All Quiet

Today was mostly quiet and uneventful (thankfully). He is recovering well from the surgery - the infection looks better and he is back on breast milk. The doctors want him to recover another day or so before they try to take the breathing tube out. He looks good and seems relaxed (I guess morphine will do that to you). We are trying to not get our hopes up too much and take it day by day. Because of the infection they require the nurses and staff to wear masks and gowns around Scott. It makes everything seem more serious, but they assure us it is only a precaution. Thanks to all for your nice comments and messages. Keep them coming. P, M, W & S

Post-Surgery #2

The surgery to clear out the infection went very well. It was not as widespread and deep as first thought so the doctors did not have to remove much tissue. Scott is back in the PICU and resting well. Depending on what comes back from the culture tests, it may be possible to limit the IV antibiotics to 2 weeks instead of 6. He will need a few more days of recovery before they are able to remove his breathing tubes and move him to the NICU. Hopefully there won't be any more major setbacks. Phil

Setback

Hi all. Scott developed a Deep Sternal Infection this weekend and will go into surgery today to remove the affected done/tissue and clean things out. The doctors are confident they can clear it up in one session. We hope that is the case. After surgery he will go back to the PICU to recover and continue his quest to breath on his own. More details after the surgery. Phil

Post Surgery - Day 5

Still not able to remove the breathing tube. Scott either can't breath easily on his own or has too much fluid it in his lungs, based on x-rays (the two are probably related). He has also been having some anxienty, either based on food or diaper changing, or pain from the surgery. He is consoled easily, but it is hard to see him be uncomfortable. Since we had hoped he would be breathing on his own and possible in the nursery by now it has been a disapppointing day. The doctors and nurses assure us he is still doing well and within acceptable timelines for his age and condition. The plan for tomorrow is to get him transferred to the nursery (they didn't have any room today) where they will be more aggressive in getting his breathing tube removed and having him progress as a regular premature baby. All tests on his heart have been normal so focussing on his prematurity seems like the right move. Stay tuned..

Phil

Post Surgery - Day 4

I arrived at the hospital this morning hoping to find Scott without his breathing tube but no such luck. I guess he had some trouble in the night (breathing really fast) so they decided to wait another day. The plan was to try a respiratory readiness test around 5pm today but things got too busy in the ICU. Phil just went back to the hospital (8pm) so he can find out the new plan. (Note from Phil: They did the test but he still isn't ready. They will try again tomorrow)

I am anxious to get him off the breathing machine as he can't go back to the NICU until he's off the ventilator. He lungs looked much better today than yesterday so hopefully he'll be off by sometime tomorrow. We will continue to keep you posted...

-Mindy

Post Surgery - Day 3

Today was fairly uneventful, which is good. They still haven't out his breathing tube, but the plan is to do it tomorrow morning. They have increased the amount of breast milk he is fed and he is tolerating it well. His eyes were open more today and he seemed more alert. They hope to move him out of the PICU to the NICU on Sunday. His favorite NICU nurse Anna is looking forward to having him back.

Thanks again for all your notes, prayers, food and support. It makes everything a bit easier.

P, M, W & S

Post Surgery - Day 2

Scott gave his dad a bit of a scare last night when he self-extabated. Phil was staying overnight with him in the ICU and around 10:30pm his breathing tube came out. Fortunately, his nurse was right there when it happened but it was still chaotic for awhile as the nurses and doctors had to re-intabate him. I was asleep at home and happy to have missed the event!

He was good again today - the x-rays showed more fluid in his lungs so they decided to leave him on the ventilator for another day or two. The doctors would ideally like his lungs dry before taking him off the breathing machine. They were able to take out 3 drainage tubes today which should make him more comfortable and help with his breathing. He also starting getting breast milk again which we thought was a good sign. Phil and I feel like he is stable enough so we aren't spending the night tonight. The ICU is not a very restful place to be!

We so appreciate all your emails, calls, cards, comments on the blog - it's great knowing how many people are thinking about Scott!!

-Mindy

Post Surgery - Day 1

As the old saying goes "No news is good news". Scott had a very uneventful day in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). His vital signs are good and everything seems to be working as expected. The doctors and nurses are all amazed at how well he is doing. The doctors come by, look at the charts, nod their heads and then move along. It's the best 'boring' we have ever felt. He still has lots of tubes and wires but the plan is to start removing them slowly tomorrow, starting with this ventilator.

The excited news of the day was that a television crew came in to do segment on cardiac care here at Children's Hospital Oakland and they featured Scott and Mindy. We'll let you know when it airs. Mindy had the night shift last night so I'm on tonight. - Phil

Surgery Day - Finale

Finally this day is over. We couldn't have asked for a better ending. Scott is resting peacefully and recovering well. All is stats are stable and look good. The doctors are amazed at how well he is doing. We hope he keeps it up. I realized after my last post that many of you many not know exactly what problems Scott has. His condition is called Tetrology of Fallot and more details can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetralogy_of_Fallot.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support. We really appreciate it.

Phil, Mindy, Will and Scott

Surgery Day - Part 3 - Good News!

The surgery is complete and everything went very well! Dr. Hanley said he found things to be a little simpler than expected and that everything he did went smoothly. He closed the hole between the ventricles, widened the opening between the right venticle and main pulmonary artery, and widened the connection between the main pulmonary artery and left pulmonary artery. Scott is off the hear/lung machine and his chest is closed. We haven't been able to see him yet, but hope to soon. He still has a long way to go, but at least the first big hurdle has been cleared. More to come. P&M

Surgery Day - Part 2

Not much to report so far. Just talked to the nurse and Scott is on the heart/lung bypass machine and they are doing the heart repair. No complications as of yet. Let's hope it stays that way. Stay tuned...

Surgery Day - Part 1

We arrived at 6am to give Scott a bath and make sure all was OK before his trip to the OR. Everything went well last night and he looked good this morning. He is finally back up to his original birthweight (4lbs, 5 oz). Now we wait for updates. Thanks to all for your kind words and prayers. It really helps. P,M,W&S

A small way to help

Many people have asked what they can do to help. One way would be to donate a pint of blood. Since this happened so quickly we weren't able to donate enough to offset what they will use during and after surgery. Just visit a local donation center and give a pint. Thank you. Mindy and Phil

Will thinking of Scott

Will is thinking about his little brother and hoping he can come home soon and play.

Close up of Scott - Day 12

Sco Scott is wearing the latest in Fall breathing fashion - a CPAP machine to help his lungs expand and give him a little extra oxygen than normal air.

Scott in his isolet - Day 12

Scott has steadily gained weight after the initial loss after birth. He is now up to 4 lbs 4 ounces.

Scott - Day 12

Scott is still staying stable - the doctors and nurses are watching his oxygen saturation levels very closely. He just needs to stick it out until Tuesday the 23rd when he'll have his heart surgery. Phil and I met with the nurses yesterday to go through all of the pre-op process. He will be in surgery somewhere between 4-6 hours and then in the pediatric ICU for approx. 4-7 days. The nurse went through all of the potential problems that could happen post surgery which of course scared us both. My friend Andrea has offered to watch Will for a couple of days so Phil and I can just be at the hospital as much as we want. In the pediatric ICU, one person can sleep by the bedside so I imagine we will switch off for the first couple of nights. My mom is also coming up to be with us for the surgery.

We appreciate all of the support we've been receiving from friends and family - please keep Scotty in your thoughts on Tuesday!

Scott and Mom on Day Two

Little Scotty and Mom on Day Two. He needed the oxygen tube to help his lungs develop.

Scott scheduled for surgery on Sept 23

Hopefully he remains stable enough to wait that long. Dr. Hanley (the top surgeon in the Bay Area for this type of problem) is scheduled to do the surgery.

First Post - Welcome Scott Smith Polishuk

Hi all. This is our new blog to follow the happenings of the Polishuk/Williams clan. As we begin the big news is the arrival of Scott Smith Polishuk on Sept 9, 2009. He was 2 months early and will be in the hospital for awhile getting bigger. He will also need surgery on his heart to fix some congenital defects. The doctors are confident they can fix them without any major long term effects. Keep your fingers crossed.