i will start with our most recent doctors appt. Colby had a cardiology appointment on dec. 22 we were looking for an early Christmas present..... we kinda got one? Colby still had not gained any additional weight which continues to cause concern. the cardiologist didn't want to do anything through the holidays so he sent us home with some diet changes and medication changes. Becca talked with the nutritionist and she suggested adding "corn oil" to his bottles to increase the per oz caloric intake. Colby also stopped taking one of his heart medicines that can act as an appetite suppressant. both of these changes have proven to be good. his overall intake has gone up and he seems to be adjusting well. the real question will be is it enough. we have another follow up with cardiology on jan. 7th. if he has not gained any weight at this appointment then the doctor will admit him into the hospital that day to have a feeding tube installed. this typically relates to a 2 day hospital stay to get it regulated and to train us on how to use it. we are hoping and praying that this is not necessary but if it is needed to get him bigger then we support it 100%. the overall tone of the appointment was good. aside from weight gain Colby is looking pretty good. the other blessing was that he didn't need to have anything done over the holidays.
next i will move on to Christmas.... what a time to celebrate. this Christmas was probably one of the best i have ever had. we were so excited to actually get through Christmas without a hospital visit. it is amazing how the past year has changed our perspective. the other great thing about Christmas this year was the time we were able to spend with our families. the hardest part of Colby being on house arrest has been the holidays. a lot of our family members had not seen Colby in person since he was born b/c he never leaves the house.... that all changed this Christmas we got approval from the cardiologist along with some rules and we hit the roads as a family to celebrate this season together. it was great.... i must say thanks to everyone for respecting Colby's personal space and looking from a far to ensure he didn't catch any germs. it sounds a little like the 3 wise men "from a far"..... anyway family was definitely the focus of this Christmas for us.
Brody would probably disagree. he would say that his tractors and choo choo train were the the tops this year. it was really fun to watch him with family and to watch him experience his first Christmas of understanding presents and Santa. he became pretty intrigued with the big guy in the red suit this year.... Colby didn't really pay much attention to much beyond the noise and the lights. but it was great to watch Brody show Colby all of his new toys and he also helped Colby open his toys. it is still funny to watch Brody go into the play room and identify Colby's toys and his toys.... he is the best big brother ever. as many of you know we were pretty fond of Brody prior to Colby being born and some might even say we spoiled him a little. well I'm not sure how accurate that theory is but he has absolutely surprised us with how good he treats his little brother. i cant imagine what it will like as they get older especially if anyone tries to pick on his little brother there might be a little drama when that happens. Christmas was truly filled with blessings and reasons to celebrate this year. despite the health issues Colby is dealing with we truly feel like we are blessed with 2 of the greatest kids.
next topic..... many of you have sent cards and calls asking what can we do to help out with Colby. well we finally have something that each and every one of you can do to help. we are planning a blood drive in honor of Colby. Colby required several blood transfusions during his last surgery so we feel like we need to help replenish the stock at the red cross so the next little heart that needs an emergency transfusion will have the necessary blood just as Colby did. we are trying finalize the remaining details for this but we have the preliminary framework in place. the blood drive will be sat. february 14th from 9-1 or 10-2. the location will be Hendersonville Church of Christ. the red cross has given us several goals that we must commit to meeting for this event to be a success. the first goal is participation we need to have a minimum of 75 committed to donate. based on the overwhelming response and support we have seen over the past months we are very confident that we can surpass that goal easily..... the second goal is to get some volunteers to help work the drive itself. we will have a couple of areas that need to be staffed and we are looking for some volunteers to help us fill those needs. if you are interested in volunteering or donating or both then please let us know and we will pass along the details as they are finalized. we are in the process of getting link set up for donor to visit to sign up for a time to donate blood so you don't have to wait in line.... we will post that as soon as it is available. please mark your calendar to save some time on feb. 14th to help us in making this blood drive a success. we know as we look towards Colby's future operations that the need for blood is one that is never completely filled. you may also wonder why we chose feb. 14th? a couple of reasons: valentines day, it's a Saturday, and most importantly it is congenital heart defect awareness day. we figured this would be a great day to celebrate Colby's successes thus far as well as provide some much needed blood for the may other babies and children that are dealing with a lot of the same issues Colby is dealing with.
thanks for your continued support and prayers.... happy new year and don't forget february 14th
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