The Six Pack

We're back in the PCTU with our sweet baby, and he looks super! Zachary has already started to wake, but he's not quite ready yet to extubate so he got another shot of morphine to knock him back out. Once they bring down the settings on his ventilator, they will allow him to wake up and pull his breathing tube. And look at this! Our baby is PINK! That's right... his O2 sats are in the mid-90's--some 10% higher than what he's used to. Now he'll really have the energy to keep me on my toes...

We just finished speaking with Dr. Bove and Zachary's surgery is complete. Everything went well, his final echo looked good and they are going to move him into the PCTU in about an hour! Dr. Bove said that they'd like to get him off the vent as soon as possible. That could include tonight but most likely tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for all of your prayers and support. We're thanking God for little Zachy getting this 3rd surgery behind him. We're praying for a smooth post-op recovery with no excitement like we've had in the past. God Bless, Steve & Michelle

Dr. Bove is finishing up the Fontan baffle (to redirect blood from the vena cava into the pulmonary arteries.) Then he will close Zachy's right atrium and work on getting him off the heart/lung bypass machine. We look to hear that he is off bypass in about half an hour. As the nurse described, "Zachary's surgery has been 'uneventful'." Praise God!

An NP just came in to give us an update. Zachy is doing well, and the surgeon is starting to work his way through the scar tissue of previous surgeries. No problems whatsoever. Our surgeon, by the way, is Dr. Edward Bove , well known for his work in pioneering surgeries for young patients with single ventricle anomalies. Click here for an article about this walk-on-water beloved surgeon. And just a few more pics of our pre-op farewell: Just wheeled down to pre-op Daddy is trying to distract a very cranky and impatient Zachary One of the hardest things to do... is handing your baby off to surgeons After the versed, Zachy lightened up a bit:   When one of the surgeons came to speak with us, Zachary reached out for him and refused to go back to Daddy.  He must have really been "under the influence"! We saved the best for last!  This is the closest you'll ever get to seeing a "drunken baby."  No worries!

We want to share lots of pictures with you to give you a feel for the mood here... and we'll start with pictures of Zachy's special heart. The following are from yesterday's cath. The first two show Zachy's pulmonary arteries--the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the lungs. In the Fontan operations, deoxygenated blood coming back from the body is directed into these arteries, so that it flows directly to the lungs without being pumped there by the heart.  The following picture is of Zachy's left ventricle. The little "twist ties" are the wires holding Zachy's sternum together, and the long, thin tube is the catheter. Doctors injected contrast dye to get a good look at his "plumbing." Last night after dinner Zachary made it quite clear that he wanted to go outside. It was a beautiful evening, so we drove down to the Huron River and soaked up Mother Nature. This morning he was too preoccupied watching PBS to care about missing ...

Zachy came out of his cath around 2:30 p.m. just as expected. He did FABULOUS and there were no surprises; the doctor said he is a spectacular candidate for surgery tomorrow. One of the most critical measurements taken in the cath lab is pulmonary pressures. As you will remember, the goal of the Fontan procedure is to bypass the heart and bring all blue blood passively back to the lungs. If pressure in the pulmonary arteries is too high, then, the surgery will not be successful. Zachy's PA pressures were very low, and the arteries were wide open with no obstruction. They found no menacing pop-off veins and his left ventricle is pumping good and strong. Dr. Crowley (post-op cardiac ICU attending) saw his cath results and even mentioned "He'll be our easiest patient all week!" Now THAT kind of optimism makes a mommy and daddy smile big. Still, a very critical day lies ahead and we appreciate your continued prayers and support for our little man. We only have good things...

Zachy has been back in the cath lab for about an hour and a half now, and we are waiting for an update. He was to start at 10:30, but remember--we are on hospital time so it was 12:30 before he actually went back. We got to meet with Dr. Lloyd who is performing the cath, as well as a cardiology fellow and nurse practitioner who will be in the lab with him. Each time a doctor came in, Zachy shook his head "no." And each time they left the exam room, he was sure to wave a big "bye-bye", hoping that would keep them away. In fact, once Dr. Lloyd left the room, Zachy got up, walked over to the door, and closed it behind him, as if that would keep anymore unwanted doctors and nurses out. Zachy didn't put up such a fight this morning as yesterday, but was overall unhappy and very clingy.  He didn't like getting undressed and putting on his hospital gown, and he resisted his hospital bracelet.  We just held and loved on him all we could. Finally, after his sedat...

Zachy went into the hospital yesterday for a series of pre-op tests.  They sedated him for his echo, so he had to fast in the morning.  Normally he doesn't eat much for breakfast anyway, but oh, how he loves his milk!  As usual, the appointments took much longer than expected, so our poor baby didn't get to eat until around two in the afternoon.  His hunger, together with his hospital anxiety, made for a tough morning. First up was a chest x-ray.  This gives his doctors a good pre-op baseline of what his heart and lungs look like.  They often compare it to post-op films, to diagnose "wet" lungs (pleural effusions) and fluid around the heart, among other things.  Now, if your little one has ever had a chest x-ray, you'll understand how terrifying it can be.  They use what I call a medieval torture device... a contraption where baby sits, as if on a saddle, and is strapped in with his arms in the air and his body unable to move.  This...

We made it to Ann Arbor bright and early this morning, and checked into the Ronald McDonald House this afternoon. Yesterday was crazy, getting last minute things done for our trip, still feeling the symptoms of a stubborn virus, and trying to calm the anxious nerves of the older boys. We said goodbye to them last night as we dropped Joseph and Samuel off with my parents and took Alex and David to my brother's house (divide and conquer...) It was hard to fall asleep with the adrenaline pumping through my veins, and even harder to wake up this morning at 4:15 in time to make our flight! Zachy's fever finally broke this morning, and he has been feeling much better today. He was excited as he boarded the plane and took off, but once we were airborn he fell back asleep and didn't bat an eye until our descent into Detroit. He soon started to realize he wasn't at home, and couldn't understand why everything is so different. Why were we riding in a little car? Where are all...

It's two days 'til liftoff, and wouldn't you know it? Zachy woke up with a fever. He had just recovered from his cold of last week, but this seems to be something new. Alex was feverish and ill on Tuesday, I have been achy, fatigued, and had a sore throat all week, and now Zachary... Hopefully it will blow over soon and he'll be in good shape for his cath on Tuesday. Up until d-day the boys and I are still getting out every day for a little summer fun. That means, of course, that we're not exactly packed and ready to go, but we're getting there. We may have to pack some dirty laundry, we may leave the house in shambles, but most importantly we have spent some good times together, and I hope this is something the boys will remember over the next few weeks. Thank you for all your prayers and well-wishes. Just knowing that there are so many prayers going up for Zachary and our family puts us at peace, and helps us to know that God will cradle us in His hands...

I am STRESSED to the MAX! We are just five days away from leaving for Ann Arbor, and we're feeling the pressure. I'm wading my way through an ever growing mound of laundry, dishes, and toys... trying to keep my focus on what absolutely needs to get done (writing this blog entry is not one of them, but it's a little break for me :) ...and trying to keep the summer fun for the kids despite our upcoming hurdle. But we're all feeling the stress; the kids are acting out (some more than others,) I'm cranky and snapping at the boys, and we're coming down with colds. The boys are watching way too much TV, and I'm letting them... they can't stay outside too long with temperatures flirting with 100 lately.  I have some great pictures and stories of our summer adventures, but those will have to wait until we're in Michigan and I have time to post them. Instead, I'll update about Zachy and his upcoming surgery. Last week Zachy and Samuel came down with...

Did you know... that Steve turns 39 YEARS YOUNG today? One more year, and he'll be in the prime of his life! Honey, you are the answer to my prayers, a blessing to your family and friends. You are an amazing husband, an incredible father, and an accomplished engineer. You are a man of God and work hard at everything you do. I wonder every day where I would be without you in my life. Your boys adore you and look forward to seeing you walk through our door every evening. They love your stories, your special daddy/son play time, and they think you're cool because you work with airplanes! We look forward to another 39+ years with you! We love you! Michelle, Alex, David, Joseph, Samuel, and Zachary

We have been getting a lot of questions about Zachary's upcoming surgery, so I thought I would dedicate a post to explaining about his heart condition as best I can. I still remember the puzzled look on the ultrasound tech's face as she performed a fetal echocardiogram on my pregnant belly.  Zachy's cardiologist, Dr. Battiste, sat alongside her, trying to make sense out of his special little heart and arrive at a diagnosis.  When the test was complete, Steve bravely asked the tech how often she sees this condition on unborn babies.  The tech took a deep sigh, thought for a while, and admitted, "Like this ?  Gosh, I do these fetal echos all the time, and it's probably been... five years!"  Needless to say, Zachy has some pretty unique anatomy. The University of Michigan Hospital diagnosed Zachy with Double Inlet Left Ventricle, Tricuspid Atresia, Levo Transposition of the Great Arteries, and Atrial Septal Defect.  Easier said, he is missing his right ventric...

Did you know... that I am Latina?  Well, not really, but I'm Latina in spirit.  I am in love with most (but not all) of the Latino culture.  The language, the food, the music, the hospitality, the history, the colors, the dancing...  it is all so addicting! I remember, even as a young girl, a special curiosity about different parts of the world, foreign peoples, faraway places.  Then, as a freshman in high school, I enrolled in Spanish and began to learn not only the language, but about the many people, across the ocean and here at home, who call this their native tongue.  And I fell in love. In college, I continued to take Spanish classes and minored in the language.  I hung out with friends from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Venezuela, and the list goes on.  I spent a semester in Mexico living with a family from that nation's capitol.  I learned to dance (or at least try to dance) salsa, merengue, and fell in love with the spicy ...