one of them. I think it's a little unfortunate that he is teething before he has the hand control to hold a teething toy in his mouth right where he wants it. He is getting there though. He's growing up so fast!
In other news, Graham is having some difficulty pooping. (Won't he be so glad I blogged this when he's older?) Lots of grunting and pains. It is interfering with eating and sleeping at times. But the doctor said that unless the consistency is really abnormal then not to worry about it. He is still just on breast milk. I thought that the flavoring the pharmacist added to his medicine might be causing the problems. But the doctor said if anything it would cause the opposite problem. I bought some apple/prune juice today. I may try it. Not sure. I will have to give it to him with a dropper since he still won't take a bottle.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Specific Prayer Requests for Surgery
We are so thankful for the prayers of our family, friends, and friends of family and friends. I wanted to mention some specific things you can be praying for with the upcoming surgery (March 20).
Prayer Requests for Now (Before Surgery):
Prayer Requests for Now (Before Surgery):
- Graham will learn to take a bottle well (in case he needs to take a bottle during recovery)
- Graham will stay healthy until surgery (no colds or flu or anything that could delay surgery)
- A good repair of Graham's heart. That no future heart issues or surgeries would be necessary.
- Dr. Mill, the surgeon, to have steady hands and a focused mind
- No bad reactions to anesthesia
- No pacemaker to be needed after surgery
- Safe, healthy blood from the blood bank
- Attentive and compassionate nurses
- Graham to be content without eating for several hours before surgery
- That we would have peace and faith before and during surgery
- For physical strength and energy as our days and nights will be long and sleeping away from home
- That we would be good advocates for Graham's care during his hospital stay. That we would have wisdom to know when to ask questions and make good decisions.
- For interactions with other parents in the waiting room who have children in the PICU. That we might be a blessing to others facing difficult times.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Details for Graham's Surgery
We met with the pediatric heart surgeon at UNC last Friday. Graham will have a "full repair" of his congenital heart defect, Tetralogy of Fallot, on March 20 at UNC. I will attempt to convey to you all I know about the surgery but I am bound to get some terminology wrong. The surgeon will patch the VSD (the hole in between the lower two chambers) and widen the pulmonary artery with a patch. He will possibly cut away some of the muscle that is restricting the opening to the pulmonary artery. Here is a picture for those visual learners!
He will use part of Graham's pericardium, the sac containing the heart, for the patches. Apparently the pericardium is not essential and won't mind if it has a couple holes in it. To get to the heart they will have to break the breast bone. The bone will be put back together with stainless steel wire. (This is less visible through the skin than sutures would be. The wire will not set off metal detectors.)
Graham will be put on a heart/lung machine during the surgery to circulate blood and oxygen through his body while they stop his heart to perform the surgery. Once the surgery is complete, they unclamp something, blood flows back into the heart, and it starts pumping again. Simple... right? Donated blood will be used to prime the machine and will be circulated into Graham's body. Hopefully he will not need any additional blood transfusions.
The surgery should take 2-4 hours and Graham should be gone from us 4-6 hours. When he comes out of surgery he will be on a ventilator (breathing machine). He will have tubes draining blood and fluid from around his heart. He will have wires touching his heart for a temporary pace maker in case it is needed. He will also have a catheter, a big IV in his neck, a drain to his stomach through the nose and who knows what else. He will be kept on pain and sedation medicine as needed but will be somewhat alert. We will be in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) for a couple of days and then moved up to the pediatric cardiac recovery floor.
You may have seen this picture circulating the internet a while back of a baby boy who had the same surgery.
There are risks to the surgery of course. The two things that could cause big problems would be bad reaction to the anesthesia (which Graham had in November and should do fine with) and too much bleeding. Also, the area of the heart that controls the rhythm is near the hole that needs to be patched. If this is affected he could need a permanent pace maker.
So that is way more than most of you wanted to know. Thank you Lord for modern medicine!
Graham will be put on a heart/lung machine during the surgery to circulate blood and oxygen through his body while they stop his heart to perform the surgery. Once the surgery is complete, they unclamp something, blood flows back into the heart, and it starts pumping again. Simple... right? Donated blood will be used to prime the machine and will be circulated into Graham's body. Hopefully he will not need any additional blood transfusions.
The surgery should take 2-4 hours and Graham should be gone from us 4-6 hours. When he comes out of surgery he will be on a ventilator (breathing machine). He will have tubes draining blood and fluid from around his heart. He will have wires touching his heart for a temporary pace maker in case it is needed. He will also have a catheter, a big IV in his neck, a drain to his stomach through the nose and who knows what else. He will be kept on pain and sedation medicine as needed but will be somewhat alert. We will be in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) for a couple of days and then moved up to the pediatric cardiac recovery floor.
You may have seen this picture circulating the internet a while back of a baby boy who had the same surgery.
There are risks to the surgery of course. The two things that could cause big problems would be bad reaction to the anesthesia (which Graham had in November and should do fine with) and too much bleeding. Also, the area of the heart that controls the rhythm is near the hole that needs to be patched. If this is affected he could need a permanent pace maker.
So that is way more than most of you wanted to know. Thank you Lord for modern medicine!
Friday, March 1, 2013
So that the works of God might be displayed
I like to read to Graham from the Beginner's Bible. Recently we read the story of Jesus healing the blind man. The disciples ask Jesus why the man was born blind and He replies "This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:3)" As I read this I thought about how the works and glory of God have and will be displayed in Graham's life because he was born with a heart defect.
Sometimes people are prone to wonder why certain trials happen to them. The answer is simple, so that God might be glorified. It may be the surgeon who fixes Graham's heart but it is the Lord who will get the glory. It is the Lord who allowed intelligent humans to make such medical procedures possible. It is the Lord who created the human body that can survive open heart surgery. It is the Lord who will give our family strength and hope during the surgery and recovery. It is the Lord who will sustain us should things go wrong.
I did not expect the Lord to speak to me from a children's story Bible! But God's Word is alive and powerful in any form! Thanks be to God.
We met with the surgeon on Friday and I will post more details about the upcoming surgery soon.
Sometimes people are prone to wonder why certain trials happen to them. The answer is simple, so that God might be glorified. It may be the surgeon who fixes Graham's heart but it is the Lord who will get the glory. It is the Lord who allowed intelligent humans to make such medical procedures possible. It is the Lord who created the human body that can survive open heart surgery. It is the Lord who will give our family strength and hope during the surgery and recovery. It is the Lord who will sustain us should things go wrong.
I did not expect the Lord to speak to me from a children's story Bible! But God's Word is alive and powerful in any form! Thanks be to God.
We met with the surgeon on Friday and I will post more details about the upcoming surgery soon.
Friday, February 22, 2013
March 20: Open-heart Surgery
Graham's open-heart surgery is scheduled for March 20. I wrote it on my calendar and I just sat starring at it. It's really happening. My baby boy who seems so perfect has a broken heart and it is going to be fixed on March 20. We don't know a lot about the surgery yet. We meet with the surgeon next Friday. Graham has Tetralogy of Fallot and the surgery will be a "full repair" in which they will patch the VSD, the hole between his lower chambers, and expand his pulmonary valve using a patch. Graham will be away from us for about 6 hours and the actual surgery will be about 2 hours. He will be in the hospital 7-10 days if all goes well.
When we told my grandma the surgery date she said, "Well, we have a whole month to pray." Please join us in praying. I know that you will. God has been so good to us so far and I know He will see us through this. My goal between now and then is to get Graham to take a bottle well in case the doctors want him to take a bottle instead of the breast after surgery to monitor his fluid intake. I will post again soon with specific prayer requests and some ways that you can love on us during our hospital stay. I will be squeezing Graham a little tighter for the next few weeks!
When we told my grandma the surgery date she said, "Well, we have a whole month to pray." Please join us in praying. I know that you will. God has been so good to us so far and I know He will see us through this. My goal between now and then is to get Graham to take a bottle well in case the doctors want him to take a bottle instead of the breast after surgery to monitor his fluid intake. I will post again soon with specific prayer requests and some ways that you can love on us during our hospital stay. I will be squeezing Graham a little tighter for the next few weeks!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Happy Valentine's Day
Graham weighed 13lbs 11oz today at the pediatrician's office when we went in for his RVS shot. We go the cardiologist on Monday. Here are a few recent pics.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Riding big boy style in the stroller (without the carseat).
Rolling around on the play mat... so close to rolling over.
Monday, February 4, 2013
4 Months Old!
Graham is 4 months old. My how time flies! He had his 4 month doctor's appointment today. He weighs 13lbs 2 oz and is in the 25th percentile for height and weight. The doctors are very pleased with his weight gain. Graham's eating and sleeping schedule did not mesh well with his 3:00pm appointment time and so he arrived at the doctor's tired and hungry. Oops. He fussed during the whole check-up and so I was so distracted I forgot to ask any of the questions I went with. He got 2 shots and was inconsolable afterwards. He was screaming so hard he wouldn't even eat. Poor baby. I stayed in the doctor's office for at least 45 minutes after the we saw the doctor. I eventually got Graham calmed down and then fed him and then we headed out. I haven't heard him scream like that since right before he had to be intubated because he couldn't breathe in the hospital.
So what to document about 4 months old... Graham is talking and laughing all the time and we just love it! He enjoys being on his play mat and hates being put on his tummy. He is on the verge of rolling over from back to tummy. He loves staring at any light. He loves putting his hands in his mouth. His head is still a little wobbly and he mostly grabs things only by accident. He still wants to eat about every 2 hours. He eats, stays awake about an hour before getting fussy and going down (with a fight) for a one hour nap.
He is still waking to eat once during the night (between 10pm and 6am medicine and feeding times). The doctor says he may not be able to eat enough in one feeding (before tiring out due to his heart condition) to sleep much longer. This may be possible but he doesn't seem to get too tired while eating. I know lots of parents do "sleep training" where they let their babies "cry it out" but I am wary of doing this, not wanting Graham to have trouble breathing when he cries too hard for too long. Maybe one day he will sleep through the night! We can work on it more after his surgery. Being in the hospital for at least a week will ruin any schedule he is on anyway.
Here are Graham's 4 month pictures and one sweet picture with his daddy.
So what to document about 4 months old... Graham is talking and laughing all the time and we just love it! He enjoys being on his play mat and hates being put on his tummy. He is on the verge of rolling over from back to tummy. He loves staring at any light. He loves putting his hands in his mouth. His head is still a little wobbly and he mostly grabs things only by accident. He still wants to eat about every 2 hours. He eats, stays awake about an hour before getting fussy and going down (with a fight) for a one hour nap.
He is still waking to eat once during the night (between 10pm and 6am medicine and feeding times). The doctor says he may not be able to eat enough in one feeding (before tiring out due to his heart condition) to sleep much longer. This may be possible but he doesn't seem to get too tired while eating. I know lots of parents do "sleep training" where they let their babies "cry it out" but I am wary of doing this, not wanting Graham to have trouble breathing when he cries too hard for too long. Maybe one day he will sleep through the night! We can work on it more after his surgery. Being in the hospital for at least a week will ruin any schedule he is on anyway.
Here are Graham's 4 month pictures and one sweet picture with his daddy.
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