Before and After Chest Tube

Before His Chest Tube On Friday Night

After his Chest tube Saturday Night

Surgery # four

Today Chance had his fourth surgery... we started out the day to come with a rough night last night, his vitals up and down for the last couple of days, his heart rate in the 170's to 180's, his oxygen had been fluctuating, and later yesterday evening the drain that he had in the opening in his belly was starting to become clogged and backed up. Later that night and into this morning the nurses and doctors tried their best to keep the fluid contained, but were unsuccessfull, there was just to much of it, and started leaking out. He was scheduled to go into surgery today at 2pm but fortunately they were able to get him in an hour early. The procedure took roughly two hours... Dr. Myer and her attending came to meet with us after a while to tell us that he did good. However they were unable to do what they had wanted, which was remove more of the infected tissues, because it wasn't soft enough. so this time around they cleaned out the fluid as usual and stitched a new kind of patch on his belly and pulled the two ends of his perforated bowel outside of his stomach and covered it with a Vaseline gauze so the fluid will drain out his abdominal cavity instead of in. Dr. Myer also informed us that with this new patch they wouldn't have to do another surgery on him for another three to four weeks, she wants nature to take it's course and soften up his bowels and scar tissues so they can finish what they started. Now the good news for the day was that none of the bowel tissues as far as she could tell was damaged or dead, so that in it self is a huge blessing!!! Tonight Chance is doing much better and resting comfortably...Our little mirical has long road still ahead of him, but so far it is evident that our Father in Heaven has carried him every step of the way... we thank all who have kept him and us in your prayers... truely words can't say enough. PS. sorry the system is down and we will add pictures as soon as we can.

Surgery # three

Chance will be going in for his third surgery this week, and as of now it is set for Thursday. They will again be checking to see if the scar tissue and the cyst have softened, and to change his bandages. So far this week he is doing well! yesterday they switched his oscillator to a different ventilator so that he will have to work his lungs a bit more, and seems to be doing great! Also he pooped again this week!!! this time is was with out help!!! his night nurse Diane was kind enough to save it for us... kinda gross but never the less interesting to see. Tomorrow they will be doing more blood cultures to be sure that he is still clear of infections.
Chance is becoming more and more active each day, it so much incredible to see how much he changes each week... on rare occasions you may see him with his little eyes open, looking at the world around him. He is also proving to be quite the lady's man already!!! he has several of the nurses fighting for the opportunity to be his primary nurse! The doctors and nurses at the Primary Children's Hospital are truly incredible and we can't begin thank them enough for all that they do for us and our little miracle.

One month old! ( 2nd surgery)

Today Chance is going in for his second surgery to get his bandages changed and to check on his progress. Before he went in this morning he was doing well they had turned down his ventilator quite a bit and said that his little lungs are functioning very well on their own, however with all of his surgery's still to come they are likely to keep him on the osolator until all surgeries are finished. They will still leave his little belly open until the cyst that is in his stomache has softened up so that they are able to remove it safely, then they will be able to close him up and we can again begin the recovery process. Chance's surgery went well today, Dr. Myers said that she is supprised and very pleased with how well he is progressing and that she was also able to see where the rupture in his bowel occured and that the scar tissue is beginning to soften. However the cyst is not yet small enough to remove at this time. We have a long journey ahead of us and are only half way there, but know that like the poem footsteps in the sand, our Father in Heaven has carried us every step of the way.

stomach surgery

Well it has been an interesting week with lots of obstacles to overcome. Chance got transfered to Primary Childrens last night, for surgery on his stomach to find out exactly what was wrong. We were told that he had an abcess in his abdominal cavity, and that is about all they knew at the time. His surgery was schedule for 3 oclock on Sept. 28, and so we waited, they took him down to surgery a little before 3 and the waiting game continued until after 5 when the surgeon Dr. Meyer came out and informed us that the surgery had gone well. and that they were able to drain the abcess,but that it was not over yet he has a lot of scar tissue on his intestines and they can't clean it all off until he is older and stronger. She said that it could be any where from one to six weeks before he is ready so in the mean time they left his stomach open they put a protective dressing over it. She said his condition is called cystic meconium peritonitis. Meaning that sometime while inside the womb, his intestine ruptured and leaked into his abdominal cavity. She said he did really well and that he was recovering, when we got up to see him he was still sedated and they would keep him pretty sedated to help him with his pain. he had a pretty rough night as they were trying to get all his meds right to keep him as stable as possible, but other than recovering from a pretty major surgery he is doing pretty well. We will keep everyone posted on what happens, and just ask for your continued prayers for Chance that he will continue to grow and get stronger so they can finish this surgey and get his little belly taken care of. We thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers in our time of need words can not express what they mean to us THANK YOU.

Transfer

Well all has been well since his surgey on his heart, Chance has been recovering rapidly and doing very well. They were still concerned about his stomach and sent him to Primary Childrens Hospital this morning for a CT scan and a Contrast Enima, The results of those showed he has a absess in his abdomen, and slight calcium buildup by his liver. Around seven o'clock tonight we will be going with them while they transport Chance to Primary Children's Hospital where he will remain until he is either ready to come home or is no longer in need of a surgical team to assist him. However they informed us that he would more than likely need to undergo more surgery in order to drain the absess with in his abdomen... when we find out when we will let everyone know. Now for some good news! WE HAVE POOP!!!!! when they performed the contrast enima today the nurse informed us that he FILLED his diaper! he may have lost a few ounces in the process but the bowels are working! Again we can't thank everyone enough for all that you do and for all the prayers and support you have given us!!! We love you all!!!

Week three (surgery)

It is now week three for Chance, who has been through so much in life thus far! today is the day that he went in for surgery to repair the shunt in his tiny heart.We started the day meeting up with family at the hospital to give him a name and a blessing.His Dad did a beautiful job, the spirit was exceptionally strong as Mike and Jim laid their hands on his tiny little head... After we finished with the blessing the nurses started to prep Chance for his big day as Mike and I watched at his bed side.After about an hour the time finally came for Mike and I to go back to the waiting room where we all waited anxiously to hear word.The surgeon that worked on Chance today is said to be one of the best there at the U and we were very fortunate to have him.

A while later Mike and I decided to see if we could get an update on his progress, as we were walking down the hallway, we ran into his surgeon who had just finished. He told us that the surgery was a success and that Chance had done real well. After we breathed a sigh of relief, he proceeded to tell us that just after the surgery his vitals began to bounce back and he was resting comfortably.Mike and I continued on to see our tiny baby... looking at him as he lay there on his belly sleeping... a sense of peace and comfort comes to you in knowing that our Heavenly Father has a special plan for our little boy, and he is in good hands.