Thanks!

Kayden just wanted to thank all of those who have been praying for him for the past few weeks! (He has a glove on his right hand, and waved all on his own... we were leaving last night when all of the sudden he started waving goodnight. We figured he was also thanking everyone!)


He (along with his parents) feel those prayers. "For the prayer of the righteous availeth much." We realized today how many more people were praying for him than we even knew about (Thanks to the Valley View Ward in Rexburg, ID, as well as the BYU-ID 78th- Please feel free to leave comments/questions).

As for an update on the little guy... He is off of dopamine, which was raising is heart rate, but was bringing up his blood pressure a bit. His heart rate is back to being a bit more normal, and his blood pressure has stabilized. They have also started feeding him breast milk (started at 1cc/hr. and are now at 3cc/hr. His feeding tube is through his nose, and goes directly to the small intestine, which seems to be handling the milk just fine. They are also decreasing the amount of oxygen given through the ventilator, which will give him the opportunity to begin to breathe on his own. Hopefully by tomorrow, he will be extubated. His radial arterial line was removed this morning as well. His O2 saturation levels are stabilizing, which is a good sign since they want to take him off the vent. soon.

Chelsea and I are doing quite well, (getting enough sleep). We continue to count our blessings for Kayden's progress and give all of the credit to God, for all of the miracles that we have seen these past few weeks. We couldn't be happier to see our little family grow, and begin to raise such a special son.

He's Awake...Wanted to Say Hello to ALL of You

Just got a moment when he was awake just now..thought you guys might want to see him!

Kayden's favorite activity (Whether he likes it, or not)

While Kayden was in and out yesterday, Chelsea decided to ask the nurse if they had children books in the PICU. The nurse then showed Chels where they were at... she returned with a stack of about 5 or 6 books, and began reading to him by his bedside. She got some girly-books (or they sure seemed to be to me) except for one... GRADERS! (Big tractors you see while a road is under construction). I approved her to read that book first to him. That was probably the first of 5 books that were read to him that day (yesterday the 29th of January).

What can I learn from this? I tried telling her that we would most likely spend our time playing outside with him...you know, football, soccer, basketball, wakeboarding in the summer (OF COURSE), or snowboarding. She quickly declined, telling me that we would be reading a LOT to him. Well, mom wins... I guess (except for the wakeboarding in the summer). Mom and dad are already having their different styles of parenting. I guess we better agree on most things before he gets too old.... and has his dad wrapped around his finger.

CLOSURE!

These are pictures taken right after the procedure. They wouldn't let me in to watch the closing of his chest, so I didn't take too grusome of pictures. The picture on the right is when they were inserting a feeding tube so he will hopefully be able to get some milk! The picture on the left is the way he looks right now...LIKE A STUD!


We were notified by our nurse last night that they were planning on closing Kayden's chest. We then got a call at about midnight informing us that they were planning on closing it at 9:00 (this morning). We arrived just as they were finishing, and overall, he is doing pretty well. Dr. Burch said that "the closure went excellent". His blood pressure has been doing a lot better, but since he is sedated, it is having a hard time staying up where it needs to be.

Part of his lung is having a tendency to want to collapse, but they are working to fix that. The nurses said that this could be caused by the fluid that they are hearing, as well as the small holes that are present in the wall separating the right and left ventricles (VSD, ASD). They are monitoring it well though, and we are grateful to have more great nurses today!

Update Number... ?

We took this video earlier this morning when he was awake. It was fun talking to him and getting some response out of him. To date (It is now 5:40), we are still having a difficult time keeping his blood pressure at a normal rate (probably get that from his mom..) He also has an irregular heart rate, which they say is pretty normal. Enjoy the video!


We were also able to enjoy a visitor that is working at Primary's. Thanks for stopping by Krystal! We had a good chat... always fun to see another family member/friend from good 'ole Rexburg.

Post Surgery Update

These are a few pictures that we took right when he came back to the CICU (Cardiac Intensive Care). The anesthesiologist is on the far left, and the surgeon, Dr. Burch is right next to him. Our nurse from last night is on the far right. The two women are basically in charge of the PICU/CICU. The machines are pumps for all of his different medications. His face was a little swollen, but is looking much better today! We will post more pictures later today.

He seems to be doing pretty well overall. Chelsea and I were at the hospital last night till about 11, making sure his blood pressure was stabilizing, as well as his CO2 and PH levels. His blood was pretty acidic last night, and his CO2 levels were extremely high due to some ventilator settings. After a few Blood-GAS tests, his CO2 levels dropped, and by the early morning, they were back to normal. They are monitoring his chest drains closely to make sure he doesn't have any major leaks right now internally. We are glad his blood pressure seems to be on the lower end vs. the higher end because of the new sutures from surgery yesterday. If it were to be too high, it would cause too much pressure to be on his newly repaired arch, which is obviously not good.

We have had a few questions about his chest being left open after surgery... I don't blame you guys. Basically (if you can tell from the picture) he has a large dressing over his chest. Underneath all that gauze, he has a plastic-like membrane that is sutured to his skin, which allows for his chest to be more open, allowing for more room for his heart to beat while still a little swollen. We can't see his open cavity, but when they remove the gauze to get to the membrane, the nurses say that they can kind of see through it, and see a portion of the heart. I hope this answers your question. If it doesn't make sense, please let me know.

We will be here for most of the day, and feel blessed that everything is going so well. He isn't perfect quite yet, but he will get there soon! Let us know if you have any other questions.

Closing Remarks (For a Few Hours..)

You guys all know me.. How could I go longer than 2 hours without a post?! haha.

The surgeon said that his aortic arch looks great from the outside. They performed an echo with a probe on a tube and went down to look at his heart, as well as blood flow to his abdomen, and that all looks great. His valves will be monitored over the next few weeks and months to be sure they aren't narrowing any more. The incision will be left open for drainage, and for the swelling to go down. When they tried to close it, his heart raced faster, affecting his blood pressure, and irregular beats. Therefore, they will leave it open until the middle, to end of the weekend.

We will be going back into the PICU with him, and are excited to see him again!! Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers today. We know that without the help of deity, none of this success would have been possible.

If any of you have more questions, please ask via comments.

5 Hours and......DONE!

Annie, the head nurse of the surgery (maybe she isn't, but I call her that) just informed us that the surgery is complete!!! She said his heart is a little swollen, which will require his chest to remain opened for a few days to make sure the heart isn't compressed at all (this isn't uncommon). She said Dr. Burch should be out to speak with us in about 20 minutes, to give us his opinion on the surgery and what we should kind of be expecting.

We will probably give more details after speaking with Dr. Burch. As far as we are concerned right now, LET THE RECOVERY TIME BEGIN!!

4 Hours and Counting...

To answer a few questions.. surgeons are basically rotating every day.. If your surgery schedule gets moved around, you just get that surgeon assigned for that day. Good news is..they are all great doctors. Also, the time started when he was taken back to the OR. He has been in there for a total of about 4.5 hours.

Kayden is doing well. They just patched the aortic arch, and are warming up his body (they take down his temperature to about 17 degrees C from the lower abdomen, down during the procedure, and will now bring it back up. They will then do an echo to see if the repair will do. We will wait for further updates!

3 Hours and Counting

He is now on bypass, and doing well. Dr. Burch has also dissected everything he needs to work on, and therefore will be able to proceed with the procedure.

These updates will be short, but to the point, as we speak with the head nurse for about 10-15 seconds with each update, and that is it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask via comments, and we will hopefully respond to them in a quick manner.

2 Hours and Counting...

We were told we would be updated by a nurse every 1 hour to 1.5 hours. After a little over 2 hours, a nurse came in a few minutes ago, and told us that the incision was just made, and that the surgery is underway. That's it! haha. She said she would return around 5:00 p.m. with more information on how the surgery is going. We'll continue to keep you posted.

MOVIE (happy one, this time)

Okay.. Maybe I am going a little overboard on this posting stuff... haha. I guess I enjoy it. What is this...like the 3rd post today?

TO THE OR!

SEIZE THE DAY PART II

Kayden just went into the operating room, calm as could be (although his parents sure weren't..) He woke up 5 minutes before the surgeon came to speak with us and looked around the whole time... like he was looking at others in the room that we couldn't see. The surgeon explained all of the risks that could happen with the surgery, and asked if we had any questions. He then left while other nurses came to disconnect everything from his location in the PICU to move him to the OR. The surgeon's head nurse did confirm that the procedure should take about 4-5 hours (could be shorter, could be longer).

We should receive updates every hour or so, and will be sure to post them as soon as we can. Thanks again for all of your prayers and support. You will never know how much it means to Chels and I.
This is a picture of Chelsea and I walking him to the OR with the anesthesiologist and his assistant.

SEIZE THE DAY

(This is a picture from last night. He was holding my pinki with his two hands)

It's official! Kayden will be going in the OR around 12:30 or 13:00. We just arrived to the hospital, and we spoke with the cardiologist, who told us that Dr. Burch will be the surgeon for sure, and is in one case right now but will be out to speak with us when he is finished. Dr. Burch trained with Dr. Hawkins (the surgeon who operated on my nephew). They will officially go through his sternum to perform the surgery, making it an "open-heart". He will most likely go on bypass (which really isn't what most coarc babies have to be on). His coarctation (or narrowing) is a longer segment including most of the transverse aortic arch, as well as his descending aortic arch, which would make it difficult to repair by going through his side.

As of right now, he is peaceful, and continues to sleep when he can (when his parents aren't waking him up). We are very anxious to have the surgery over with so that his recovery can begin. We anticipate the surgery to last 4-5 hours, and the recovery time to be about 2 weeks. We will keep you posted during his surgery (roughly every hour).

** The highlight of the night yesterday was that Chelsea was able to hold Kayden with his breathing tube in, which we didn't think would be possible. Our nurse (our favorite night-time nurse) asked if she could let Chelsea hold her, and she was given permission. This is Chelsea right when he was put into her arms.

MRI to Surgery Tomorrow!

Kayden is in for his MRI as I type! His intubation procedure could not have gone better (placing a breathing tube in the body). The doctors gave him two medications: one to sedate him, and another to essentially paralyze him, so that he would remain still for the procedure. I was able to stay in the room for the procedure (Chelsea didn't care to), and he did amazingly well. I know he is being blessed with peace these past few days with all that has been going on. When about 8 doctors/nurses came into the room, he just looked all around him, and didn't seem to mind any of it at all.

Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon (yeah, I know.. We are starting to not believe surgery schedules since it has been changed so many times). A cardiologist informed us that it will most likely be performed by Dr. Birch instead of Dr. Kaza, but that we will most likely be able to speak with Dr. Kaza tonight to have some kind of idea as to which way they will proceed for the surgery. We know without a doubt that this whole process this past week, although tedious and tiresome, is being guided by the Lord's hand. We are grateful for the gospel and the priesthood power that was restored to the earth. It can bring such peace.

We will continue to keep you posted... (I have been somewhat brief in my posts, as there is so much information given to us, that you all would most likely be intimidated to read it all. Feel free to ask more questions, and we will respond with answers to the best of our ability)!
This is Chelsea and I bringing Kayden to the MRI room (He LOVES to hold her finger. She pulls away, and he grips tighter... that has been the hardest for his dad to see. She has been a trooper, having a difficult time being away from her son. I am so grateful that she decided to marry me! I love you Chels.

MRI

Just a quick update... The specialists (cardiologists, surgeons, physicians..pretty much more people than you can imagine) came to a consensus this morning that Kayden have an MRI before surgery. The reasoning is so that they will have a 3D image of the heart, and where exactly the coarc is located to determine the extent of the procedure (sternum or side). That is the main question. He is still quite content, and cute as ever. It is difficult for both Chelsea and I to see him struggle, and have to wait for surgery until most likely tomorrow (Thursday the 28th) however, we know he is being watched over, and that the doctors are taking every precaution to take care of this little guy. This picture was taken this morning.. so peaceful.

False Alarm

We were just told that Dr. Kaza, Kayden's surgeon, will need to perform an emergency surgery for someone else this afternoon. There will be a committee that meets tomorrow morning to discuss all of the patients that need to have surgery. He will see the echocardiogram that was taken of Kayden's heart at that time. Around 10:00, we will have a better idea of where they will enter his body to repair the coarc. They usually perform two surgeries each day, so he will be going to the OR most likely tomorrow afternoon. The cardiologist said that it was possible that he could go in Thursday as well, so we will see! We will keep you all updated as soon as we know!

22 Hours

This morning we woke up, and began to get ready to head over to Primary's. We slept very hard, but didn't seem to be very long. We got to the PICU, and were greeted with a distinct cry. Chelsea looked at me and said, "That's Kayden." I walked in, and found out that they were adjusting the picc line (probably the 2nd or 3rd time). He handled it pretty well, especially when Chels and I walked into the room. He seemed to calm down a bit, until they had finished. For how terrified she is of needles, Chelsea was there to support her son. Another x-ray was taken to ensure that the catheter had been pulled enough, and was in a good spot. The resident physician told us that the line would remain until surgery.

After the x-ray came the echocardiogram. We were able to be with him for that, to make sure that he was calm, and stayed still. Every time he fussed, we gave him sweeties to calm him down (glucose solution that he REALLY enjoys). He did really well for that screening. The cardiologist then explained that the measurements they had taken last Thursday hadn't changed much, and that the coartation of the transversal aortic arch would probably be the only issue that needed to be addressed at this time. He also mentioned that he believed the surgeon would prefer to go in through his side, rather than through the sternum because of the location of the narrowing.

I was also able to speak to another cardiologist who Chelsea and I spoke with during one of our visits at Primary's nearly 2 months ago. He explained that he was 99% sure that the coarctation was the only part that needed to be fixed, and that the rest would grow by itself. He also explained that about 10% of coarc repairs need to have extensive work done in the future. He also told us that it is fairly common that because of the coarc surgery, the other valves (mitral/aortic) would grow, and be just fine. That gave us more comfort.

Last, but not least, we were told today that Dr. Kaza would be the surgeon, and that he was anticipating surgery at 16:00 tomorrow. We will be discussing the procedure with him, and signing more consent forms before it commences. I have heard of nothing but great comments about Dr. Kaza, as he recently just performed surgery on a baby with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (Kayden's worse-case scenerio in the beginning). We are hopeful that he will be the best for Kayden's situation.

Just a quick update.. Kayden is doing quite well. We have so much fun visiting him each day, and being able to spend quality time as a family (weird that our family doesn't just consist of Chelsea and David anymore). We spoke with one of the nurse practitioners, who told us that they believe the coarctation to be in the transversal portion of his aortic arch. They also believe that they will go through the sternum rather than the side (the side is supposedly much more painful). He will have another echocardiogram tomorrow (January 25th) sometime, which we are very anxious about. This will basically tell the surgeons what to plan on, and how the heart is functioning less than a week on the earth. Everyone is invited to pray for him, as much of the surgery will depend on the results tomorrow. We have faith that his heart will develop as much as it is supposed to until then.

Chelsea and I have been trying to feed him with a bottle, but haven't been too successful. The nurses say this is common, due to the insufficient amount of bloodflow below his chest with the ductus being left open with the prostaglandin (medication to keep the ductus open). He really doesn't have too much of an appetite, but sure loves sugar water on his binki. He is so fun to hold. We are trying to hold him as much as we can now, because after surgery, we won't be able to hold him for a while (depending on how his surgery goes will determine how long it will be before we can hold him again).


Thanks again for the love and support...

Dear Tiff,

Here are some more pictures of Chelsea and I holding Kayden for the first time in the PICU. That is where he will be before and after his surgery. While we were there visiting him yesterday, Mia (the day-time nurse) asked me if we wanted to hold Kayden. I then asked Chelsea if she wanted to hold him, and she was SO excited and said, "OF COURSE!" (that's GREAT news on his condition). We met with a cardiologist yesterday, who explained to us what the immediate findings of the echocardiogram were. To make a long story short, he basically needs to have surgury to repair the narrowing of part of the aortic arch. They "simply" cut out the portion that is narrowed, and sew the two ends together. His mitral valve appears to be narrowed as well as the aortic valve (which is biscuspid). They had already told us before he was born that he appeared to have these problems. However, when looking at the bloodflow (which they do in 3D), the flow doesn't appear to be too accelerated, which means the narrowings will most likely not have to be worked on.

The wall dividing the left and right atriums appears to have two small openings, which the cardiologist said will most likely close as his heart continues to develop over the next week or so. The surgeons are at a confrence and won't be here until at least next Wednesday.We feel that this is perfect timing so that his heart can continue to develop before they are to perform surgery. This also will allow the doctors to take more accurate readings as the amniotic fluid continues to leave all of the areas in his abdomen, which can cause less accurate readings.

We will be going to visit him VERY frequently over the next few days while we are here (Chelsea is supposed to be discharged tomorrow morning from the hospital).


Once again, if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask through a comment on the blog. Thanks Tiff for your phone calls. If everyone called, it would be too much, but it is always good to hear jokes about my husband's baby, and hearing from you :) (inside joke guys... ask if you are concerned).

He's HERE!!

He weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces, and I don't know how long he is yet. Chelsea pushed for less than 20 minutes (9:56-10:13). She went from being dilated at a 4.5 to a 10 in about an hour and a half. He is in the ICU right now, and is being well taken care of right now. The ICU gave him an apgar score of 9. Here are a few pictures that we captured. Thanks again for all of your support and prayers. We love and appreciate you all so much! (I may have forgotten a few details, so stay tuned for more).

Epidurals ARE Amazing!

After some intense pain from the constant (and I mean constant) contractions, I told Chelsea that I thought it was time for the epidural. The nurse walked in soon after and she paged the anesthesiologist quickly. She was shaking from the pain so the nurse gave her a drug to relax her nerves... a miracle drug.. whatever it was. The doctor did a great job with the epidural. Chelsea claims that she didn't even feel it. Another miracle, because she put off getting it for so long because of her fear of needles. She was able to rest quite well after that!

About a 30 minutes ago, the nurses came in and were shocked to see how many contractions Chelsea was still having. They said that the citotec should have worn off about an hour and a half ago. The last time she received the cytotec pill was at about 12 a.m. this morning. They had to give her another medication to try and space out the contractions since they were so close together and strong. They were worried that Kayden's heart rate was dropping too much from it. We have felt the hand of the Lord so many times in the past 12 hours. She is currently dilated to a 4.

Update!

I don't expect people to read these live posts, because you are probably all sleeping where you should be.. However, I said I would update every 2 hours so I will do so while I can.

Chelsea has received her second dose of citotec, which has caused her to have contractions like no other. She is in a lot of pain, but handling it very well. Kayden's seemed to be a little too calm, so they tickled his head, hoping that it would stimulate some more movement. They also have Chelsea on Oxygen now, just to be sure they are getting enough. I am now gaining a lot more respect for all the women who have given or will give birth.

One of the nurses mentioned that this should be the last dose of citotec, and that she should be on pitocin. That would mean that at about 4 the war will really begin. She is still dialated to about a 1.5 and is 70% effaced.

WE ARE HERE!

Chelsea and I got into the hospital a little after 6, and she is hooked up to her IV (she made it through the part she thinks she will hate the most). When the nurse walked in the room, who would give her the IV, Chelsea's heart rate began to increase at a rapid pace. The nurse said she had worked on the Life-Flight team for about a year, giving her a LOT of experience with IV's. Well, let's just say that she stuck her, and it didn't work. She tried moving the needle around to find a good place, but still didn't work. She told Chelsea that she would have to try the other hand. She finally got it, and she was happy again (after a few tears... okay, a lot!) Her mom came down from Idaho to be with her, and that has been a great emotional support. She was given her first dose of cytotec at about 7:30, and will be checked every 4 hours to see if she has progressed at all. She can be given another dose at that if she needs it. When she is "ripened" she will then be given pitocin. Cytotec, however, may put her into labor, so we will see! Feel free to ask questions in the comment area, and I will try and find out the answer and respond! Thanks for the continued support!

Our Happenings at The Ronald McDonald House

We have been staying busy the last few days, enjoying alone time before our lives will be changed forever (for the better, of course). I never thought I would learn how to crochet (yeah, Chelsea taught me). We spent a lot of hours working on our individual projects. She made the hats shown, and I made the scarf in the background (thanks Jen for getting us hooked.. you are quite the teacher).


We have been overwhelmed with the love and support of so many of you, especially family. Nieces and nephews (as well as sisters/siser-in-laws) drew and colored pictures to make the room feel more like a home. The comments were great, and made us laugh quite a bit. Thanks again to all of you guys, and those who have been praying and thinking about us. We have felt your prayers, and know that Kayden will be blessed, as we have.

We decided to hit up the zoo, even if it was during the winter, and it was cold and overcast. We didn't know what animal would want to be out in that cold of weather, or wanted to even be awake, but we were shocked with all that we saw. We were also shocked to see how many people joined us. It was a good time to get away for a
while, as well as try some natural induction... walking around for almost 2 hours! (Doesn't she look good?!)

Swimmin' with Rays

We have been blessed to be in the RMH for many reasons. One reason is that we receive free passes to many local activities. We decided to try out the live aquarium, which turned out to be a hit!

We were surprised to see so many cool fish and other creatures that we never expected to be able to see in Sandy, Utah. One of the highlights for us (and everyone else that was there) was the giant octopus, which they just recently added to their display (provided by Layton Construction... had to add that part for my best friend Steve). We also enjoyed petting the sting rays in a little pond they had set up! To sum up the experience: We will be returning later with Kayden!



(Chelsea said that I couldn't even go to a museum without thinking about wakeboarding)

38 Weeks

I now can officially say I have a panda body.

The last couple of weeks I was getting panda feet at night (I call swelling on any part of my body, panda... feet, hands, cheeks, etc. because it makes me feel much cuter and sounds better than swelling up like a prego woman). However, now I have a panda body. I have some nice chunky skin on my sides, my cheeks look like I have grapes in them at all times, I can no longer where my ring : ( My feet still only get big at night, and my belly is one big panda belly!

Despite these lovely additions my amazing husband still thinks I'm hot : ) Probably because he has to be in the same room as the crazy pregnant woman all the time, but hey whatever works.

We now are living in the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) and our room is half the size of a dorm room, painted like a yellow lime green which is actually a pretty color, and our bathroom has only a shower that really is just a small waterfall that comes out. All my great nephew and neices + my sisters and sister n law colored me pictures to put up which make our room have such a happy feeling now! My sister even sent me a care package!









Thanks everyone for the prayers, packages, pictures, texts, and phone calls!