Explanation

In case you noticed, I changed the blog title to Miracle Heart. Well, here's the scoop. Andrew & I watched Prince Caspian twice this week & I always let the credits run because Andrew loves music. Well, the line I put under our picture struck me (makes me think of our Andrew & what we hope for him) so I had to find the song on YouTube. And here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol3o494lPII

p.s. The Chronicles of Narnia movies are awesome : )

Awesome News!

Dizzy's doctors just came to give us the low down on the cath. Basically, Andrew rocks! They were not able to stent up that lower left pulmonary vein, but Andrew has developed one decent collateral on the lower left & some small ones in the upper so he estimates approx 30% of left lung is doing oxygenation work. When blood was forced into upper lung there were little veins to drain. This is great to keep Andrew from developing pneumonias. They did stent up his Glenn which needed to be enlarged simply because he's grown so much. What else, his ventricular function very good, in fact they are taking Andrew off Digoxin (whoo-hoo). When we go back to see Dr. N in the clinic in 3 months he will probably stop the Enalapril as well (ah yea). He worked a little on Dizzy's left (fat) leg, but there is some definite blockage there. He was able to get through some smaller vessels, but not balloon the larger. He feels the issue is mainly cosmetic though & doesn't bother Andrew too much. He mentioned using some compression stocking type of things to help. Jessica, I say that means he has to wear the froggie leggings you bought him, but Steve insists on a more masculine alternative. The doctor also mentioned that the oxygenated blood is flowing to his body normally.

We cannot thank you all enough for all the prayers, not just today, but for the past 18+ months. This boy truly does have a miracle heart & we praise God for him.

Cardiac Cath Updates

1:30pm

Waiting for the doctor to come out & talk to us. Andrew tolerated the procedure very well. Will provide details after we talk to doc.

12:20pm

Still in cath lab. Dr. N finally got access through both groins & left neck. No liver, yea! Right now they are taking pictures & measurements throughout Andrew's heart. Pretty cool if you think about it. I figure Dr. N is our cardiac navy seals of sorts. Thankful for him & the cool technology that allows for this stealth op. Anyways, not sure how much longer, depends on what they find. Thank you for continued prayers!

11:15am

They just called me from the cath lab to give me a hourly update. The cath Dr is getting started; working on gaining access - an issue with Dizzy since he's had so many lines. We're praying they can get in a femoral vein so they don't have to go through the liver. Andrew's vitals have been great, very stable so we're thankful for that.

10:15am

Andrew is back with anesthesiology getting ready for his cardiac cath. They got him to sleep around 10am. Little feisty thing fought it with all he had, but we were able to stay with him until he was out so at least he wasn't alone with strangers. There are several things the Dr is going to look at & lots of possibilities for addressing any issues they discover once he gets in there, so it's hard to tell exactly how long it will take, between 2-4 hours. We'll update as they update us. Thank you so much for all the prayers!

Getting ready for cath

Daddy had him set up like a king to watch a video.

Backyardigans, of course.

Blue eye astronaut

Machie's is the best cause you get to do all kinds of fun things
like take a bath in the sink!


Keeping an eye out.

Well, we are getting ready for Andrew's upcoming cardiac catheterization Friday morning. It's scheduled for 9am. If nothing else, it will give us an inside look of Andrew's heart & vessels. We are also hoping that his lower left pulmonary vein will be open so they can perform angioplasty & stent it up. The Congenital Heart Institute (cardiologists & surgeons that take care of Andrew at APH & clinic - we highly recommend them) provided us with an online info program that generally explains the procedure and it said share with family so... if you would like to check it out go to:

http://www.my-emmi.com/

access code: 11725405507

Andrew's DOB: 12/23/2007

click begin

Of course, it's general so the anatomy is not specific to Andrew, but still it gives a good idea. We appreciate prayers for safety through the procedure & positive results. We are hoping everything goes as expected & be able to bring Andrew back home Saturday.

Oh yeah, if anyone has pop top for us to take to Ronald McDonald House, we'll be droping some off while we're there so just get them to us by Thursday evening. Thanks!

18 Month Boy

Reunited on Father's Day after 36 hours of separation

Enjoying some chocolate ice cream at Machie's

Daddy taught him how to get under the bed

Well, our boy just keeps right on growing. 18 months old!, I can't believe it. At the doctors office today he weighed 21 1/3 lbs and was 31 3/4 in long. He has just started letting go to stand on his own for a few seconds here there. His cardiac cath was scheduled for July 10th. An overnighter. We're hoping that his lower left pulmonary vein will still be open so they can stent it up. Prayers are definitely appreciated! What can I say?, this boy is a blast! We're so thankful for every day with him! Thank you for 18 months of love & prayers!

A Thousand Words:

So here's Andrew the morning after his Homecoming party trying out his new push wagon. Steve had that thing together as soon as we got home that night & had Andrew trying it our first thing in the morning. A bunch of our favorite nurses got together & got it for him. I LOVE it. It's just his size & he's so cute with it. He really likes to just hang out in it too : )

Homecoming 2009

My guys, all dressed up & ready to go to Homecoming

The Woods of PSJ turned out to be a great party scene

Andrew meeting his Aunt Jennifer & cousins, Mickey & Marisa

The 3 Amigos: Savannah, Hannah & Kalee

Andrew loves the pool, he really wants to SWIM

Showing off his big boy steps for Aunt Patti

Showing off for Kelly & Aunt Patti

Hanging out poolside with Aunt Christy & Josh

Uncle Landon is lots of fun in the pool

Dizzy playing with Lexie

Hangin with Uncle Tommy

Getting pretty tired at this point,

notice the deer in the headlight look

A tired boy with his Aunt Angie

I meant to get a ton more pictures, but this cold is kicking my butt & I fell down on the job. If anyone else has pictures, I would love to have them - just email to me. Thanks so much to everyone for loving our sweet boy. We missed those of you who couldn't make it - hope Uncle Tim & Mason are feeling better!

Count Down to Homecoming

Daddy & I were just talking about how Andrew has us type casted. He never laughs like this for me, but as soon as Daddy walks in the door the giggles start in anticipation. On the other hand, when he needs to snuggle or go to sleep, only Mommy will do. Funny boy.

We are very excited about our celebration tomorrow - Andrew's Homecoming! I remember when we used to sing Homeward Bound. Seemed like that was our theme song for so long. The last year has certainly flown by quicker than the first 5 months. We will definitely have pictures posted for those who can't join us in the flesh.

Last Friday's Test Results

So we saw Andrew's neurologist today & she was very happy with how our little man is doing. His MRI was as expected with no surprises. Good boy! Andrew did have a small stroke way back when he was 2 weeks old & was in cardiac arrest & that is still there, but the prognosis is very good since he was so young & the brain was (& still is) very pliable to rewire. Also, if he HAD to have a stroke it's in a good place in that it's in an area of his brain that doesn't lead to major deficits. We may discover when he's older that his visual field is mildly affected, but his neurologist said even if he does (which there is a good chance everything's fine) she wouldn't expect it to keep him from doing things like drive a car, etc.
We did hear from Andrew's cardiologist earlier this week about his echocardiogram. He was happy with Andrew's heart function as well as his valve, which is leaky, but always has been & has continued to be mild. He does want Andrew to go for a cardiac cath in the next month or two to get an inside look at his lower left pulmonary vein. After his second heart surgery his left pulmonary veins were closing off pretty rapidly, one of the reasons his lung collapsed & so on. So the upper left pulmonary vein has been completely closed off since then (April 2008), but the lower left one they were able to put a small stint in. From the echo it is unclear if this lower left pulmonary vein is still open & would be able to stint up or if it's also closed off at this point. Andrew's cardiologist (also the cath specialist) has spoken with us in past appointments that he thinks Andrew is doing so well because he is developing good collateral veins & is primarily (or completely) oxygenating his blood through he right lung. He also felt it was worth the lesser risk of the cath lab to be proactive in keeping the lower left pulmonary vein as open as possible for as long as possible. We'll let you know when we get the cardiac cath scheduled. Should be an overnighter - slumber party in the CVICU : )
That's about as much medical talk as I can stand. On to more important things. Like Andrew was the BIGGEST flirt today at the neurologist, which I was happy about because he hasn't been a fan of the MD office lately. Also, he started crying when Daddy leaves for work or church in the evenings. AND his new friend, Morgan McIntire, was born yesterday. Hurray!