Gavin's Journey

Happy 1st Birthday Brody Lane!

2010-10-22T14:04:00.001-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

2010-10-19T16:37:00.004-05:00

Gavin had a wonderful birthday party. At "Gavin Field", there was a concession stand full of yummy baseball treats & refreshments, a score board & a field to play ball with his best friends. Young & old enjoyed the party & Gavin scored lots of fun gifts! Now on to Brody's first birthday on FRIDAY!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Gavin!

2010-10-13T10:08:00.006-05:00

Four years ago @ 2:00pm, Gavin Parker Kuykendall was born into this world to make a difference. It amazes me how strong this little guy is, it amazes me how much he's been through in his little life, but most of all it amazes me all the lives he has touched. God is so good!! We love you buddy, Happy Birthday!!!

Where should I start?

2010-09-20T15:16:00.012-05:00

I think its well past time for an update. That is if anyone still reads my blog? And why would you? It's had the same post for the past 6 months. Well lets get to it... Brody turned 7 months, then 8, 9 & 10, which brings us to today- 11 months! So we are way behind, poor second child. I wouldn't miss a month with Gavin but sorry Brody, it happened. Brody recently had tubes put in his ears, he did fabulous! He will have a cardiologist appointment in December, if all goes well he will not have to see a cardiologist again! Brody at 11 months: *You are crawling all over the place, getting into everything! You like to cruise around the couch & occasionally let go to stand for a moment. But for the most part you have no interest in walking, you like to be held! *You love to eat, I could list your likes/dislikes, however you like all foods! *You love your brother, love to wrestle with him, kiss him, & hug him.*Favorite words: dada, bubba, baby, dog, ruff-ruff, mooo.*You like to wave bye-bye, blow kisses & hold up the number one when asked "how old are you?"*You are still a mamas boy, but have made strides in letting others hold you, stay with you. Brody you are such a sweet lil' addition to our family, I can't believe you will be ONE in just four short weeks! We love you! Lets move on to Mr. Gavin...We have been in & out of the hospital more times than I can count with Gavin. He had a circumcision in May, it went great! Recently he's had some brady cardia issues that put him in the hospital followed by an appointment in OKC. Dr. O prescribed a 30-day event heart monitor. Gavin did well with it, it showed a few episodes of brady cardia but his rhythms looked good. He was in the hospital a few weeks ago for a 103 fever, had us admitted in OKC to watch for infection in heart, fortunately that wasn't the case. Then he had a seizure an hour after we were discharged. Recently he had his tonsils & adenoids taken out in the city because they discovered during the first hospital stay that he has obstructive sleep apnea. After about 2 weeks of recovery, he is back to himself. All of the hospital visits, surgeries have delayed school. He will start the first of October & he is very excited about it! Even through all the difficulties, Gavin continues to push on & show his feisty spirit. We celebrated Independence day in Florida this year, we always enjoy getting to go & spend time with family. This year our very dear friends, the Lawrence's were able to join us. Having little babies with us, meant no returning with the usual tan. But we still had a great time. The summer has been a wonderful one, I got to finish it off with a trip to NYC! Adam had a business trip in NJ, so my mom, grandmother & myself tagged along for a fun girls trip in the city. It didn't disappoint! It is one of those places that is fun to visit, but I was definitely ready to come home when it was over. Well lets get to the cuteness... Here are some pictures from the last he-hm several months.

Celebrate!

2010-04-22T21:58:00.002-05:00

Today was a day of celebration...

Brody is 6 months old (post to follow tomorrow with stats/pics)

and....

Exactly one year ago today, we handed Gavin over for his third open heart surgery, the Fontan. Here is a video montage I put together of our trip & Gavin's surgery. Happy HEART Day Gavin, we are so proud of how far you've come. God has blessed you in so many ways, we love you!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our latest happenings...

2010-03-25T21:44:00.009-05:00

So I have come to the conclusion that I am horrible at staying on top of this blogging! It's hard enough to remember to take pictures of the boys every day! Here's a run down of our latest happenings...

Gavin had his post-cath cardio appointment in the city at the beginning of March. Dr. O said overall his heart and lung function are "OK", he decided to increase one of his meds... bummer, we thought he was going to take him off! Gavin enjoyed putting stickers all over his arm as he waited for Dr. O.

On March 22nd Brody turned 5 months! He is currently trying out the baby food such as cereal, fruits and veggies. To say he loves it is an understatement. He would eat all day if we let him! He is about to pop out of his 6-12 month clothing! Brody rolls from back to tummy, tummy to back, scoots across the floor on his belly. He loves attention, toys, people talking and looking/reading books. Brody sleeps through the night and overall a very pleasant baby!

During spring break, we decided to venture out to the zoo because the weather was fabulous. Uh, crazy idea to say the least. IT WAS PACKED!!! On top of that I braved it and took my friends baby (that is 2 months younger than Brody) along with us. To my surprise, all three boys were well behaved and we had a great time!

These two are BFF, they are exactly

one month a part which is great

because moms are BFF too! ;)

Lincoln (6mos) & Brody (5mos)

My other BFF's baby and Brodys BFF too...Logan (3mos) & Brody

Gavin is loving school now and his teachers/director are the best! The director contacted me a few weeks ago about doing a fundraiser for the American Heart Association in honor of Gavin. I was touched by her kindness and couldn't believe it when she told me her idea. So tomorrow night his school is putting on a Parents Night Out. The kids get to enjoy a fun night at school and Safari Joe, with some wild life, will be there to entertain the kids! All donations will go to AHA! Most of the teachers and their families decided to walk in the heart walk with us, so the kids created a bulletin board with their footprints and names. It seriously brought tears to my eyes when I looked at the board. It says "Walking for Gavin". So to all the PALS teachers and Ms. Kelli, thank you so much for loving my son and supporting a great cause. We love you all!

And speaking of Gavin, he will have a minor outpatient surgery tomorrow (non-heart related). So please keep him in your prayers!

2010 Heart Walks!

2010-03-04T16:08:00.002-06:00

Dear Family and Friends:

That's right, it's that time of year again! We are gearing up for TWO Heart Walks this year! We are participating in the Oklahoma City Heart Walk and the Tulsa Heart Walk. Let us fill you in on why we decided to attend both.

2009 was a year full of many up’s and down’s. We started off the year with shocking but exciting news; we were expecting baby #2!

As most of you know, our first son Gavin was born in October of 2006 with a very rare congenital heart defect, Hypo plastic Left Heart Syndrome and other heart defects. HLHS is one of the most complex cardiac defects seen in the newborn. In a child with HLHS all of the structures on the left side of the heart (the side which receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body) are severely underdeveloped. Treatment involves 're-plumbing' the heart to allow the right side to do the work normally done by the left. Therefore, Gavin only has one ventricle, the right, and it does all the work. This treatment is done through a series of three surgeries. There is no long-term prognosis for the series of surgeries since the oldest children who have undergone them are only in their early twenties. Some children with HLHS eventually will require a heart transplant.

In April of 09’ Gavin had his third repair, the Fontan (open-heart surgery that allows "blue" blood to flow passively to the lungs, and the single ventricle pumps "red" blood to the body). We went to San Diego to follow Dr. Peter Pastuszko, the wonderful surgeon that operated on Gavin during his first two repairs. Gavin did remarkably well right after surgery but regressed within 48 hours. After much needed time to heal and get better, Gavin was on a plane to head back home. Gavin has been through so much in his three years of life, heart caths, suffered a minor stroke, seizures, CT's, MRI, EEGS, weekly doctor appointments, physical therapy, speech therapy, home health care and more. He continues to amaze us with his energy and sweet spirit. This little boy is an ABSOLUTE MIRACLE and we are blessed with his smile everyday!

Shortly after arriving home we found out we were expecting another boy! We were ecstatic that Gavin would have a little brother! Faith’s OB referred us back to the Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Alice Kleiwer to get a fetal echo cardiogram. Since Gavin has such a complex heart condition they wanted to get as much information about Baby Boy #2's heart to prepare for his birth. After the echo, which lasted more than an hour, we met with Dr. Kleiwer. She informed us that our un-born baby had 2 heart defects. ASD, (the wall between the two entry chambers of the heart (the atria) does not finish forming) and VSD (which is the most common type of congenital heart disease. In the case of VSD, the wall between the two largest chambers of the heart (the ventricles) does not finish forming). To be honest, we were devastated, angry, and confused. After a very eventful pregnancy, Brody Lane was born into the world on October 22, 2009. Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 9ounces and a screaming cry that was music to our ears! Immediately after birth an echo was performed and Brody’s “holes” already looked smaller than in the womb. We were thrilled and elated to bring our newest son home. One month later Brody’s heart was checked again and it appears that the holes are closing on their own. Dr. Kleiwer doesn’t want to see Brody again until he is the age of one! We are so happy for Brody’s health and the joy he has brought to our life.

Because of the American Heart Association, Dr. Peter Pastuszko, OKC Cardiology Team, medical staff at The Children’s Hospital in OKC/ Rady’s Children’s in San Diego, Pediatric Cardiology of Tulsa, Gavin and Brody is able to receive the best of care!

We are supporting both the Tulsa and OKC heart walks as our way of saying thanks for all the hard work that the AHA and doctors do in order to save the lives of many others just like Gavin! This is our third year to participate in the OKC Heart Walk. There are lots of other children with Congenital Heart Defects, the NUMBER ONE birth defect! So please help us in making awareness not only about HLHS but Heart Defects in general. We are creating a team of walkers to help us reach a goal for the American Heart Association Walk. We know that not everyone will be able to participate with us but we wanted to invite you to visit our web page by clicking either of the links below. If you would like you can make a donation in honor of Gavin and or Brody on their personal web page. Please do not feel obligated---we truly just wanted to share our project, which we are doing in honor of Gavin and Brody with you. We plan to put our 'hearts' into this yearly. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you to all of our 'heart' supporters out there! We love all of you and God Bless.

Adam, Faith, Gavin & Brody

If you are interested, send me an email and I will pass along the information! afgk03@gmail.com

Happy Birthday Grandpa Joe!

2010-02-23T12:14:00.003-06:00

xoxo,

Gavin & Brody

Brody is 4 months!

2010-02-22T10:59:00.006-06:00

Chubby Wubby!

Mr. Frown

Brother didn't want to be left out of the photo shoot...

I think someone is needing more attention?!? ;)

Brody can...

roll over (from back to tummy)

laugh out loud, smile, coo

push up on your hands and rock back and fourth, always trying to get somewhere!

Brody likes...

to be talked to

to be held

his brother and the entertainment he provides

his momma!

Brody's dislikes...

to nap

to be put down

to be by yourself!

Brody you bring new joy to our life every day, we can't believe you are 4 months today... you are getting to big to fast!!! We love you!

Petey Bear

2010-02-21T20:46:00.002-06:00

Tonight Adam put Gavin to bed... about 5 minutes later Gavin came running out to the living room, threw his "Petey Bear" (named after Dr. P, Gavin's heart surgeon) on the floor and said "I don't like you Petey Bear!" then went back to his room. Adam took Petey Bear back to the room and told Gavin that wasn't very nice and how Petey Bear was right beside him during his last surgery and sleeps with him every night. Gavin leaned over grabbed Petey Bear, kissed him and said "I am so sorry, I love you Petey Bear" and fell asleep!

Happy Heart Day Gavin!

2010-02-05T09:21:00.005-06:00

Having a very rough day!

February 16, 2007... back in his bed, finally HOME SWEET HOME!!!

Three years ago today, we handed our baby boy over to Dr. P for the second time. Gavin had his 2nd open heart surgery at 3 months old. Every anniversary of Gavin's "Heart Day" we take him to celebrate somewhere special. He wanted to go to Incredible Pizza tonight, so that is exactly what we will do.

Gavin,

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of the little man you are today. We are amazed by your

strength and how far you have come since February 5, 2007. We love you Gavin and can't wait to see what God has in store for your future!

xoxo!

P.S. Today is NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY!!! Wear RED and support the fight against heart disease!

Snow Days

2010-02-03T15:52:00.004-06:00

We had snowy/icy weather last week... to pass the time Gavin went up to Nana & Grandpa's office to drive his golf cart, of course he had to pull some other items along the way!

Spent some time at Nana & Grandpa's coloring with daddy...

Gavin had his first experience with sledding, he LOVED it and wanted to stay out there all day!Aunt Kiki was home, she couldn't pass up a snow ball fight outside with Gavin.

Brody hung out inside where it was nice and warm, took a bath, cooed and smiled!

(Zee took this picture, she always gets him to smile for the camera!)

Before the Morning

2010-01-24T17:43:00.003-06:00

Thank you to Lindsey for sending us this link, definitely gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes! This video is an amazing testimony of what God is doing through these children. This family's story is the story we have been living the past 3 1/2 years. We totally believe that God healed our son and He is using ...Gavin as a testament of his love, grace, healing & mercy. Looking back, I am so thankful for the circumstances in our life, I wouldn't change a thing. We are so proud of our son and the many lives that he has touched through his journey with HLHS. You might want to grab a tissue before you watch!

copy and paste this to your browser:
http://www.facebook.com/joshwilson?v=app_264603147058

3 Months!

2010-01-22T17:00:00.001-06:00

Once again, I am a slacker when it comes to this blog! It's hard to keep up!!

Brody @ 3 months:

*You love to coo and laugh out loud, you are a noisy lil' boy and we love it!

*You love your brother, you are constantly following him with your eyes, smiling and laughing at him.

*You love to be in the standing position most of the time.

*You are sleeping through the night for the most part, occasionally you will wake up once

*You LOVE to eat

*You like to push yourself up and try to scoot around on the floor, I am afraid we will have a crawler before we know it

*You are very strong!!

*You love lights, music and lots of noise, if there isn't something going on then you are crying!

*Overall you are a very happy baby!

Brody, we love having you in our family and couldn't imagine life with out you!

Comparison

2010-01-11T09:53:00.005-06:00

Gavin @ 2 months

Brody @ 2 months

I am thinking the boys look nothing alike! Gavin had lots of dark hair, Brody has minimal red/blond hair. Gavin was a skinny baby, always in the negative percentile for his weight. Brody is a chubby baby, in the 93rd percentile for his weight. Gavin wore preemie clothes at this age, Brody is wearing 6 months clothing. Gavin loved to be in his bed and didn't like to be held much, Brody hates his bed and wants to be held and cuddled all the time! Gavin wasn't much of a cooer/talker/smiler (he is definitely making up for that now and we love it!), Brody cooes, smiles and laughs out loud. Gavin was/is a daddy's boy, and as of now Brody is definitely a mama's boy! Gavin loved his pacifier, Brody hates the pacifier! I know they say "don't compare your kids" but I just wanted to show how different they are... we are so blessed to have two wonderfully different and unique little boys!

Gavin's First Day of School

2010-01-07T09:21:00.006-06:00

Gavin's first day was a success! He had a great time and didn't shed a tear or care to say good-bye to us when we left his room. The day started off at 6 am with Gavin running into our room asking if it was time for school yet. He preceded to walk around the house all morning with his back pack on. I could only take it off of him to put on his clothes! Aunt Kiki spent the night (her last night before heading back to college) so she could help me with the boys. Daddy got Gavin some donuts before heading out of town for work. He was sad he was going to miss taking Gavin to his first day of school! But no worries, Nana, Grandpa and Great-Granny decided to meet us at school to send Gavin off. It was ridiculous, people were looking at us in the parking lot as we all kissed Gavin and took lots of pictures. Those people didn't understand how special Gavin is and how excited we were that the day had finally come! There was a time that I never thought I'd see this day and we give God all the praise that it happened. I picked Gavin up from school, so excited to hear what he had to say about his first day. Well, he decided that he didn't need to tell me because it was a secret. Later he informed me that he made two friends Jacob and Kennedy. He said, "Mom, Kennedy didn't kiss me". I asked him if he tried to kiss her. He replied, "Yes!" Oh my word! It's already started!!! All in all it was a great day and he can't wait to get back to school!

A belated Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!!

2010-01-04T11:49:00.003-06:00

Obviously, I am way behind on updating this blog! There is just not enough time in the day and by the time night hits, I am exhausted! Here is a montage of the month of December, we were very busy this Christmas season. Stay tuned for a new post, Gavin starts PRE-SCHOOL on Wednesday!!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy to be home!!

2009-12-05T21:58:00.003-06:00

We are home and feeling good... wanted to share the x-ray that Dr. O gave us at discharge. He wanted us to see how "lit up" Gavin's chest is...We are so proud of our son and how brave he has been the last 3 years...pretty amazing!

Update #4

2009-12-04T13:15:00.002-06:00

The cardiologist came in and said his echo cardiogram looked good. Still waiting on the results from the chest x-ray. Hopefully we will be discharged this afternoon! Gavin got up this morning and "shaved" his face. Thanks Aunt Patti for the shaving kit!!

Update #3

2009-12-03T20:26:00.003-06:00

Sleeping away after cath

Brother came to visit, Gavin was not feeling well at this point, very nauseated

(hence the pale skin & lips)

Feeling MUCH better!

Chocolate Ice Cream Mustache!!!

Gavin is doing great tonight, only threw up once right after procedure which is HUGE for him!! He is looking very PINK and we couldn't be more excited!

Update #2

2009-12-03T09:43:00.002-06:00

Doctor just came in, Gavin did great! Dr. S put in the device and Gavin's stats shot up to 99!!! Gavin will stay over night to run antibiotics and he will have chest x-ray in the morning to make sure the device stayed in place. Will go back to recovery in 30 minutes to see him!

Heart Cath (Update 1)

2009-12-03T09:20:00.003-06:00

Gavin went back at 7:50am. Should take 2 hours, if they have to put the device in Gavin will definitely spend the night. He was so brave, he requested for "bubble gum" flavor for his gas mask. He was out in minutes. The medical staff got Gavin back so fast that I didn't have time to take a picture of him. So here is a picture of baby brother (and Zee) showing his support for Gavin by sleeping too:

One Month, 5th Anniversary & Heart Cath...

2009-12-02T10:22:00.002-06:00

Brody turned one month on 11/22! (Above are the only pictures I got of Brody on his one month birthday... both of my boys fell asleep on the floor after church, the last picture is Aunt Kiki & Bubba). Brody is getting to be such a BIG boy! At his one month check-up he weighed 11lbs 5oz. He is already wearing size 1-2 diapers and in 0-3 month clothes. Gavin weighed 5lbs 5 oz at one month. We are really counting our blessings and coming to a major realization how un-healthy Gavin was at this age. We definitely try to not compare them, however Gavin was our first child and we didn't know what normal was, God definitely knew what he was doing when he gave Gavin to us first. I think I would have been more scared if I had a healthy child first. It sounds weird but looking back, I wasn't that scared of Gavin and honestly didn't know any different. Seeing how a healthy child acts, really scares me now to think back to Gavin's situation. Thanks be to God for the strength he gave me! And thank you God for how far Gavin has come and for his weight gain! On black Friday Adam and I celebrated our 5th anniversary with some shopping & a movie! We had a great time and I can't believe we have been married for 5 years! I had a DVD made for Adam as a surprise, now that he has watched it I will share it with you! (Beware it's 20 minutes long)...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

PLEASE keep Gavin in your prayers tomorrow, we head to the city for his heart cath to close the fenestration hole they put in during his last surgery. He is a little worried about it and has asked me if they are going to "cut his tummy and look at his heart again". But he was quickly excited again when I told him he gets to pick his flavor to go to sleep. He said he is picking "bubble gum". I thought these surgeries would get easier with time, to me it's worse. He's older and he understands more, asks more questions and uses words to express his emotions. I will keep the blog updated as the day progresses! Thanks for the prayers!

Photo Shoot, Brody @ 3 & 4 weeks, Aunt Kiki's birthday, Hook Em' Horns

2009-11-18T21:03:00.008-06:00

The week before Brody was born we did a photo shoot with Sara McDaniel (from MO, friend of a friend that came to do pictures). I thought I would share a few, because Gavin is just so beautiful in all of them!!! Thanks Sara for doing such a great job, we need you to come back and take Brody's picture!!!

Gavin doing "GO POKES!"

Last Thursday was the third week of Brody's life. He marked the occasion with his first "real" bubble bath. He loves baths and falls asleep every time...

It's the getting out part that he HATES!

All better now!

Last night we celebrated my beautiful sisters 21st birthday!! Aww, she is getting so old!

Look how chunky Brody is getting, he is quite the eater!!

I noticed that somebody commented back when Brody was born about Gavin signing "I love you" through the nursery window to his brother, he was actually signing "HOOK EM' HORNS"! We have never lived in Texas, nor rooted for Texas, so you ask where he got this from?!? His Grandpa Joe, who is an OU alum. Gavin is really into learning all about football, the mascots, team names, team chants, team everything! His favorite seems to be the Texas Longhorns. Funny story: the day Brody was born Gavin walked into the hospital and saw a man with an OU sweatshirt on, he walked right up to him and put the "Hook Em'" sign right in his face. I don't think the man liked that one bit! Yesterday we were in the car and he saw an OU bumper sticker and again put his hand up against the window and yelled "HOOK EM' HORNS!!" I guess we have a future UT student in the works!

Brody turns 4 weeks tomorrow, so I thought I'd post a picture of my precious boys from today.

TWO WEEKS...

2009-11-05T11:59:00.004-06:00

Brody is two weeks old today! I can't believe it! I had my post-op appointment today and got a picture of Dr. N and Nurse F for Brody's baby book. Dr. N is a wonderful doctor and he was the first person to find Gavin's condition and sent us to the cardiologist that found Brody's VSD's.

Brody at 2 weeks:

*You love to be on your tummy.

*You love to keep mommy and daddy up all night.

*You love to grunt, cry and make any noise possible.

*You love to be held. (I think we have spoiled you in that area, especially since we didn't get to hold your big brother at all when he was your age, we are taking full advantage)

*You love to be swaddled, but you do not want your hands held down, you will do anything to get them out of the blanket and up against your face.

*You are a "tootin' machine" as big brother says!

*You are very strong, even the nurse in the hospital would tell us how much you liked to raise your head and look around. You have tried to roll over too!

*You are a big boy that loves to eat. You currently weigh 8lbs 15ounces.

Brody we are so blessed to have you in our family. We love you!

"I love to yawn!"

Our favorite nurse.. Nurse F and Brody

Dr. N and Brody

Halloween Festivities...

2009-11-03T17:18:00.001-06:00

The week before Brody was born we took Gavin to the pumpkin patch...

Uncle Jared and Gavin

Grandpa, Gavin & Nana

The night before Halloween Gavin went to "HalloZOOween" with Aunt Kiki & Nana, Gavin had a blast! He didn't cry or get scared when he saw all the "dressed up" people.

Definitely overcoming that fear!

On the spooky train ride

Aunt Kiki dressed up too!!

Gavin spent the night with Nana & Kiki that night, they got up Halloween

morning and carved a "Boo" pumpkin...

Our Astronaut and Our Lil' Punkin

One Week

2009-10-29T16:08:00.003-05:00

See post below... lots of pictures of Brody's Birthday!

We are Home....

2009-10-28T08:37:00.001-05:00

We were discharged from the hospital on Sunday, trying to get adjusted to our new life of four! Brody is doing fabulous! The latest report is that the 2 holes in his heart are not completely through the heart and they believe they will close on their own by the time he is the age of 5. He will see the cardiologist at one month and we will know further details then. God is so GOOD!!! We give Him all the the praise for this wonderful news. I will try to update as often as possible... Here is a video montage of Brody's Birthday!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

He is here!

2009-10-22T11:43:00.003-05:00

Brody Lane arrived at 8:42 am, weighing 8lbs 9 ounces & 20 inches. He is currently doing great and in the REGULAR!!! It's 11:45 and they just took him back for his echocardiogram. We will post results as soon as we get the information.

Tomorrow is the BIG day...

2009-10-21T23:21:00.002-05:00

So it is 11:21pm on Wednesday and I am pretty sure I will not fall asleep at any point tonight, or should I say today in about 30 minutes. I am nervous and ready for Brody to be here! Gavin had a fun night with his great-grandparents, grandparents and Aunt Kiki. They took a trip to Hideaway, Fresh Berry and then to get a toy at the store. He was a little upset when I dropped him off today, but quickly recovered. I think he is excited, scared, confused all at the same time... hmm... sounds like me too! Well Brody should arrive shortly after 8am. Blog will be updated with pictures. Please keep the health of our son in your prayers, we greatly appreciate it!

Update on Brody

2009-10-15T15:24:00.002-05:00

An email I sent out earlier:

Hi Friends and Family!

I just received a call from Dr. N's office. They scheduled my c-section for next Thursday, 10/22 arrive at 6am, c-section @ 8am. Dr. N made a point to say that this is not set in stone... he said that if he feels at any time between now and then that I need to go in for delivery he will send me to the hospital. This is why he has me coming in everyday between now and then. Depending on blood levels, NST test results and how my body reacts to this medicine they started me on. He advised that Adam not go out of town next week in case Dr. N decides to take Brody earlier. Otherwise, if all continues to go well, Brody will definitely be here Thursday. We continue to ask for your prayers, specifically for Brody to be fully developed and for the cholestasis to not affect him in any way. We ask for prayers for his heart, we are still believing that it will be healed! I ask that you pray that I will not have significant blood loss (a complication to the mother with cholestasis) and that I will recover from the c-section. I am obviously very nervous and worried at the moment, but at the same time trying to stay strong and rely on the strength that only comes from God. This has been a roller coaster of a pregnancy and in a way I am looking forward to it coming to an end. ;) We also ask for prayers for Gavin that he will go through this transition smoothly and for his current health issues. He broke his heart monitor and they sent us a new one yesterday. We are waiting to hear back from the cardiologist on whether or not to start him back on the new one or wait until things settle down and Adam and I are back at home with him after Brody's birth. Thanks again family and friends for your support during this time.

Faith

Gavin's Fire Party!

2009-10-14T20:25:00.008-05:00

We had a pretty low key party for Gavin this year. We started off with breakfast at our house with some of Gavin's good friends from church. After breakfast we loaded 6 little boys up and headed to the local fire station for a tour. The boys had a blast, learned about fire safety, watched the fire man put on his gear, pet the fire dog and "drove" the fire trucks. After a fun time with friends, Gavin and I met Nana, Granny & Pepa at Chick-fil-a for Gavin's favorite lunch. Before we could leave the parking lot Gavin was passed out in his car seat. We got home and we both went down for naps. About 20 minutes into me laying down I received a phone call from my OB. I was kind of shocked because it was him personally on the phone instead of his nurse. The week before Dr. N had ordered some blood work drawn because of some unusual symptoms I had been having. Well the test results came back positive for cholestasis. (Click on the word for more information). So he wanted me to come in immediately and draw some more blood work, do a Non-Stress Test and get a steroid shot to prepare Brody's lungs for birth NEXT WEEK! He was originally scheduled to be born on October 28th, so he will be early! During all of this excitement, our family was arriving at our house for Gavin's "family party". Thank you Granny for setting everything up and to my mom and Adam for sitting with me at the doctor's office. I went back in today for my second steroid shot, I go back Friday for another NST and again next week. So with this we ask AGAIN for prayers for our baby boy and that he will be healthy upon arrival next week. This has been a roller coaster of a pregnancy and I really need prayers for a positive attitude and to trust in God's plan for us. Now on to a lighter note... here are the pictures from yesterday...

Breakfast/Fire station party with friends...

The Family Party...

Gavin giving his brother a hug, "thanking" him for his presents...

Such a sweet boy, going around giving hugs and thanks to everyone...

Happy 3rd Birthday Gavin!!!

2009-10-13T22:15:00.003-05:00

10/13/2006 @ 2pm- the day you were born

11/7/2006- the day we brought you home

10/13/2009- 3 years old and one cool dude!

Today is a special day, three years ago a handsome lil' miracle came into our life.
We are so blessed and proud to call you son, we love you Gavin!

(We had a very eventful day to say the least, I am pooped, will update with pictures tomorrow!)

What a week...

2009-10-06T15:02:00.000-05:00

Let me just start off by saying this has been one crazy past week/weekend! It started off Tuesday when we pretty much rushed Gavin to the ER around 8am. He woke up acting very lethargic and changing from blue/pale, no lip color to pink, back and fourth. Then he wouldn't even stand up on his own and his eyes were dilated. Adam hadn't left for work yet and we both thought it was in the best interest to take him to the ER immediately. He wasn't running a fever, no cough, no running nose, nothing. Before we made it out of the neighborhood he projectile vomited several times all over the car. Still looking blue and his lips were as white as his face. We arrived to the ER and they immediately take us back, at this point Gavin hands were turning blue. The nurse took him temp. it was normal. His O2 stats were normal, very shocking to us! However his blood pressure was 140/70. His high blood pressure was unusual for him. Gavin is on bp medicine but usually doesn't have any high or low readings in less he's just had a procedure done. Gavin perked up, actually became quite wired and was back to normal, so we were discharged. Fast forward to Thursday, my sister was home from school for a doctors appointment and asked if she could baby sit Gavin. I was more than happy to allow her to do that because I needed to finish up some errand running before Brody arrives. Kristen took Gavin up to my parents office to eat lunch and I received a call at 1 from my mom saying that Gavin was pale and lethargic acting. By the time I got there he was laying in my mom's lap pale and sweaty and he said he didn't feel good. He also told us his "boom-boom" (heart) hurt. So I put in a call to the pediatrician and they wanted Gavin admitted to the hospital immediately. Gavin had several tests run and again his blood pressure was very high 146/78. So we spent the night for observation and tests. The next morning the doctor said that Gavin had some "heart irregularities" in the middle of the night. Something we were afraid of, our cardiologist had concerns about that when we told him Gavin's symptoms. They made contact with Gavin's cardiologist Friday night and they approved for him to go home. Tomorrow a 30 day heart halter monitor will be shipped to our house for Gavin to wear. He will wear it for 30 days to keep track of any irregularities. There will also be a button for us to push anytime he has anymore of these "blue spells". So let's back up to Thursday night. Adam insisted I go to my grandmothers (who lives close to the hospital) to sleep since I am rather large now and probably would have rolled of the window bed. I agreed and made plans to be back at 6 so Adam could go home and get ready for the work day. I get to my grandmothers, fall asleep and wake up a few hours later with the chills. Early Friday morning my grandmother came in the room and I told her how horrible I felt, I took my temp. and sure enough I had a fever. I put in a call to the dr. they got me right in. He said "if I was a betting man, you have the swine -flu"... DO WHAT?!? So I was pretty frantic. Next thing I know a woman covered in a get-up of scrubs, hat, gloves, goggles, mask came in and swabbed my nose. By the afternoon the dr. called and said that the tests results were negative, but he had a lot of false-negative readings and was pretty sure I still had the flu. So I was ordered to stay in bed, stay hydrated and go to the hospital if I got worse. Well by Saturday I felt like death, but stuck it out. I was so sad to be away from my boys and it broke my heart to not be at the hospital taking care of my baby.The dr ordered that I stay away from Gavin until I was fever free for 24 hours. I was finally able to come home last night! I am feeling much better, still a little congested but better! Thank you to Nana & Zee for helping Adam out at the hospital and for Mimi taking care of Gavin at home. Thank you to Granny B for taking such good care of me!!! I don't know how we'd do it with out you all!

The doctor pulled Nana & Gavin around in the hallways!

Little Heart Heroes

2009-09-25T11:11:00.008-05:00

Friday evening we participated with the Little Heart Heroes and the Bishop Kelley Football team in raising awareness for congenital heart defects. Gavin had a blast and loved his football player Mr. Tate. Gavin was quite the entertainer again, can you guess?!? HE DANCED! Then he chatted it up with Tate and showed him all of his referee calls, football team chants, etc. Before heading out to the field Gavin informed me that he did not want Adam or I to go out on the field with him... "I do it myself" were his words, aww he is growing up to fast! When they went out on the field to get recognition for being a CHD survivor, Tate was showing him some football stretches and Gavin actively repeated everything. Overall the night was a success! It was a definite tear jerker though; to see all of the survivors on the field and then to watch 8 balloons go in the air in memory of our CHD angels. My heart goes out to each and every one of those families that lost their child in this battle. They are always in our prayers!

Doing their football stretches

Tate & Gavin

Sydney, Gavin & Tanner

Great Granny B & Gavin

Nana & Gavin

Zee & Gavin

Giving Mama some luvin'

Gavin was so excited that Aunt Kiki came all the way from Stillwater to see him!

Look at those Lil' Heroes

Gavin and Miss. Hope (they are trying to be discreet about holding hands)

Gavin hanging out with the guys

Gavin and one of his many girl friends, Miss. Bailey

Dancing King
Gavin had a great time and was so pumped about it that he woke up the next morning telling one of our family friends about his "big football game" the night before.

Gavin's Cardio Appointment

2009-09-22T12:46:00.004-05:00

Gavin had a scheduled follow up with the cardiologist on Thursday. We were there for awhile, so Gavin had lots of tricks up his sleeve to entertain us. He was Mr. Chatty with some other kids in the waiting room, showing them how to ride the elephants. Pulling his shorts up to his chest, playing "Do this, do this"- Gavin's version of Simon (or Gavin) says and he danced his little heart out in the clinical room and was showing us the "Hook Em' Horns" sign- needless to say we were at the OU Clinic, luckily no one heard or saw him! He is really into football right now and learning all of the "calls" for each team along with the referee signals that Grandpa is teaching him. Gavin had an echo cardiogram and EKG. The fenestration hole that the surgeon put in his heart at the last surgery has not closed so we made the decision to go with a heart cath to close it in December. We should hear from the scheduler any time this week to get a date. No medicine changes, he did get to upgrade to a pill form for his blood pressure medicine which is fabulous for us- insurance doesn't cover compounded medicines. We are ready for the heart cath to come and go and get on with a more "normal" for Gavin. Such as, preschool!!! We are planning to enroll him in January if all is well. Here are some pictures from our adventurous time at the cardiologist. Next post: Little Heart Heroes Night: Gavin goes out on the football field!

A Baby Shower Luncheon...

2009-09-16T13:08:00.002-05:00

Our dear friend Mitzi threw quite the shower for Brody this past weekend. We had a yummy lunch, dessert and a wonderful time with family and close friends. I received some wonderful gifts and I believe we are ready and set for Brody to arrive. I had to put the pictures into a video slideshow because we had so many! I am looking rather large now, Adam refers to this as the "swelling phase". ;) Thank you to Mitzi, Kate and Nikki for such a BEAUTIFUL shower... I will remember and cherish it forever!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Beautiful Baby Shower...

2009-09-02T20:50:00.006-05:00

Great Granny Barbara, Nana, Aunt Kiki, Mimi & Aunt TataBrody's Grandmothers: Nana & Mimi The Hostesses: Kyler, Heather, Devin & Shannon The yummy treats table

Last Sunday, four of my dearest friends threw me a baby shower at church. Everything was absolutely adorable and they went above and beyond in making it so special. There were lots of sweets to eat, chocolate, cake, brownies, chocolate, rock candy, taffy, chocolate and more chocolate! All of the food items were either brown or light blue in color. It was just precious! Here are some of the pictures from my camera. Thanks Shannon, Devin, Heather & Kyler for such a wonderful shower for Brody. I am so blessed!

Brody Update

2009-08-27T15:42:00.007-05:00

Look at that smile!

I had my OB appointment today. Brody looks good and is cute as ever!! He has some big cheeks and what we refer to as the "butt chin"- a trait that is prominent on my dad's side of the family, which I, myself have. We tentatively scheduled my c-section for October 28th, arrive at the hospital at 6:15am. It could change depending on schedules/or how Brody is doing. Dr. N wants Brody to arrive as close to his due date as possible to prevent other issues, such as premature developed lungs. We are awaiting to hear back from the pediatric cardio thoracic surgeon here in town to set up a meeting with him. Dr. N suggested we meet with him to get our thoughts on having Brody's surgery (if needed) here. So we will not make any decisions on whether we will go to California and have Dr. Peter do it until we meet the surgeon here. Basically everything is up in the air until Brody's birth, he will have a fetal echo at birth to determine the next steps. Honestly, we are praying for a healed heart at birth and then we will not have to worry about making any decisions. The main thing is Brody is doing great right now and that's all that matters.

Gavin's FUN-filled night!

2009-08-25T10:07:00.003-05:00

Saturday night, Adam and I had dinner plans for a surprise birthday party. So Gavin had a night with Nana, Grandpa & his great-grandparents, Pepa & Granny Barbara. They had a neighborhood picnic and the firemen came with their trucks. Gavin LOVES firetrucks, I am thinking this will be the "theme" for his birthday this year! Then they headed to Incredible Pizza for dinner and playtime. Thanks Nana & Grandpa for such a FUN night!

Taking a break from jumping...Riding the choo-choo train...
Perfect end to a perfect night... ICE CREAM!

All About Brody (30 weeks)

2009-08-24T09:47:00.005-05:00

I am 30 weeks this week, I can't believe Brody will be here in the next 8 to 9 weeks!! This pregnancy has flown by... Here is a current pregnancy picture and the latest picture of Brody. I go in on Thursday for my "every 2 week" check-up, so maybe I'll get another good ultrasound picture.

Babies, Babies, & MORE Babies!

2009-08-07T17:45:00.010-05:00

(TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY, CHECK THE BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT BELOW... I am working on a blog post "Tour of our new home", so stay tuned for pictures of our house!)

This is the year of babies at our church. We counted/made a list the other day of all the babies that were born starting in January to the ones that will be born by the end of 2009. A total of 15 and most of them I am pretty good friends with or related to! Two weeks after moving in I hosted a baby shower for one of my very best friends, Devin. It was a blast and a great reason for me to get motivated and get my house put together so I could have the rest of this pregnancy to relax. I am beyond thrilled because two of my good friends and my sister-in-law are preggers with me. Devin is due in September, me October, Kyler and Tara (SIL) are due in December. Kyler and Devin will both have boys, so I am excited that our boys will be best friends too! Here are some pictures from the shower and a peek at our new home!

The invitations we made...

The Hostesses... L to R: Kyler, Faith, Tara, Heather & Shannon

Working hard in the kitchen...

The chair covers/ties that my "Granny" provided, the banner made by Shannon & Heather...

At the food table...

Cupcakes, hand-made owl decor...

Hand-made banner...

Proud BIG sisters Skylar & Londyn...

Sweet Baby Boy...

Flowers provided by "Granny" she has a wedding business and always does a fabulous job!

Thanks Heather for all of the wonderful pictures!!!!

"Do you have to go potty, Do you have to go potty, Do you have to go potty?"

2009-08-07T17:12:00.003-05:00

... a common phrase for the past 5 days. That's right, potty training is in FULL force at our house. I hesitated to post because I don't want to jinx myself, but I am pretty sure he has it down. Gavin has stayed dry at night, he has told us every time he has to go, and he has had FOUR bowel movements! We have had only 3 accidents in the past 5 days. 2 of the accidents were when he was playing and got distracted. The other was the one day I ventured out to get him a movie, and he wet himself due to the excitement of picking out "Madagascar 2" all by himself. He cried the entire way home, "I had an accident, I not proud of myself". Each time he pees/poops in the potty he gets rewarded with our never ending praises (We are so proud of you, you are such a big boy) and he gets a choice of smarties or gum. Gum is definitely his favorite, his other new big boy accomplishment, chewing gum without swallowing. We have purchased several pairs of underwear and the only kind that seem to stay on his lil' tooshie are the boxer briefs with the tight elastic on it. He's too skinny! The potty training has kind of come about just like the pacifier and big boy bed did, we just decided to do it and there is NO turning back! He has managed to adjust to all of the changes very well. Let's just pray he adjusts to his brother too! We are so proud of him and I am more than thrilled to not purchase diapers for at least 2 more months!

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-24T13:53:00.004-05:00

We moved into our new house over a week ago (explains lack of blog posts). We are so thrilled to finally be back in our own home. We have lived with my parents for the past year to save money for Gavin's big surgery in California. Gavin enjoyed living with Nana and Grandpa and getting in lots of swimming time in their pool. Thanks N & G for letting us invade your household for a year!

Gavin news:

Gavin is officially in a BIG boy bed! We are so proud of his achievement. He loves his new bed and his new house. When we are out and about for to long he asks to go back to "my new house, my room". I think he is a little proud of himself to, every morning we wake up to him saying "I did great, I sweep in my wroom". Next achievement: potty training... tips, suggestions, greatly appreciated! Gavin is really into taking showers now, he prefers them over baths. He actually takes the washrag and trys to clean himself like a big boy. It's a little hard trying to open the door and give him a good cleaning with out getting soaked!

Gavin goes in every week for his weekly blood draws to check his INR levels for his cumadin medicine. He is so brave, most the time he doesn't cry and always looks forward to the new toy, sticker and sucker he gets from the nurse at the end. I think he was trying to sike himself out this last time, the entire way to the hospital he said "Bwood work not hurt, I not cry". His poor arms are suffering from the battle wounds, lots of bruising going on! I just wish I could get all the blood work done for him! Hopefully we will end this once he has his heart cath in December.

Brody news:

I had my first OB appt. since the fetal echo last week. My OB was pretty bummed and focused on the heart the entire ultrasound. He advised me to go ahead and have Brody at the bigger hospital here in Tulsa instead of the smaller one where I considered having him. A lot of people have asked how we are holding up... to be honest, my first emotion was mad. As soon as the cardiologist said "VSD's" I knew what she meant, I didn't have any questions and I wanted to get out of her office. Adam was on a business trip so my mom & sister attended the appt. with me. My mom was full of questions because she didn't know what "VSD" meant. I think she could tell I wanted to leave, I just wanted to get back to that spot in front of the elevator where Adam & I had once broke down when we found out about Gavin. So we got to the elevator and I lost it. I am glad I had support there because I honestly felt as if everything was ok and I could go to the appt. by myself. God knew I needed them there. Adam's initial reaction was mad, I think he is still there. Rightfully so, it's hard to understand why this is happening. But I have come to the conclusion that all this worry and "what-if's" running through my head is not doing me any good. YES, I am thankful this is fixable, YES, I am thankful it is not as severe as Gavin, YES, I know it could be worse and YES I know God does not give us more than we can handle. But it doesn't take away the pain, the anger and the frustration that we are experiencing. All I know is these two little boys will have one special bond that none of us can comprehend.

(Pictures to come soon)

A bittersweet day...

2009-07-07T22:16:00.002-05:00

Exactly what our day was... my parents anniversary (Happy Anniversary to my wonderful parents, such a great example of love and endurance) and the day we found out baby boy #2 also has some heart defects. I will just copy and paste an email one of our friends sent out for us today.

Hello!I had not expected to use this email list again, but I’m glad it’s available! As many of you know, Faith had a fetal echo cardiogram with the pediatric cardiologist today. We already knew that Brody has 4 chambers, and we give God that glory. She just called from the appointment, as she learned that while Brody does have the 4 chambers, he has 2 holes (VSD's) in his heart. One large, and one small.This is considered a “common” heart defect. It will not be known until after birth, if he will need surgery or not. If surgery, it is usually taken care of with one surgery.Faith knows of 4 babies with this condition, and all required surgery.The dr. considers it a good chance that the smaller hole will close while Brody is still in utero. As you can imagine, they’re disappointed. But not disappointed enough to forget where their strength comes from… God and his earthly angels!Faith and Adam ask for prayers that both holes close on their own, and that Brody will not need surgery.Please add to that prayer for Faith and Adam to have strength and reassurance, as they come to understand this latest information.

June/July Picture Post

2009-07-06T18:57:00.007-05:00

The first of June, Gavin was released from his non-fat diet... so what did we do?!? We celebrated with his favorite meal PEPPERONI PIZZA!!!

Auntie Kate joined the festivities...

Every Thursday night of the summer, a local mall/park features a band and anyone and everyone is welcome to come and have a picnic or just listen to music. We went with our wonderful friends, Devin, Kevin & their two girls Skylar & Londyn. We had a great time especially Gavin, he entertained us with his dancing skills.

Random pictures of Gavin from June:

The first of July was celebrated with cousin Cooper's birthday at Outback. Gavin loves his cousin Coop, he chatted him up during the entire dinner.

Our annual fourth of July celebration was a hit again. My parents always do a wonderful job at throwing a pool party. There was lots of swimming, volley ball tourney, "men's water competition"-consists of who can swim the fastest under water and pick up the most rings- it's pretty serious stuff, we keep a record book every year-makes the men feel macho I guess?!? We had lots of yummy food, three kinds of home made ice cream, and of course lots of fireworks. We wanted to be the best of the best so we all pitched in and bought a very expensive box of fireworks to shoot off, I have to say for the price, they were a bummer. The cul-de-sacs to the left and right of us definitely showed us up... maybe next year we will do better!

Kind of scary but Gavin is not afraid of anything, well except the Chick-fil-a cow and sand. The child loves water and loves fire. We could be in trouble!

Adam made his annual "fourth of July music mix" Gavin couldn't resist and had to bust a move in between fireworks. I think we have a dancer on our hands?!? Notice a pattern?

Another Good-bye!

2009-06-19T13:58:00.004-05:00

The "by-you" (bite you, pacifier) is gone!!!! A little history about the "by-you"... Gavin was off the pacifier with no struggles by the age of 7 months. Then he had a hospitalization and the nurse decided to give him one, which made him re-addicted. So we decided to not fight the battle and let him have it as a comfort thing. The poor kid has been through enough and just needed something that was soothing to him and would be right there waiting when he woke up from a cath/surgery/etc. Adam and I made a decision, once this last big surgery was over we would take away the "by-you" for good. We let Gavin recover, Adam got back from his training and we realized it was time. On Wednesday, Gavin fell asleep in the car with out his pacifier (nap time/bed time is usually the only time he gets the pacifier, but he had regressed since surgery and we were giving it to him more) so I thought I will lay him in his bed and not offer it to him. He laid in his bed and instantly woke up asking for it. I said "no it's time to be a big boy, no more by-you". And wa-la he was asleep again!!! WOW, that was easy... I had been searching and asking for ways/ideas to get rid of the pacifier. But for some reason I just felt it was time and we were going cold turkey. When he woke up, I praised him and praised him for doing such a good job and sleeping like a big boy. Then night time came, he didn't ask for it and went right to sleep. He slept all night and was rewarded with donuts and chocolate milk for breakfast! And, guess what he has continued to do it over and over again! He is constantly saying "I a big boy, big broder, no by-you". Next step big boy bed and potty training! Maybe before Brody gets here, wishful thinking?!?

Brody

2009-06-16T15:13:00.003-05:00

Every thing measured out perfectly with Brody, he is a week ahead of schedule which puts him at 20w3d and weighing almost a pound! We are still scheduled for a fetal echo cardiogram on July 7th to rule out any heart issues. I have a feeling Brody is going to be a big boy! If he is anything like his Mama and Aunt Kiki, we could be looking at a 10 pounder.

Comparison of my boys (this isn't the best shot of Brody, and I had to take a picture of the picture because our scanner does not work, so hopefully next time I will have a better shot):

Brody @ 20w3d

Gavin @ 25w3d

First day of Bible Class

2009-06-15T14:43:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Gavin for the first time in his life, went to bible class! It was such a milestone for him. I was so nervous about it, I don't know if all moms feel that way the first time they take their child to a class room setting... or if it was just me? He went right in and told us "bye"... didn't even look back! He warmed right up to the class room, teacher and class mates. After class, he greeted us at his classroom door, in line with the rest of the kids, with his "God made..." project. He told us God made "animals, trees and Coweb". Coweb (Caleb) is his new buddy he made in class! I think the rest of the church saw ours and Gavin's excitement. One of the elders made a point to bring it up before the prayer during church on Sunday. He said he was so happy to see Gavin "walk down the halls like a big kid, going straight to his class, for the first time in his life, such a milestone". It definitely brought me to tears. Each time Gavin participates in something for the first time, it brings me back to the moment of wondering/not knowing if he would ever get to have these experiences. Another first, another day of thank fullness!

I took this picture with my phone, so it's kind of blurry!

Good-bye, so long...

2009-06-11T13:55:00.002-05:00

I have never been so happy to see this truck pull up to the house... (for the last time)

Good-bye oxygen tanks, we will not miss having to travel with you in the car...

Good-bye concentrator, we will not miss listening to your loud noises at night while being hooked up to our sick baby...
Gavin says "so long, it's been fun, but not real fun"...

This is for all you heart mom's (& dad's) out there (I know you understand more than anyone)... after all of the long nights, days staring at this machine, watching the number drop into the 60's, 50's, 40's, the dings and alarms waking us in the middle of the night... calling the doctor or rushing him to the ER in panic every time it happened. 95?!? It literally brings me to tears every time I see his stats now. Never in his or my life did I think I would see this number. God is so good & we are blessed!
GOOD BYE EQUIPMENT, AND DON'T COME BACK!

6 Week Post Op Appt. Report

2009-06-05T11:13:00.005-05:00

Gavin loves to help take off his EKG leads, the tech is always impressed at how still he is and how helpful he is! (He is trying to put on that strong face, this doesn't hurt!)

Gavin had a good report from the cardiologist... still no fluid on the chest and his EKG looked great! They took Gavin off of his non-fat diet and discontinued his medical equipment (stay tune for pictures of the day they come to pick it all up). Gavin will have a heart cath in December to close up the fenestration hole. Gavin will have every 3 month check-ups with the cardiologist for the next year, if all continues to go well Gavin will have every 6 month check-ups for the rest of his life. Gavin will also have labs done every week until the cath to watch his INR levels for one of his meds.

During the appointment we discussed what will happen with Gavin's long term health. There were three main concerns that the cardiologist said to watch for in the coming years. Gavin only has the right side (two-chambers) of his heart which is doing all of the work for what should be a four chamber heart. Basically they watch to make sure the heart and certain valves don't start getting lazy. Of course if that happens then a heart transplant would be the next step. Secondly, watch for PLE, or protein-losing enteropathy, if you want to know all about it, google "PLE after Fontan procedure". Symptoms include diarrhea, stomach distention, swelling. Lastly if Gavin were to have any of the valves in his heart to start leaking they would surgically go in and repair them. We feel that Gavin is doing great now and we will continue to pray that none of these obstacles will come his way! They always try to prepare you for the worst. However, I found that when I worried about the "what-if's, could be's" when I was pregnant... I stressed for no reason because the majority of the complications did not happen with Gavin. On a good note, Gavin will be allowed to play T-Ball & Soccer next year, it's the high school & competitive age that he would physically not be able to play. Golf is always an option! We are completely fine with that and really we just want Gavin to do what makes him happy and keeps him healthy! We think he will just be our little book worm because he is already so smart! Maybe a heart surgeon in the works?? Cute story: yesterday he was telling the nurse what to do next, "listen to heart","blood pressure". He's not even three yet and he is telling the nurse how to do her job?!? The nurse had to prick his finger to get his INR levels for one of the anti-coagulants that he is on. He didn't even flinch or cry... then an hour into the drive home he woke up from his nap bawling "prick my finger, my finger!". So dramatic! Needless to say we are happy to be home and really move on with this new phase of life. I can't begin to tell you how happy and thankful we are, life is good and God is GREAT!

P.S. Say a prayer for Baby Cain (HRHS) and his family, he is having is Glenn repair today!

It's Summer time!

2009-06-03T14:06:00.005-05:00

Gavin relaxing in Nana and Grandpa's pool... His exact words "I tanning!"

Update: Tomorrow is Gavin's 6 week post op appointment in the city. Please pray that all is going well and Gavin will be discharged from his fat-free diet and all of the medical equipment that has been in our house for the past 2 plus years! Thanks friends!

Memorial Day Weekend Pictures

2009-06-01T17:58:00.009-05:00

I know I am behind on updating the blog, but here are some pictures from Memorial Day Weekend... The first pictures are from fishing at Aunt "Z" & Uncle "Wayne's" house.

This shot cracks me up! Adam catching a "huge" fish!

Gavin trying out the fishing...

On Memorial Day we pay tribute to our loved ones and those who died for us at war. Each year my mom puts together an arrangement and we place flowers on my paternal grandfathers grave. He was my first and only (so far) grandparent to loose. I wish Grandpa had the chance to meet Adam & Gavin, I think they would all be very fond of each other. Grandpa C passed away in 2000 and I will never forget him. His smile would capture you from across the room. He was always such a good sport, he would allow my sister and I to play "barber shop" with him. He would let us fix his hair (as you can tell our family members have a lot of hair, hence Gavin getting his first hair cut at 4 months old). We would ask him "which side would you like your hair to be combed to today?" He always had "Take me back to Tulsa" blaring on his radio and we would square dance around the living room while he sat in his chair and whistled. One of my favorite memories is me, my cousin L and my sister all fitting into his overalls. He always thought that was funny. He was a big man with an even bigger smile. We miss you Grandpa C!

Grandpa Joe & Gavin MD 2009

Gavin & Grandpa Joe MD 2007
Paying tribute to Great Grandpa C 20072009
Kisses from Mom & Dad 2009

MD 2007

Still here, updates, pictures and a name...

2009-05-28T16:02:00.006-05:00

Sorry for lack of posts.... life is BUSY. We have settled in, got back on central time and getting back into our routine. Life is great, Gavin is great and I am feeling great. Adam is loving his new job, we will move into our new home July 15th, and before we know it Brody Tyler will be here!!!! Yes, we decided on a name... we have always like Brody and once Gavin said it we fell in love. Brody's middle name Tyler is after his daddy... Adam Tyler. So we are excited about all the upcoming events and all that God has in store for us this year!

Next Thursday, Gavin has his final post-op appointment. Pray that all goes well and that Gavin will be able to get off of his fat-free diet. The poor child is craving his PIZZA!!! And yes, we have tried non-fat cheese, that stuff does not melt and it's just not the same!

I received some pictures from Gavin's airport arrival. There are more out there, so I will post them as soon as I get to them. Also stay tuned for a post about Memorial Day weekend, I have pictures to go with it too!

This is just half of the crowd that was present...

Half of Gavin's aunties and uncles...

Gavin with a hand full of balloons

When we arrived home from the airport, we received a sweet little email from Gavin's cousin Paxton. Paxton threw his own "welcome home Gavin" party at home. Paxton lives in another state, but he didn't miss out on the festivities! Thanks Auntie E, Uncle J and P for the sweet email and pictures of Paxton eating the welcome home sign.

Sunshine & Brothers

2009-05-19T20:28:00.005-05:00

I know, two posts in one day... not my usual. But this is too funny to not post. This afternoon we took Gavin on a ride to go "house hunting". Usually when we are in the car and the sun is shining on Gavin's face, he screams and cries. Several times I have told him to "use your words, do not whine and throw a fit... we can not change the fact that the sun is in your eyes". I just figured he didn't understand what I was saying and he kept crying. Well today, with a loud angry voice he said "NO SUN, GO AWAY, GO HOME, OFF MY FACE.... Mommy use words" hahahaha!!! I couldn't believe it. The child really does listen to what we say and he almost always repeats it.

And another cute story... we told Gavin we were having a boy and he said "I so excited, get baby out now!" We explained to him that it would be like having his boy cousins over every day to play but it would be his brother. He said "oh my goodness". So dramatic ;)

It's a...

2009-05-19T17:18:00.002-05:00

BOY!!!! WITH A FOUR CHAMBER HEART!!!

We couldn't be more thrilled... yes a secret part of me wanted a girl, but deep down inside I knew it was a boy. I always thought I would have all boys. But honestly, things change when you have an unhealthy child you just want the next one to be healthy and that's all that matters. We have a fetal echo cardiogram scheduled for July 2nd. So please continue to keep Baby Boy #2 in your prayers! Thanks!

Home Sweet Home

2009-05-17T13:09:00.004-05:00

YES! WE ARE HOME! We were greeted by lots of family and friends at the airport last Tuesday night. Gavin enjoyed all the clapping, shouting, balloons and the "welcome home" posters. My grandmother prepared a wonderful home cooked meal and had it waiting for us at home to eat! It was a wonderful day and I was so happy to get back to my own bed.

Thursday, Gavin had a follow up in OKC with the cardiologist. His chest x-ray and EKG looked great. His echo showed some gradient in one of the vessels in his heart, but they are not overly concerned about it and they will keep an eye on it. Gavin's INR levels were low again so they adjusted his medications and he will be re-checked at St. Francis this week. Then we head back to OKC in 3 weeks for a final post-op check up. Keep the prayers coming!

I want to thank each and every one of you that prayed for Gavin, sent us cards, emails, gifts, etc. Each of you know who you are and you are greatly appreciated!! I am writing thank you notes as fast as I can!!! Just know that your thought fullness means the world to us!

On to other news... I go in Tuesday to find out the gender of the baby. I am also do for a high risk screening and fetal echo very soon. So please pray that all goes well.

I will post pictures as soon as I get them downloaded to my computer... all the pics are on other cameras, I am a horrible picture taker!

Post Mother's Day

2009-05-11T20:40:00.003-05:00

This post is a day late because I didn't want to jinx myself in talking about going home until I knew for sure we were going home. And for those of you wondering, we are coming home tomorrow!!!! Gavin had blood/lab work, chest x-ray, and EKG this afternoon. We met with the nurse practitioner and Gavin's chest x-ray looked amazing! It looked better then it did at discharge. So the minimal fat diet seems to be working. Gavin's INR levels were low which has to do with the cumadin he is on, so they increased his dosage in hopes of it leveling out. We will have one day to re-coop then it's off to the city on Thursday for post-op check up with the doctors there. Please, please pray that Gavin's blood levels all stay in a good range and that he doesn't get anymore pleural effusions (fluid on the chest). Gavin has had two since surgery, they are very common for post Fontan kids but they always require re-hospitalization. So those are the main concerns for Gavin right now.

On to the sentimental post about Mother's Day. Yesterday was a great day, we took a trip to the beach to see the seals and had brunch with Dr. Peter's (Gavin's surgeon) wife and daughter. Dr. P left for Boston on Saturday for a conference. So we had a girls day!

...Stop here if you don't like to hear my "real, raw" emotions that I have wanted to share for a long time. A lot of people talk about how strong we are and ask how we can stay so positive... but that's not always the case. I am a real person, with real feelings and a real life changing experience.

Yesterday, as I was holding Gavin and looking out to the ocean I thought about the last 3 years of our life. It was enough to bring me to tears...

Starting when I found out at 22 weeks about our unborn sons condition. That same day we had to tell our family and watch them break down, I think that was the first time I had seen my dad shed some tears. Then we prayed and begged God to heal our son. The following weeks/months were filled with fear, anxiety, doubt, and worry. I had nightmares every single night...ask Adam or my mom and the entire church camp that my mom counseled that summer (later I found out that a group of the kids in the youth group petitioned to God on our behalf that night). I woke up every night sweating and crying. I still remember the morbid nightmares, I don't think I will ever forget them. I remember planning in my head my sons funeral. The flowers, the songs, where he would be buried. At the time I had only confessed that to another heart mom and she completely understood, she had been there. However, through the midst of this storm I was saved. On August 23, 2006, two months before giving birth to Gavin, my husband baptized me. Then we held each other and cried. I was baptized in middle school but felt I did it for the wrong reasons. Those next weeks came easier to me, God had given me a sense of peace. Fast forward to Gavin's birth day, October 13th, 2006 the room was filled with doctors and nurses. Then there was the moment he came out SCREAMING and full of color, not blue, limp and lifeless like they warned us he would be. Surprisingly that day I was the calmest/strongest I had been in the past 20 something weeks. Adam on the other hand lost it, I think he had built up emotions that just needed to be let out... and rightfully so. It's amazing how that has worked out, we always seem to balance each other out. Gavin was doing great, he had to be intubated but they believed it was because of the medicine they had to start him on before surgery. Then the night before surgery as I held our son for what we thought could have been the last time ever, Gavin quit breathing... and then my calmness turned back to fear and anxiety and helplessness. I cried as the nurse bagged him in my lap. Fortunately, no compressions were needed and Gavin was ok again. Then the time before surgery when Dr. Peter sat in a room with Adam and I and told us that there was a slim chance our son would survive the surgery. We then began the process of what would haunt us for years to come, signing consent forms, the forms that made us aware that our son could die. We kissed Gavin as they rolled him away in that tiny incubator with tubes and wires coming out every where. It took every thing in me to not pick him up and just run, run far away. Again came the moment where Adam and I held each other and cried, broke down with our real and raw emotions. Surgery took all day, felt more like a year. We were taken to our own private room where we could shut the door and try to "relax". There were more than 20 people there, it was always the joke with the staff about how our family and friends took up the entire waiting room. Our rather large group circled around the room and again prayed that God would protect and heal our son. That evening Dr. Peter came in and said there were issues with bleeding and that Gavin had to be re-cooled and put back on the bypass machine for the second time in surgery to see why he was bleeding. Gavin was critical and back in ICU. I honestly didn't know what to expect, I had seen pictures to try to "prepare" myself, but nothing prepared me for seeing my own son looking lifeless on a bed. I took two steps in and broke down, there he was naked with tubes coming out of him filling with blood. His chest was wide open and I could see his heart beating. He looked like a 10 month old baby he was so swollen. I stepped right back out of the room. It was to much, I think my post-par tum emotions were kicking in along with the emotions of a mother whose 5 day old son just had open heart surgery. Adam was strong and stayed by his bed, so thankful he was alive. Don't get me wrong, I was very thankful, that is just something I never want to experience again, and no one should. The weeks went on, Gavin coded one day while we were at lunch. Honestly, I am thankful I wasn't there because at that point I would have needed a tranquilizer if I was present. On November 7 th, 2006 we took our son home. With monitors and oxygen tanks in tow. We were quickly greeted that evening with a home health care nurse and the home health care equipment. I don't know what I was thinking when I thought we would come home to peace and quiet and get some rest. We still had the beeps and dings of the monitors, but it was comforting and reassuring to have it there. The next few months were hard, Gavin wouldn't eat, he would sweat and arch his back when we tried to feed him. He got really sick and had to be hospitalized He quit breathing in the parking garage of our pediatricians office, fortunately after screaming at him and flicking his foot he took a deep breath and gasped for air. I ran as fast as I could and the doctors quickly checked him over. Again, he was hospitalized. Then came surgery number two, February 5th, 2007. Another day of consent forms, waiting, worry and anxiety. Again it felt like we waited forever for surgery to end. Dr. Peter came in and said that it was rough and Gavin had a lot of scar tissue built up and his heart was stuck up under his breast bone. Dr. P actually cut into his shunt because it was so stuck Over time, Gavin became addicted to the narcotics and had to be put on methadone "legal heroin" to ween him off. He then starting having seizures and had a CT scan that showed he had a minor stroke either during or after surgery. We were re-assured that Gavin would come home and recover quickly with physical/speech therapy. Then on February 16th, 2007 we came home with a feeding tube and we were greeted by the therapists. Gavin progressed and was discharged from therapy at the end of 2008. For the next 2 years Gavin had several hospitalizations, tests and procedures. It was hard, but we made it through all the vomiting, bleeding, seizures, addictions, intestinal problems, etc. Which brings us to the present, and we don't need re-hash all the up's and down's with this surgery. I am just thankful and it's such a bitter sweet moment. I feel like things can go slower now, we can enjoy our son more. We don't have to "wish" for the next surgery date to get here and be over. We can somewhat relax, take it easy and watch what else God has in store for this little boy. I know that we are not out of the woods by any means and this is something that Gavin will have to deal with for the rest of his life. But I am still thankful, thankful God gave me Gavin, thankful for our circumstances, thankful for our blessings, just thankful. This Mother's Day had a special meaning... a meaning of thankfulness.

Batman has left the building...

2009-05-07T18:35:00.004-05:00

"Da-nah-da-nah Batman!! Aunt Patti do that", Gavin's exact words after putting on his Batman costume that Aunt P, Grandma E and Aunt B purchased for him before we left. Apparently Aunt Patti taught him all about Batman. He was so excited to wear his costume and get out of the HOSPITAL!!! You heard me right, Gavin was discharged at 1:00pm (PST) today. He had his sedated echo this morning and everything looked great. As we were loading up the van, one of the doctors came running out... I was thinking step on the gas and let's get out of here before they try to stop us. However, Dr. S was just giving us the echo result papers and DVD to take to OKC when we get home. We are now at the hotel where Gavin is sleeping peacefully, still a little loopy from his sedation today. Gavin has his follow-up on Monday, full of labs, chest x-ray and EKG. If all looks good we will be out of here by Tuesday!!! I heard we missed A LOT of rain while we were gone... not jealous about that, the only thing we have enjoyed here is the weather! We ask for prayers that Gavin will stay healthy and that we will be able to head home on Tuesday! We will keep you posted...

Gavin is "drugged" up in these pictures from his sedation...

This is the view I am getting while I type, so good to be "home"....

2009-05-06T23:37:00.002-05:00

Today was a pretty good day for Gavin. He had his central line removed and played in the playroom with his new friend Diego. Tomorrow he is scheduled to have a sedated echo. We are praying that Gavin will be released to come to the hotel tomorrow!!!! We will let you know...Mitzi

Looking Good...

2009-05-05T12:44:00.005-05:00

Things are looking good around here. Gavin's chest x-ray looks better today and nothing has grown on the cultures-which means no infections-yay! Gavin's sodium levels are still on the lower side. The dietitian came in this morning and they are going to add salt to his meals to see if that will help any. Gavin will be on a non-fat diet for at least 6 more weeks from when we leave, so if you have any recipes... send them my way!! Gavin also has to stay away from any leafy green vegetables, the only problem we have with that is that Gavin LOVES salad. But that should be short term too. This is all for medications he is on and to keep fluid from building up on his chest. So all in all things are looking good... here are some pictures from the last few days You can tell how much happier he is in these pictures... look how skinny he is getting! We need to fatten him up!

Now, since we are talking about "looking good" here is daddy with part of his hair missing. Adam arrived back in California last night and we are so happy for him to be here. He has the whole week off now because he is starting a new job on Monday. He had a drug test today and they had to shave part of his head. It is great though, because we needed a good laugh!

Morning update...

2009-05-04T12:13:00.002-05:00

The xray this morning showed fluid back on Gavin's chest. They are going to try more lasix. His wbc came down a little bit. So they don't expect him to get discharged for a few more days. Faith is really discouraged and down so please lift her up in prayer along with Gavin. Thank you so much for everything!!! Mitzi

Update from yesterday

2009-05-04T12:05:00.002-05:00

Gavin's wbc was at 25,000...trying to figure out what is going on with him. They a a whole team of docs from infectious disease to dermatology looking at him. He is itching uncontrollably...he has bleeding and scabs and his eyes are swollen and red from scratching so much. They are giving him benadryl for that. They are weighing the pros and cons of taking out his central line, which may be a source of infection and putting in a pic line. Everything is up in the air, but all docs have assured me that they will get to the bottom of this.

Faith did say Gavin was in a better mood yesterday. Seemed a little more like himself. Keep the prayers going. Thank you so much!!! Mitzi

Evening update

2009-05-02T18:24:00.002-05:00

Gavin was acting sluggish this morning and sleeping a lot. Faith was giving him his morning meds and felt his head and he was really hot. The nurse came in and Gavin had a fever of 103. She had the doctor come in. They checked his blood and urine. His sodium levels were lower than they were this morning. The doctor was concerned that Gavin could have a seizure very soon if they didn't give him sodium ASAP. They are pushing sodium through the IV all day. Gavin also vomitted again-they gave him his prilosec orally and he had been getting it through the IV. Both blood tests came back with elevated levels. So they are starting antibiotics now. They will not get results from cultures for another 48 hours. No bowel movements. The doctor also thinks the vomiting had to do with the low sodium and his brain was not liking it. Gavin's fever went down to 100.5 with tylenol, now it's back at 102.2 so they are going to alternate tylenol and motrin . He has also had an elevated heart rate from fever and pain. They said at the earliest he would get discharged to the hotel Monday and that's only if Gavin progresses. Please pray that Gavin gets over this soon! Mitzi

2009-05-02T12:07:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately we have to spend another night in the hospital. Gavin's sodium levels are a little low and Dr. Peter wants to keep an eye on it. Pray that all goes well today and tonight and we will get discharged to the hotel tomorrow!

Aslo pray that we will all stay healthy. Thank you!!! Mitzi

Chest tube is out!

2009-05-01T15:39:00.002-05:00

Faith just called me and said that they have removed the chest tube and pacemaker wires. Everything except the central line that's giving him potassium. He's sedated and will probably sleep the rest of the day. They've also cut down on the frequency of taking his vital signs now, just every 6 hours. No decisions yet on discharging him to to the hotel. She asked Dr. Peter is he was concerned about the flu, and them flying home with that threat. He indicated that the media is making a bigger issue of the flu than it really is, and that he first just wants them to get out of the hospital.

We all remain grateful for your prayers and ask that they continue!!! Mitzi

Day 10

2009-04-30T15:37:00.003-05:00

The doctors came by this morning and said they would give the chest tube 24 more hours for drainage to stay where it’s at or lessen. If it does they will take the tube and pacemaker out tomorrow. If all goes well tomorrow with the EKG, echo and chest x-ray… Gavin will be discharged to the hotel on Saturday. Then we wait a week at the hotel and return for an appointment. If all goes well, we could be heading home in a week and a half to two weeks! Woo hoo!!!

Gavin threw up a little bit this morning before breakfast. He threw up again this afternoon when we took him to the playroom. Gavin has not wanted much to eat today, so I am thinking it is the meds on a empty stomach that causes him to throw up. We are waiting to hear what the doctor thinks about it. He is less energetic today then he was yesterday... not wanting to get up and play or eat much. His potassium levels are going up so that is great news.

I will update again when I hear from the doctors this afternoon. Keep up the prayers, we are so ready to get discharged... even if it's only to the hotel. I hate hospitals!!!

Pictures from yesterday

2009-04-29T17:43:00.003-05:00

Day 8

2009-04-28T23:54:00.004-05:00

Faith here- sorry for the late update. Today I have been very busy with a more active two year old. Gavin did not vomit over night or today during the day. The drs are allowing him to have banana, rice, applesauce and toast. He had bites of each and kept it down all day. He still has a lot of drainage coming out of his tube and still no bowel movement. After blood work, they discovered Gavin's potassium levels are very low-which is not good for his heart at all-so they started him on a potassium drip. It wasn't any better tonight so they had to give him an oral boost. Guess what? He vomited it all up! They really don't think the vomiting will continue, its just the amount he had to have along with his other nightly oral meds. Adam said he is still a happy guy. He was in the best mood today, chatting it up with me. We took a ride in the wagon again and played in the playroom for about 10 minutes before he was ready to go back "nite nite". Today he looked down at his chest and said "Dr. Peter fix me, I fine." Totally made me cry. Please pray that we all stay well, there was a line out to the street from the ER tonight. Everyone was wearing masks. It is all over the news here about the swine flu. I am off to bed, will post more pictures tomorrow.

2009-04-27T23:43:00.003-05:00

This is the sign going into the cafeteria...

So this is how we are doing breakfast and lunch. Dr. Peter was giving 16 hours from this afternoon to poop and get better (vomiting) or he was going to plan B. Gavin needs your prayers. Thank you for your encouragement. We will let you know how it plays out tomorrow! Mitzi

Monday 4/27 Update

2009-04-27T11:06:00.005-05:00

Faith here- So yesterday was a bad day... I finally hit my breaking point and lost it. Let me fill you in on what happened. Gavin has a team of doctors, all different, with all different opinions and techniques for how they care for the patient. All day yesterday a new doctor would come in with their opinion. One would say "let's get him up and walking today"... another "let's keep him resting". "Give him fluids", "don't give him fluids", "give him zofran", "why is he on zofran?", "he needs a CT scan", "he doesn't need a CT"... I think you get the drift now.

Gavin ended up having a CT scan yesterday to r/o hydrocephalus. Gavin has a history of seizures and enlarged ventricles in the brain. Gavin slept ALL day yesterday and only woke up to vomit or cry with irritability. So basically they wanted to rule out the unknown. Praise God there is no hydrocephalus, just mild enlarged ventricles.

Dr. P said the main concerns now are for Gavin to have a bowel movement, to urinate on his own (they have plans to remove the catheter today), to get the chest tube to quit draining- he drained over 500 mls during the day shift yesterday, which is a lot. He has already put out a 100 this morning. They also want the vomiting to stop, for Gavin's blood pressure to come down and for Gavin to have more energy. They are starting him on a new blood pressure medicine today to see if that helps with the vomiting issue also. It's so important for Gavin to absorb his medicines, especially his seizure meds, we do not want him to have a seizure.

Once they allow Gavin to start eating he will be on a low fat diet. We met with a dietitian yesterday and she gave us all the rules. He will be on the diet for 6 more weeks after we come home. There was a lot to digest yesterday and I became very frustrated with Gavin's situation. I hate seeing him so miserable. I think we all got our hopes up with him doing so well the day after surgery and now that he is regressing it's a real bummer.

To add to the stress the hospital is on lock down now for who knows how long. There are four known cases of the swine flu here and they want to keep the patients healthy. They are swabbing the patients daily to check for more cases. I completely understand the reasoning but it's hard to not have the help and support of our family now. Adam is at the hotel sleeping and will come up here tonight to stay again. This shift seems to be working out the best because I get so nauseous (from the pregnancy) at night. So it's just me and Gavin (who is currently sound asleep- see the picture?) for the day.

Again, we are humbled by your prayers and support. Thanks for all of the cards, emails and gifts for Gavin.

2009-04-26T23:16:00.002-05:00

Thank you for your prayers!!! Things are better. Dr. Peter came to the hospital and checked everything out. Gavin is resting and Adam is staying all night at the hospital again. We took Faith to eat and she is going to sleep now and go back early in the morning. We will give details tomorrow but it was a stressful day and we really needed the extra prayers!!! Faith and Adam thank you and love and appreciate you! Mitzi

Please pray

2009-04-26T20:13:00.002-05:00

Faith and Adam could really use your prayers right now. Gavin has still been vomiting. I'm not going into a lot of detail because I don't want to get anything wrong but I do ask for your prayers for some answers and for peace for Faith and Adam. Faith is very upset right now and needs some peace. Mitzi

Sunday Morning Update

2009-04-26T12:50:00.002-05:00

Faith here- Gavin is still having some vomiting today. The doctors were concerned that he was not absorbing his seizure medicine and got neurology involved to keep an eye on him. Gavin has slept most of the last two days. Specific prayers are for more bowel movements, vomiting to stop, and more energy! His chest tube is also still draining a lot of fluid. Dr. Peter reassures us that this is all a part of the process and Gavin will get better with time. Thanks for the continued support!

Correction

2009-04-25T23:38:00.002-05:00

I am sorry...I made a mistake about the IV. They stopped the IV fluids for the day...Gavin still has the central line in. Thanks! Mitzi

Poop Parade

2009-04-25T22:50:00.002-05:00

Faith and Adam told Gavin that if he went to the bathroom they would give him a ride in the wagon. Well, as you read earlier he went. Then he went again. You can ask Faith for the details! Gavin is still vomiting but the Dr.'s keep assuring her that he is doing well. They took the IV out today. Wendy (Dr. Peter's wife) came to the hospital again today and is a great source of support for Faith and Adam. Hopefully tomorrow Gavin will start holding down liquids. He already looks so much better tonight. I will try to give better updates tomorrow. It's been a really busy day !!!! Thank you for your support! Mitzi

2009-04-25T15:08:00.002-05:00

Gavin finally had a little bowel movement. Praise God! But it was just a little one. Faith said he screamed like he was giving birth. I'm sure the poor guy was in a lot of pain. They took him off of the IV and are going to give him milk of magnesia. He's still vomiting and is very irritable. Hopefully he will have some more poop this afternoon! Thanks for all of your comments and prayers. Mitzi

A picture is worth a 1,000 words...

2009-04-25T11:28:00.002-05:00

This picture pretty much sums up how Gavin feels this morning. Still no bowel movement. Last night Dr. Peter came back up to the hospital (he was not on call) and spent some time with Faith and Adam. He explained to them that he still feels that Gavin is doing well. The intestinal issues are not uncommon. Dr. Peter and his wife have given Faith their cell phone numbers and have told her to call them at any time. I feel sure that Dr. Peter will be back up here before the day is over. Gavin still has fluid draining and had dry heaves last night. They have given him something for nausea so we are hoping that will pass soon. Gavin is asking for milk, water or juice. He can't have anything to drink right now. Continue to pray for the obvious and also for family members here with Faith and Adam. Thank you for your support of this precious little guy! Mitzi

Thank You!

2009-04-25T08:50:00.003-05:00

Gavin wants to give a big thanks to his daddy's boss MK (and family), and co-workers. He loves his new elephant, monkey, hippo and safari toys. Definitely brightened his day. Also, thank you to his heart buddy Daric for his new monkey with banana, spider man balloon, and coloring book. Look Aunt Patti, I am cuddling up to the Cars blanket you made me!

Thank you everyone... it means a lot that you care so much about our son!

Frogs jumping in the water

2009-04-24T20:13:00.005-05:00

I just got back to the waiting room after being in Gavin's room for a while. The cardiologist on call for the weekend came in and seemed extremely nice and assured Faith that everything seemed "normal" for someone having MAJOR surgery 2 days ago. He still has not had a bowel movement. Since they have put the cath in he has had a lot of urine. His eyes were swollen earlier today and they already have gone down some. His fever is a little lower. They keep telling us that after he poops he will be a new guy. Kristen and Kate came in while I was in Gavin's room and asked him what he had been dreaming about. Gavin said "frogs jumping in water". He seems to dream about frogs a lot! Pray that he will get a good nights rest and that he will poop. I hope this is the last time that I have to blog about it. Thank you for your prayers and kind words. Faith and Adam feel extremely blessed and send their love to all of you! Mitzi

This was taken a few minutes ago

Also today

Gavin's room #318

Last night a volunteer who plays the harp for patients. He was actually very good!

Yesterday in the waiting room

Yesterday when Gavin went on his 2nd walk. If you look closely you might be able to make him out at the end of the hall

Another update

2009-04-24T18:18:00.002-05:00

Faith just came to the waiting room and said that Gavin had thrown up again and it had blood in it. They have called Dr. Peter. He also has developed a fever. Still no bowel movement. The catheter relieved his bladder. Will update soon. Mitzi

Update

2009-04-24T16:25:00.002-05:00

Gavin is in the process of having an xray to see what's going on with his intenstines. After that they will be putting a cath in. I will let you know what's going on as soon as I know. Mitzi

We need your prayers

2009-04-24T14:01:00.002-05:00

Gavin is having some problems with his intestines. If he doesn't urinate within the next hour he will have to get a catheter. If he doesn't have a bowel movement within the next hour they will do an xray to rule out a blockage. He is really miserable right now. We believe in the power of prayer and know our prayer warriors are going to take care of this! Thank you!!!! Mitzi

Rough day...

2009-04-24T11:17:00.003-05:00

Gavin is having a rough morning so far. He is in a lot of pain. The doctors are on top of it so we are feeling confident that this is just a little bump in the road. This picture is from this morning. Gavin really could use your prayers this morning!!! Thank you. Mitzi

Morning update-Prayers for poop

2009-04-24T09:27:00.003-05:00

Gavin was moved to the intermediate floor last night. Adam stayed at the hospital and let Faith get a good nights sleep at the hotel. Joe is in the process of taking Faith to the hospital and bringing Adam back. The girls got here last night and Aunt Tara was soooo nice and sent homemade sugar cookies in the shape of a heart!!!! Thanks Aunt Tara!!!! We have been craving your delicious cookies. We (anyone other than Faith and Adam) are not allowed into the room before 8 am so we will be there right at 8. Kristen and Kate can't wait to see Gavin.

We need prayers for poop!!! Adam said that they were going to catheter Gavin if he had not urinated by 3 am. Thank goodness he did pee pee before then. But...Gavin needs to have a bowel movement. He has been vomiting too. They did a chest xray this mornin and he has a little fluid in his left lung. Please pray hard today that Gavin will get over this little bump. Emotions are up and down. Thank you for your prayers!!! Mitzi

Marathon Man

2009-04-23T21:23:00.002-05:00

Gavin took a long nap after his walk. We all got to take turns watching him nap. Trenna and I were with him when he woke up and he drank a carton of milk and we read a book to him. His mommy and daddy came in and they got him up and he walked twice as far as he did earlier. Did you get that?!? HE WALKED THE FLOOR AGAIN! He was just moved to the intermediate floor. He still needs to poop! Your prayers are working so please keep them up!!! Thank you! Mitzi

Pictures from Gavin's walk

2009-04-23T17:31:00.002-05:00

Afternoon update

2009-04-23T17:04:00.004-05:00

There have not been a lot of changes today. They took Gavin's chest tube out. He needs to eat something and have an increase in his urine. He also needs to have a bowel movement. So...for all of you prayer warriors you know what you need to do! Adam just left to go take a nap at the hotel. He will be staying all night. Faith and Trenna are in Gavin's room. I plan on taking Trenna's place soon!!! Faith is excited because Kristen (Faith's sister) and Kate (my daughter) are flying in tonight. Gavin loves both of them and we have already been telling him that they will be here tomorrow. Adam and Faith can really use your prayers as well. I can tell that they are feeling the strain. Especially Faith since she is pregnant. She is being a good patient for all of us mothers and eating 3 meals and getting some rest too. For all of you at home we feel your presence and prayers. We know you would be here if you could. Thank you for y0ur support!

Just as I was getting ready to finish this blog Trenna came to the waiting room and told us to come look down the hall. Gavin WALKED to the end of the hallway to say hi!!! Can you believe that! Barely 24 hours after open heart surgery! We are praising God!! Thank you God!!! Mitzi

P.S. The nurses said that they have NEVER had a patient in PICU get up and walk while they were in there!!

Sponge Bath

2009-04-23T14:01:00.007-05:00

Sweet feet

I finally got to see Gavin and Faith was feeding him popsicle from a cup. He really enjoyed that! He wanted a green popsicle but they only had orange. The nurse decided to give him a sponge bath...every guy's dream! But when she started it he got upset and tried to get to Faith. He started shaking (Faith said he does that when he's in pain) and reaching for her. She was able to comfort him and the nurse gave him some pain medication. They have taken some of his tubes out and he seems to be doing really well. Really well for having open heart surgery yesterday. Adam just came to the waiting room and said that Faith is holding him now. A big aawwww erupted from the croud! Keep him in your prayers. Lots of hurdles to cross. More to come later Mitzi

Eating popsicle

Helping the nurse make bubbles

Humbled

2009-04-23T11:49:00.002-05:00

Faith here... what can I say? I am amazed by all of the outpouring of love and support we have received in the last few days. I am shocked every time I get on the blog to find a comment from a complete stranger. I definitely wanted to thank you all for your sweet, sweet comments. And to all of you out there who left comments about your own children that are going through this... know that they are in our prayers too. When things settle down I will try to get back to all of you and fill you in on how great Gavin is doing.

Dr. Peter made his rounds this morning. Gavin is still doing well. He did throw up this morning, but they are not to concerned. They really want Gavin to rest and he seems to get more agitated when we are in the room with him, especially me. He wants to be held and he really wants his water!!! He is finally asleep now and we are in the waiting room. Gavin is on three medications now and IV fluids. His catheter, arterial line, & access line were removed when I got here this morning. THIS IS HUGE!!! One of his chest drainage tubes is still draining quite a bit, but Dr. Peter said they would just keep an eye on it and Dr. Peter has "definitely seen worse". We expect to be in ICU for the next few days. We really appreciate your prayers and ask that you keep them coming!

Good Morning!

2009-04-23T08:54:00.003-05:00

Good morning from California! Gavin had a great night. He was watching a movie this morning! He is down to 3 medications and has been drinking water and juice. He wants MORE juice or water but they are limiting it because they do not want him to retain fluids. That is one of the major concerns at this point, especially Gavin getting fluid in his lungs. The nurse is amazed at how well he is doing. She said that they were going to get him in a cardiac chair today. He will still be in PICU for a couple of more days. We are so relieved and thankful that he is doing so well. However, we know that there could still be bumps in the road. Please keep the prayers going because they are definitely working!! Thank you and I will keep everyone updated and put more pictures on here! Mitzi

God is good!

2009-04-22T23:03:00.006-05:00

Gavin is doing extremely well! He is resting well. The care has been fantastic! Words cannot express the deep gratitude for all of your prayers and nice words. I will update as soon as I know something new. Here are a few more pictures from today. After Gavin's vent came out

The ventilator is out!!!!

2009-04-22T19:46:00.004-05:00

The ventilator is out!!!! This is great! He asked for his mommy right away. He is asking for Faith to "hold me" and for his "bite you" (pacifier). He is still at the top of his class. It is unusual for patients to get the vent out this early. We are so excited!!! His pacemaker has been taken off and his heart rhythm is better. Adam just came in the waiting room to tell us that Dr. Peter came in the room and Adam said to Gavin "Dr. Peter is here". Gavin opened his eyes and said "hey". Dr. Peter was rubbing Gavin's head and Gavin opened his eyes again and said "Charlie bit me"!!! For those of you who know the story this is great! Dr. Peter asked Adam what he said and Adam had to fill him in. I will update new information as I receive it. I will also put more pictures up from the last 2 days. Please forgive the jumbled order. This blog thing is new to me. Love to all of you! Mitzi

He Looks SO Good!

2009-04-22T18:12:00.003-05:00

I just got back from visiting Gavin and he looks so good! I've seen him after all of his surgeries and he looks better than he's ever looked! They had to hook up an external pacemaker to try to get the heartbeat regulated. One of the cardiologists came in while I was there and said that he was at the top of his class!! Just what we want to hear. Now, with that being said, he is still in critical condition and needs every one's prayers. Please keep them up! It is very touching to Faith and Adam and they are checking the comments on the blog every few hours. We are all feeling your prayers. Thank you!!! Mitzi

Gavin in the PICU

2009-04-22T17:33:00.004-05:00

They are getting Gavin stabilized in the PICU. The grandparents just got back from seeing him. They had to put the "no no bands" on his arms because he was trying to move his arms. They don't want him to pull anything out. They are working on getting the ventilator off. Gavin has had an "extra" heartbeat and they are working on getting that stabilized. I will keep you updated as the evening progresses. Thank you once again for your prayers! Mitzi

This picture shows all of the equipment in Gavin's room.

He is in PICU and looks so pink!

2009-04-22T16:03:00.004-05:00

Gavin is in PICU. Faith and Adam are back there right now. He looked so good! Very pink!! We only got a quick look at him as he went by. Dr. Peter came in the waiting room and told us that everything went well and he looked good. Dr. Peter is always cautious though. The next 24-48 hours are very critical. Please keep praying for Gavin. Also for Faith and Adam because they will be the only ones that will be allowed in the PICU after 8 pm. Unless we get them to change the rules...and I am working on that!!! I don't think they realize that we are special!! Here are the pictures of Gavin being wheeled to the PICU. Thank you for your prayers. We have felt them!!

He's Out of Surgery!!

2009-04-22T14:47:00.003-05:00

We just got a call that he is off the bypass machine and Dr. Peter wanted the nurse to let us know that everything went perfectly and there were no complications! Praise God! He will be in his PICU room in about an hour. We will get to see them roll him by in about 45 minutes. We will get to go back to his room (2 at a time) after they get him settled in. They said that will take about an hour. Please continue to pray...especially the next 24 hours. It is a critical time. I will update after I see him. Mitzi

Pictures from the cafeteria before we found out Gavin was out of surgery.

Update 2

2009-04-22T12:14:00.005-05:00

It is 10:10 here and we just got an update...he is on the heart bypass machine and is doing well. They are ready to proceed with the surgery. Keep the prayers going...they are working!

More pictures...
Getting sleepy...

Gavin right before surgery, one happy boy!

Update 1

2009-04-22T10:09:00.005-05:00

Gavin is back in surgery. They have not started yet but are getting him ready. Anesthesia, ventilator, etc. We saw Dr. Peter in the cafeteria a few minutes ago. He looked good and said he was ready. We told him that we are praying for him. We got to see Gavin right before they took him back. They had given him some medication to relax him and he was VERY happy. It was a great way to go to surgery! We are in a waiting room by the intensive care unit. I will update as soon as we receive them. Pray Pray Pray!!!! Mitzi

I can't figure out how to insert words between the pictures but the first pic is at the hotel room this morning. 1 & 2. Gavin with his heart bear. 3. Faith, Adam and Gavin before we left hotel 4. Last night eating pizza!!

Surgery Day

2009-04-22T08:21:00.002-05:00

I wanted to give everyone an update. It is 6:20 am here. We arrived at the hospital a little after 5:00 am. Faith and Adam are still in pre-op. We will get to see Gavin one more time before they take him back for surgery. Last night was very emotional. Pray for peace for Faith and Adam and of course for Gavin. I will post pictures from last night and this morning later and keep everyone updated. Mitzi