Skip to main content

Day #2

Mason has continued to do remarkable today. I am completely amazed with his recovery so far. He is in and out of sleep and is constantly getting startled – this is genetic because his Dad does the same thing when he sleeps  and it is also a result of him coming off of the morphine.
He has been excellent at communicating – letting us know what he wants to eat, drink and the most important letting us know if he is in pain.
We tell him everyday how proud we are of him and he looks at us – slightly smiles and says “Yay”! Brings tears to my eyes.

From a medical standpoint his incision looks excellent. When you look at it you might think-how does glue hold his chest together? But the reality is that there are three layers of stitches underneath. The first layer of stitches holds together his bones – this is actually not stitches but wires. The second layer sews together the fat and the muscles within the chest. The top layer (what we see) is only for the skin and it is held together with a clear medical “band aid” type glue. Mason has three drain tubes, the central tube is good sized and the ones to the left and the right are smaller. These tubes are left in for drainage and will be around for awhile. So far his drainage is good. Yesterday it was mostly blood and today is has turned to a clearer color which is a good sign.
Mason is currently on Morphine – as needed for pain, a maintenance fluid to keep him hydrated, an antibotibic; which is to prevent infection post op, Toradal – another pain medication (It is all about making the right cocktail to keep him comfortable), Aspirin – blood thinner to prevent clots (he is also on this at home) and last but certainly not least Lasix; this helps to eliminate extra fluids that collect around his lungs from being on bypass.

Through out the day he has had some ice chips, apple ice chips (ice with apple juice), a few bites of apple sauce and most recently he ate watermelon. Such a champion.

Dr. McMullan was pleased with how the surgery went. He was able to put in an 18mm conduit (which is the size of my pointer finger). We were very excited about this since our child is not going to grow up and be a small man this reduces the risk of having to go back in to put in a larger size at a later time.

We are so thankful for the outcome so far and know in our hearts that the many prayers said on Mason’s behalf have something to do with it.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for us – the plan is to graduate from the ICU and move onto the floor.


Mason sitting up for the first time:) Big progress!

Thank You all for your faith, love and support!

Comments

What a great report! Thinking about you and fingers crossed you are home before you know it! I had tears hearing you talk about Mason's new sats :)

Popular posts from this blog

10 Years....

Mason, It is amazing how time passes by in the blink of an eye after you have kids…. It seems like just yesterday, yet this week, 10 years have passed since our life was turned upside down. The day our world took a turn we never saw coming. Each year leading up to the anniversary, I get anxious, emotional, sad, scared, and angry. I WISH 10 years later I felt differently. But I don’t. It almost feels just as raw as the day we were told…. This year. I am consciously recognizing what it is… MONDAY FEBRUARY 11 th ,2008. We sat in a room where a Doctor carefully articulated and explained to us about your special heart. There is one detail about this day I have seemed to forget in time. That is the name of the doctor who told us about our fate…. I could describe to you in details about anything else you might want to know, who was there, what we were wearing, what the Doctor himself looked like and the conversation we had. Yet his name, which used to be

Loaded Diaper?!?!?

Today's post title comes to you from the one and only Greg Garka... Thanks for the idea babe! As far as Mason is concernced today was another good day for our little man! We made our goal and got up and went on a total of three walks. The last walk of the night he spotted the “playroom” and was interested so we stopped and visited with our neighbors while he played. It was the highlight of the day. His appetite decreased today but that is to be expected since he hadn’t yet had a bowel movement (in 6 days)– however about 60 minutes ago things changed in that department and I am happy to report his bowels are working and back in action… During his echo he was again a crowd pleaser and was on his best behavior. The technician said that he was the best 3 year old she has done. It is so funny; he gets upset when something is about to happen and he doesn’t understand what. He tells us he is scared and then after we explain to him what they are going to do and that it won’t hurt –

Update 7/1

Mason is out of surgery!! Kelsey and I finally got some good news. Dr. McMullen told us the surgery went as expected with no surprises. He told us Mason's heart is "vigorous" and is doing well. Hearing that word was like music to my ears. We have not been able to see him yet, but we know it will be a tough sight to see. However, we are so thankful that God has kept His hand on our little boy and got him through the first step. The next 24-48 hours will be critical for Mason as he is still at risk for several issues to arise. We will keep you posted on his progress. Praise God for His protection on our son. Greg & Kelsey