Thursday, February 11, 2010

I'm Going Home!

Carter is Home!!! Carter's nurse gave us Carter's discharge orders at around 2:00, and he is now home. We're thrilled. You can't imagine all of the thoughts that go through your head when you hear your child is going to have Open-Heart surgery. Naturally you fight off, but prep yourself for the worst possible scenario. The joy we feel is inexplicable. We just want to thank everyone for the prayers and well wishes. He still has some recovery ahead of him, and further repairs to his heart may be needed, but his future is much clearer now, and we have so much to look forward to. We never imagined that in less than 72 hours after Open-Heart surgery Carter would have recovered enough to return home. Miracles do happen.


We love you!







Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Some pictures from Today (Wednesday)


Wednesday Update:

So, Carter finally got a little rest yesterday afternoon. He had been fighting sleep ALL day. This is totally normal for him, because he HATES to take naps. Addy and Ethan stayed at Grandma and Grandpas house on Monday night and Nana watched them for us during the day and picked up Aunt Michelle from the airport. YAY! They came up to see him as well as Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lori. We took Addy and Ethan to the playroom then went and ate at Cafe Rio. It's only been 2 days and we are already sick of hospital food. I feel bad for the people that are here for long periods of time! We came back after 8, which is when they open back up after shift change and he was still asleep surprisingly. Dr. Kaza (the surgeon that assisted our surgeon Dr. Burch) came in and told us how great he looked and how they were very pleased with the way that the surgery went. He said they really felt like he did not have Ebstein's. He may have to have more surgeries down the road if his Tricuspid valve starts to leak more or if his right atrium starts to enlarge again. He said his atrium is still large, but they can't reduce the size too much, or it will interfere with the electrical activity of the heart and cause major problems.

We were planning on going home for the night on Tuesday because the sleep rooms really are not fabulous. Plus, they were full. I left around 8:30 and Ryan was going to stay until Carter was settled for the night. Around 11, when Ryan tried to leave, Carter heard him and woke up. He was begging for him to stay, so how could he refuse? Poor Ryan ended up sleeping out in his truck for a few hours once Carter finally went to sleep. He came home about 6 this morning to shower and get ready for work. Then we headed back up to Primary.

When we got up here today, they had just taken out his arterial line and his jugular line. They had turned off his Milrinone (med for heart function) and his Nipride (med to keep his blood pressure down). They started him on Enalapril yesterday, which is an oral blood pressure medication that he will go home on. A little while later, his Nurse Practitioner came in and took out his chest tube and his pacer wires! YAY! They only thing he has on him now are leads that monitor his heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation.

We got him out of bed and he took turns sitting on our lap. The child life specialists brought around BINGO cards and they do a hospital wide broadcast on the TV's and everyone who wants to play can play. It was so cute. He got the first bingo and they just brought him a prize. It's a cute camo fleece blanket. He also decided he wanted to eat something. They advanced his diet today, so he got to call the hospital room service hotline to order food. What did he order??? french fries, grapes, and Gatorade. I love all the cute services they have at this hospital. It makes a hard situation a little easier for the kids by making them feel special! This hospital is awesome!

The plan is to move him out of the ICU to another floor today. We'll keep ya posted. Thank you so much to each and every person that has been praying for and thinking about our little man! It is so humbling to think about all of the love and support that have been shown to our family. We are amazed at some of the stories and experiences we have heard and are so grateful for everything. We're especially grateful to our Heavenly Father who got him and us through this!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Tuesday Update:

Well, Carter is doing really well. The charge Nurse came in and said that they are very happy about the progress he's making, and he may even get to go home in 2-3 days (originally they said 7-14 days.) Tomorrow he will go to the floor with a regular recovery room which will probably help him feel a little more comfortable. He had his catheter removed this morning, and is going to the bathroom now (something so simple that I now realize I take for granted...) He's also been drinking sprite, and eating a little Jello. As anyone can probably imagine, He's grouchier than ever before, but who can blame him? We've been able to trick him into smiling for a few pictures by telling him there are bugs in his teeth and he has to smile really big to let them out. ;) Overall, as hard as you can possibly imagine this has been to see our little boy attached to monitors, cables, and tubing (sorry, Dad wrote hoses and that's not correct technically speaking... I guess that's the fireman in him.) We're really happy that he's doing much better then anticipated. We're looking forward to taking him home so he can be more comfortable when he's ready, but baby steps are the key... We're hanging in there. Thanks for all the continued Prayers and Support.

A few pictures from this morning...

The lego's were a welcome sight for Carter, but the smile was priceless in a moment like this.


Flashback...

Over 4 years ago, Carter was born with the Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) that he is here at the hospital to fix. Just thought I'd share a picture from when he was here in 2005.





Let them be little...

From Carter's Dad... We woke up this morning at the hospital and came in to see how Carter was doing. Surprisingly, with all of the medication he's had, he was already partially awake. When we walked into the room, he saw Mom and Dad and immediately began to try to sit up and see us. Being in restraints, covered in IV's and tubing, it's heartbreaking seeing your child like this when they should be out running around doing what little boys do. I think sometimes as a parent you worry so much about your kids getting hurt that you don't let them do all of the things that kids should be doing. I realize that all too often I am so busy worrying about the things they are, or are not doing that they've somehow grown up without me even realizing it. Seeing Carter like this makes me realize I need to worry less about things that aren't important and focus on letting them be kids. Let them be little...

Ryan