Post Op Day 4 (4/2/11)

We went on another wagon ride today, and the weather was so nice that we were able to go sit outside for a while. Colby was so relaxed out there that he took a nap! It felt good to get out of the room and get some fresh air.

The doctors and nurses have been encouraging Colby to start walking around. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that with the IV in his foot, so they decided to go ahead and put a new one in his hand. An IV therapist came by about 5:30 pm and did this with no problems. Here he is with his tennis shoes on ready to take his first few steps after surgery...

Then, an hour after the IV was put in, he pulled it out! So, another IV therapist came by about 7 to stick him yet again in the other hand. This poor child looks like a pin cushion! We are praying he does not pull this one out, because he has pretty much run out of usable veins.

Post-Op Day 3 (4/1/11)

No better way to end the day than w/ a wagon ride around the floor with your bottle of Sprite, blanket, chest tube pump box, and vital pack.... Apparently daddy pulls the wagon too slow so this the response I got!

This is how we spent the majority of the day.... Laid back watching Barnyard the movie over and over again..... We also celebrated with a couple of packs of fruit snacks.... Thanks to whoever sent the goody basket today that included fruit snacks. As you can see this is a much happier and content Colby.

Colby continues to convince Becca to climb into the bed w/ him. I hope he does not try that w/ the ladies in high school. The good news is we can still say that neither of our boys have slept in out bed..... unfortunately she can no longer say she hasn't spent the night in his bed....

This is Colby's second granola bar and Sprite of the afternoon. Who would have thought that was the open heart surgery recovery diet?

I must say I have never appreciated the opportunity to sit and hold Colby as much as I have during this hospital stay. There has never been any questions that Colby was momma's boy #2 since he was born. Both our boys for sure love their momma more than life (understandable since she is pretty awesome). Fortunately, I have had several opportunities to hang w/ Colby in my lap and I have obviously taken those moments for granted in the past. I will thank God for all of these moments today and in the future. I think we often forget or don't cherish the little awesome events that we often experience as parents on a regular basis. It's unfortunate that it takes a little open heart surgery for Brody and Colby's dad to remember how awesome those moments are!

Colby got his 2 main chest tubes out this morning. Thankfully the additional chest tube he had to get yesterday cleared up 95+% of the fluid on the right side. Chest films were pretty much clear today. He wanted to take this opportunity to show off all of his recent cosmetic work. He thinks the scars make him cool. I think they make him tough and expensive?

Today was a day full of rest and happy Colby. Thank you Lord! Apparently the Toy Story Crew did something to anger young Colby during surgery or he thinks they performed the surgery b/c he has not cuddled w/ them since the ICU. He has shared in this experience w/ his monkey even sharing his narcotics w/ him this morning.... he has been a little loopy today too.

If Colby sleeps like this for too long he will need some occupational therapy to straighten his wrist back out.....

Thanks again for all of the prayers and many messages of encouragement. We are blessed to be surrounded and supported by so many..... Fortunately, I have cute kids and a hot wife that people like.....

Post Op Day 2 (3/31/11)

4:00 Just got back to the room. Colby did really well. No surprises just fluid.... He has already drained a bunch and his SATs have already begun to rise back into the mid to upper 80s. Hopefully tonight will be a more peaceful/ restful night for "everyone" especially daddy? Colby gets meds to help him rest mommy and daddy need meds.....

1:30 Colby went back for the quick procedure of inserting a drain tube into his right chest cavity. They are going to sedate him enough to keep him comfortable but not enough to where he has to go back on the ventilator....

10:45 We knew it would happen eventually..... Setback #1 They told us yesterday that Colby had some pleural effusion (fluid on his right lung). They attempted to increase his diuretic to see if they could drain the fluid but unfortunately the effusion continues to increase. His surgeon just came in and told us that she is planning to insert a pig tail (an additional chest tube) on the right side of his chest cavity. We will update once he gets back into a room.....

Brody finally got to see his little brother this morning.... unfortunately his little brother did not feel much like talking or playing.... hopefully he ill feel better once they get the fluid off his chest.....

Post Fontan Day 1 (3/30/11)

This picture pretty much says it all for the day Colby has had...... I'm not sure where he learned to sleep like this but it appears to be working for him at the time.

This picture was made tonight as he was being moved OUT of the ICU and into a regular room on the 6th floor 24 hours after surgery. What an amazing day provided by an AMAZING GOD. So many answered prayers over the past couple of weeks for this surgery.

Finally a good nap after they removed his arterial line and some other tubes, hoses, and cords this afternoon. Once they got everything cleaned up they told us they had a surprise......

Pretty awesome to hold him in my lap less than 24 hrs after surgery!!!!! I think I was watching a documentary on TV or listening to Becca?

Colby was very irritated w/ the nasal cannula so he requested his own Oxygen supplement. Let me do it......

Middle of the day today..... I wonder if he is tired or doing yoga meditation? Funny thing is we have a very similar picture of him sleeping in this same position after his last surgery....

If they don't see me maybe they will leave me alone. He was excited to finally get the remote to the TV and DVD player.... unfortunately, the remote did not work which did not make him happy....

Resting peacefully this morning.... He is pretty cute even with a big scar on his chest (chicks will dig that when he gets older). Pretty amazing to think he was heading into the OR 24 hrs earlier....

This picture is a few minutes after they took him off the ventilator around 2:00 this morning. This is the moment he began to formulate all of the words he had been saving since he went into surgery. Once his throat had some time to rest he reminded us how many words he has in his vocabulary.

There are so many things we could talk about today b/c this day has been filled with blessings and answered prayers. We can never thank all of you enough for all of the kind words, prayers, and other kind gestures. Colby will some day realize how loved he is and how he has been surrounded throughout this entire adventure by the angels in heaven and by the loving arms of so many family and friends. We are truly a blessed and grateful family. We have heard a number of people say over the past couple of days "we could not do what you guys are doing". I can assure you that Becca and I never fathomed we would be where we are today via the path we have traveled over the past 3 years but we have made it to this point through the grace of God and the outpouring love of many friends and family members. No doubt we wish Colby's heart were "whole" but I would not trade this experience for anything. The ride has been fast and furious but the result has been Colby. Thank you for celebrating in this journey with us and giving us a shoulder to lean on.

Post-op Pictures

Fontan Operation

• 5:00 PM: We got to see Colby. He is doing pretty good. They have him sedated b/c he is not happy about the vent tube. We hope to get that out tonight so he can start talking again in the AM. We may soon regret that desire to hear him talk but we are ready to hear him say "me hit play hit pause go potty"

• 1:50 PM: Dr. Christian just came out and told us all went well with the repair and closing him up. They are moving him up to the PICU now, and we should be able to see him as soon as they get him stable (about another hour or two). Thank you all for the prayers. We are so thankful to God for Colby's strength, our supportive friends and family, and the peace that God has given us throughout the day. We will update later once we've seen him.

• 1:00 PM: Just got a call from OR... they just took Colby off bypass!!!! he is still doing good. They hope to have him closed between 2:30 and 3:00!!!! Praise God for success this far.... thank you for all of the prayers and words of encouragement. We will update soon.

• 12:00 PM: everything is still on track... no changes. still on bypass. hope to have another update around 1:30. Brody came to the hospital to have lunch w/ us. It was a great distraction to see his smile. He asked if Colby was coming out to see him...

• 10:30 AM: Dr. Christian just got through all of the scar tissue from his first incision and reached the heart. They are about to put him on bypass.

• 9:00 AM: OR called to say that Colby went to sleep peacefully. They had no problems getting his lines started this time (thank Goodness!). Dr. Christian was about to begin the incision.

• Pre-Op Holding Room: Colby was in such a good mood this morning. I guess that should not surprise us, though...he's always in a good mood! He was entertaining everyone that came into our holding room with his books, Toy Story figures, and lots of movie quotes. I feel like Jason and I should be the ones to comfort and calm him, but really, Colby is the one who calms us down. It is hard not be happy around him and his sweet, contagious smile! The anesthesiologist, Dr. Hughes, was fantastic! It turns out that he knows a lot about Toy Story, which made Colby immediately love him. Colby showed him all of his characters, and they played around with Woody, Buzz, and Rex. Then, at 8:00, he asked Colby if he wanted to take Rex and Buzz to see a balloon. Colby said, "O-Tay," and off they went to the OR with no tears or hesitance from Colby. It was like he was going to play with a new best friend. Jason and I were left in the holding room to start our long day of waiting, worrying, and praying.

Pre-Op Appointment for Fontan

Colby's Pre-Op appointment on Monday went so well!!! We are amazed by Colby's spirit and strength every day. He started the appointment with going pee-pee in the potty for the nurse (so she could get a urine sample). I still can't believe he potty trained himself...just like Brody did! God knew I wouldn't have much patience with potty training, so he blessed me with boys that could do it themselves! Nurse Tina then did his EKG. As she put on the stickers, he counted each one. Then, as she attached the cords to each sticker, he told her what color the cords were. Our smart boy was trying to impress his nurse!! When she got a good EKG reading, Jason tried to take off the stickers for him, but Colby said, "no, me!" So, Colby pulled all 13 stickers off by himself. The worst part of the visit came next...drawing blood for labs. To our surprise, he did not even cry, though! He made a funny face when the needle went in, but then he just sat there and watched the blood fill the tubes. The nurse loved him! He even conned her into giving him some extra bandaids for his "boo-boo." When did our baby get so big????? Since Colby is older now, a child life specialist came to speak with him about his surgery and what he should expect. She had a little doll and asked Colby to show her where the doll's heart was and where his boo-boo would be. I never dreamed Colby would know, but he did! He knew right where to draw the heart and his boo-boo. He had a lot of fun using the markers to draw a face on his doll, put bandaids on his doll, listen to his doll's heart, check his doll's blood pressure, and even give his doll some medicine. I love that the hospital offers this education for kids. This is a tough thing for kid's to go through, and I'm glad that we have support right here for all of us. The child life specialist even offered to talk with Brody if he wanted to visit Colby while he is still in the PICU...to help him understand what all the machines and tubes are for so he won't be scared. Jason and I really don't want him to visit the PICU, but if he asks to see his little brother, we will do what we have to do!

Brody's 2nd Soccer Game

Dinner at Kabuto

On Saturday, Jason treated us all to dinner at Kabuto, which is a Japanese Hibachi style restaurant. Both boys absolutely loved it!! The chef entertained them with flying utensils, a big fire to which Colby said, "No touch...hot," a Spongebob made out of rice, and a volcano at the end made of onions. The boys thought it was hilarious when the chef threw a piece of shrimp at them and told them to catch it in their mouths. Jason and I were glad that they didn't catch it, considering we are unsure if they are allergic to shrimp (Jason is allergic). We then finished the night with ice cream from Maggie Moo's with our good friends, the Rowells and the Smiths. This is just another happy memory for us to have before starting our extended hospital stay.

Brody loved learning how to use his chopsticks. He can actually use them better than I can!

Colby decided to just use one stick and stab the food. I guess this works too!