We're Home!!! (Updated 2:45 p.m.)

No photo, and I won't bother to go into much detail right now, but the great news is that we are home. Dr. Calhoon, one of Cooper's surgeons, came by to check on his progress around 9 a.m. this morning. We were on the way home at 10:30 a.m.

Mom, Dad, and Cubby are finally back in our own crib. It feels really good. Supermom and I were talking in the car about the last year in our lives. It was exactly one year ago today that we found out Cooper was on the way. It's been quite a year.

Thanks again to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. If you're traveling this week to be with loved ones please remember to buckle up and travel safe. Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

He Peed...And Smiled (Updated Friday, 11:30 am)

Supermom, a rocking chair, and Cubby bear in her lap. Things are slowly returning to normal.

We suspected that the first night after Cooper transferred to Intermediate care might be a little difficult. Not necessarily because his condition could or would worsen, but only because we wouldn't receive the immediate attention we had grown accustomed to in the P-ICU area. Let me explain.

The P-ICU layout provides a nurse stationed outside a pair of rooms (no more than two) with computers constantly monitoring vital signs. If an alarm sounds, they're very quick to react. Alarms can also sound for reasons that aren't critical. For example, there are sensors connected to Cubby to monitor his heart rate and breathing rate. If he starts thrashing around, this can throw off the sensors and sound an alarm.

Intermediate care doesn't provide for this type of monitoring, and the layout is much like any hospital floor one might encounter. A central nursing station, hallways in either direction. This doesn't mean that you're on your own, but it is a little less big-brotherly.

Because we suspected the night could become difficult for only one of us to handle, we agreed that we would both stay at the hospital. There is really one issue, and that is all of the wires connected to Cooper to monitor his vital signs. It is a bit of a challenge to move and position him for feedings, to hold, etc. As it turned out, the night wasn't so bad. Cooper slept quite a bit, and so did Supermom and yours truly.

A couple of things did happen that were great signs of his recovery. The first...he peed. Because of the drug cocktail he has been taking (and the catheter) he wasn't producing as much urine as they had hoped. They even had to re-insert the catheter before moving him from the P-ICU to the Intermediate area. Dad was in the room when it was inserted, and speaking for all men everywhere I just wanted to cry. Anyway, at some point late in the night/early in the morning Supermom was changing his diaper. Let's just say his bowels are returning to normal. Anyway, she put a little pressure in just the right spot and Old Faithful was a-flowin'. This was a good thing. I've never been so excited to see a baby pee all over himself.

The second sign came around 4 a.m. or so. I don't remember the exact time, because no human being functions very well at that hour. The overnight nurse had just finished recording his vital signs and he was awake. As were Supermom and dad. I remember going over to the bed and looking down to gauge his mood. And that's when he smiled at me. Not just a slight grin, but a full-gum, ear-to-ear smile. I called Supermom over to verify that I wasn't seeing things, and she agreed it was indeed a smile. This was a VERY good thing.

Things continue to progress very well. We might be able to go home tomorrow (Saturday), but his doctors will visit again tomorrow morning to make that determination.

Moving Day (Updated 4 p.m. Thursday)

Cubby is recovering well. He's also sleeping a lot, which makes dad a little jealous.

Good news. We've moved from the Pediatric ICU to the Intermediate care wing on the seventh floor. This is a big development in his recovery, and means that he's stable and on the road toward discharge from the hospital. We hope this may happen Saturday or Sunday. Saturday also just happens to be dad's birthday, and the only gift I'd like to receive is my healthy son in my home. Dad misses his Cubby bear, it hasn't been the same around the house the last two nights.

As an aside, Supermom stayed with him in the P-ICU room last night. I was tossing and turning in our bed, and realized that I couldn't sleep without the constant hummmmmm of the baby monitor. So I went in his room, flipped on the monitor, and went back to bed with silence coming from the receiver. It wasn't normal, but it was as close to normal as I could get at the time. And it worked.

His home for the next couple of days is next door to the room where we were taken the day before surgery. I can't help but think about everything that has happened in just the last week. Exactly seven days ago we were in the surgical clinic going over the procedure with the talented men that would be operating on our son. Three days ago we were being admitted into the hospital for open heart surgery on our son. Today we're in recovery and he appears to be himself more and more as the hours go by.

The Lord works in mysterious ways, indeed.

I can't even begin to thank our friends and family that have been so generous with their time, their prayers and well-wishes, and concern for our son. Many of those friends and family only know him through pictures, e-mail, and this blog. We look forward to a day very soon where he will get to meet (and thank) you all.

Progress...(Updated 12:15 p.m. Thursday)

I'd like to thank the rain and traffic in San Antonio for the long commute to the hospital this morning. Never have I wanted to go "NASCAR" and ram someone into a concrete barrier more than my drive in this morning.

Cooper has had a good morning so far. When I first arrived it was time to feed him, and I finally got to hold him. It was a little challenging with the wires and monitors still attached to him, but it still felt normal to hold him again. I also got to feed him a bottle, and he ate a little slower than normal but he still sucked down all four ounces.

The little guy had two IVs removed last night, and the catheter early this morning. After surgery they inserted a couple of "pacer" wires into his chest that help bring the heart to a normal rhythm if anything goes out of sync. Thankfully that didn't happen with Cooper, and the pacer wires were removed around 10:30 a.m. Cooper's surgeon (Dr. Husain) came by and said everything was looking great. They've also taken him off his regulatory IV medicines, and he's receiving pain medication by mouth.

Most likely we'll be moving to Intermediate care sometime later this afternoon. There are a couple of tubes used to drain any blood that tends to pool around the heart, and we've been told those might also be removed this afternoon as well.

His recovery is going well so far, and we're relieved that he is responding as well as he is. Supermom and I just had a crash course in CPR, which was precautionary and hopefully we'll never have to use it.

The hospital staff (doctors, nurses, and everyone I haven't named specifically) has been tremendous throughout our stay. I'll post a couple of pictures later today, but he looks better every hour. We're very grateful.

Post Op: Day 1

Lots of machines, lots of beeping.

I'm sitting at the house as I update the blog this morning. I'll be heading back to the hospital in a few minutes and wanted to provide an update. Supermom and I are alternating our stays at the hospital to every other night. The bed in Cooper's P-ICU room isn't quite big enough (or comfortable enough) for two people, and the hospital really prefers that only one parent stays overnight with their patients.

Yesterday included a lot of waiting around. Supermom and I managed to get some much-needed rest Tuesday night, and we both felt (and I looked) better. Neither one of us got much sleep Monday night, and Tuesday was quite exhausting.

Cooper was resting in his room and still hooked up to the ventilator. The plan was to remove the breathing tube at some point, but they needed him to be awake and alert so that he wouldn't relax and forget to breathe. The only issue seemed to be that he just wanted to rest, and the anesthesia was taking its sweet time working through his system. The anesthesiologist said that everyone responds to the medicine differently, so "waking up" really depended on each person and that every case was different.

Our son was being a little difficult in that he tended to thrash around because he was tired of laying in the bed. This had prompted the nurses to tie him down in the bed. They wanted to prevent any lines to be yanked out as he tossed and turned.

So we waited...and waited...and waited some more. Around 4 p.m. they determined he was awake and alert and removed the breathing tube. He is an overachiever like his momma, and is doing just fine breathing on his own. This is also a sign that other tubes and IVs could be removed, but that will be determined by the doctors throughout the day Thursday.

Supermom called around 9 p.m. last night and informed me that she was able to feed Cooper a little (much easier now that the tube is gone). And she got to hold him. I'll admit, I was jealous, and can't wait to get back up there to see (and hold) him this morning.

More later...

Day One-Recap

I'm going to try and summarize everything that happened today. First and foremost I want to thank everyone for their words of encouragement. Supermom and I were very touched by the outpouring of support from friends and family. For those who know me, I rarely have any difficulty verbalizing the thoughts and ramblings that rattle around in my brain. In this instance I'm not really sure what to say except "Thanks."

Cooper is resting comfortably at the hospital tonight. Supermom and I are at home trying to get some rest. San Antonio is renowned for the quality of medical care available, and I've learned this first-hand. The doctors, surgeons, nurses, and other medical professionals associated with the University of Texas Health Science Center and Christus-Santa Rosa hospital are first-class and have taken great care of Cooper.

The procedure went as well as we could have hoped. The repair to his ventricle was complete and successful. He's stable and will be in the P-ICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for the next couple of days. He'll remain on a ventilator through tonight, and if all goes well in the morning he'll be breathing on his own.

Supermom and I were able to see him after he was transferred to the P-ICU this afternoon. I expected the worst but was surprised to see him look as normal as he did. He's hooked up to all sorts of machines and monitoring equipment, which as a parent sends your stomach up into your throat. But the nurses tell us he's responding very well to the medicines.

We'll be up early and at the hospital to see him tomorrow. We're hoping that once the doctors get to their daily "rounds" that they will give the go-ahead to have him removed from the ventilator and breathing on his own. If he's breathing without assistance and his blood pressure remains stable, there is a chance he could be transferred to intermediate care by Thursday.

Again, thank you to everyone for their well-wishes and prayers for the little man. He's tough like his momma. More tomorrow, I'm off to get some rest.

Closing Up (12:15 pm)

Pay no attention to the time stamp for these posts. The actual update time is in the title of each post. Anyway, the surgical team is closing him up. He should be out by 1 pm and into recovery. Thank you to everyone that has kept our family in your prayers.

Surgery Update (9:45 a.m.)

The surgeons took a little longer to get started this morning than we had been told. It's 9:45 a.m. and they have yet to start the procedure. They took him back to prep for the surgery around 8:15, so we're waiting to hear when they will actually begin the process.

More later...mom and dad are doing okay (so far.)

Update (11:30 am)

The surgeons just told us that the repair is almost complete and that Cooper is stable. They should be finishing up very soon.

Update (10:45 am)

The surgery is progressing well. Just heard that Cooper is hooked up to the heart/lung bypass machine and the surgeons are getting to the actual repair. More later. Supermom is doing well so far...plenty of family here for support.

Update (10:05 am)

Just heard from the surgical team. They started the procedure a few minutes ago. If all goes well it should be three hours to handle the repair.

Update from Surgery (9:50 a.m.)

The surgeons took a little longer to get started this morning than we had originally expected. It's 9:50 a.m. and they have yet to start the procedure. They took him back to prep for the surgery around 8:15, so we're waiting to hear when they will actually begin the process. More later...mom and dad are doing okay (so far.)

In Good Hands

Cubby and Supermom after the nurses hooked up his IV. It was not a pleasant experience, especially for dad.

Thanks to everyone that has passed along a kind word via e-mail, text, phone call, or leaving a posting on Facebook. We all appreciate it very much. This has been a very long day, and most of our day in the hospital has been administrative. The nurses did fill us in on the procedure, and we were shown all of the tubes (and corresponding locations) that will be inserted into Cooper over the course of the next few days.

He did sit still for his first x-ray image, and has been picked at, poked, tickled, cuddled, and held by almost every nurse in the building. He doesn't seem to mind the nurses.

Only one of us was able to accompany Cooper when he had his IV inserted. The hospital tries not to perform anything "painful" in the same room where the children spend most of their time. And they only allow one parent in the room at a time. So dad had to try and calm him when the nurses were inserting his IV.

Supermom was in our room and heard him screaming...thankfully that will be the last time they have to insert any needles without first giving him something for the pain. You'll notice the "cast" looking contraption in the picture above. That's supposed to keep Cooper from pulling out the IV tube. He's already tried to shove it in his mouth. We'll see if it holds out.

It's going to be an early day tomorrow, but we are on schedule for a 7:30 start to the process. I hope to have some sort of update in the early afternoon.

It Takes Your Breath Away

There are some days you dread as a parent. Immunizations at the pediatrician's office, the first time your child gets sick, or when they bash into the coffee table. You try your best to patch them up, give them a kiss on the forehead and send them back to do it all over again. And there are things that you can't handle without some help, for those occasions we call in experts.

When Cubby was born the pediatrician on call discovered a heart murmur. The standard of care is to consult with a pediatric cardiologist. Nine times out of ten the murmur is considered "normal", and is defined as an unusal sound heard during the beating of the heart. In Cubby's case it isn't such a normal murmur.

I don't remember what the cardiologist told us that day, the only thing I heard was "surgery" and my heart stopped. Since then I've become well-versed on Cooper's condition, which is known as Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF or TET). I would try to explain it, but this is the internet and why not just copy and paste? Below is what I found on a few websites:

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common congenital heart defect causing cyanosis, a bluish discoloration of skin caused by oxygen-poor blood reaching the general circulation. An embryologic failure of the right ventricular outflow tract to form properly results in the four cardiac abnormalities characteristic of TOF:

(1) Ventricular septal defect (VSD): An abnormal opening between the two lower chambers of the heart

(2) Pulmonic stenosis (PS): A narrowed area within the main pulmonary artery, at, above or below the pulmonary valve

(3) Malpositioned aorta: The entrance to the aorta overrides the VSD

(4) Ventricular hypertrophy: An overly muscular right ventricle

In the normal heart, oxygen-poor blood returns to the right side of the heart where it is pumped to the lungs to be oxygenated. In TOF, the pulmonic stenosis increases the resistance to right ventricular outflow. This can cause elevation of right-sided heart pressures that may result in oxygen-poor blood being diverted across the VSD to the left ventricle and into the aorta (“right-to-left shunt”). When the aorta carries “mixed” blood to the general circulation, less oxygen is available to the tissues and cyanosis can result. Without surgical intervention, most patients with TOF will not survive past early adulthood.

Here's a diagram of what is happening in Cooper's heart:

What all of this means is that Cooper will be having surgery. It's scheduled for Tuesday morning, but we'll be checking him into the hospital Monday afternoon. I feel uneasy announcing this on the blog, but there is a lot to understand about what is happening and I knew that if I had to explain it over-and-over that eventually I wouldn't be able to explain it anymore.

I'll be using the blog to update his condition over the course of the next seven to ten days. The procedure will last 5-6 hours, and then he'll be in the intensive care unit to recover for two or three days. From there he'll be transferred to intermediate care for another two or three days. If all goes well, we hope to be back home with him in time for Christmas.

The good news is that the surgery team is very well-known and respected for this type of procedure, and his prognosis for recovery is positive. The surgeons and his cardiologist have informed us that should the surgery go well he'll develop normally. That means he can run, jump, play, bash into coffee tables and all of the other things that boys do as they grow up.

I'll be sure to provide updates as the surgery approaches, and of course his condition as we move ahead over the next few days.

If you believe in a higher power, and if you wouldn't mind, please say a little prayer for Cubby tonight or tomorrow.

Four Month Update

"You humor me. Please continue the funny faces. That is all."

So much for keeping the blog up-to-date. I never really believed people that told me "once that baby arrives your free time ends." I guess I should listen a little better. I'm sure SuperMom agrees. Just under a week ago (Dec. 5) our little man's odometer rolled past four months. My how time flies when you're having fun.

They say this is the "Golden" age of a baby. They're starting to interact with mom/dad, they can hold up their head, they smile, they coo, and they are still immobile. I have to agree. We enjoy the benefits of a baby without the function of a toddler. Good times!! The past few weeks have really been a blur. Our handsome little man (photographic evidence above) has really started to develop a personality. He has favorite toys (lights + music), books (10 Little Ladybugs & Snuggle Puppy), and activities (bath time).

SuperMom has been phenomenal so far. She takes to motherhood like a duck to water. It's quite shocking to see her in action. She has a solution for every mood. She knows when he's hungry. She knows when he needs a diaper changed. She knows when he is tired, or if he needs a burp. I'm completely lost and just do what she says. Our marriage and relationship seem to benefit from this approach. I guess there is a lesson to be learned here.

There is one thing I seem to be good at...making him laugh. I discovered this new talent just a few days ago during an impromptu game of peek-a-boo. I was going to supply video evidence, but the clip is taking forever-and-a-day to upload. The game went on for quite some time until SuperMom whipped out the video camera. While Cubby is very outgoing, he tends to become shy once the camera is rolling. I will try to upload the video after the gremlins at Blogger stop disrupting the network.