Dad - May 31

Hi all - Dad continues to progress and get better. He had a thracheostomy on Friday so that they could take out his breathing tube. He now connects to the ventilator through the tube in his throat. We hope this is a short term solution and that he won't need it longer. He was sitting up today and is relying on the ventilator less and less. Paul is looking at rehab facilities in Houston today. Hopefully we can get him out of the hospital soon. Helen arrives on Weds for the next shift.

Phil

Dad - May 27

Good progress yesterday. They stopped his sedation so that he could breath with less help from the respirator and could wake up and recognize people (like me!). He is still groggy and tired, but was able to understand questions and respond (non-verbally). Hoepfully he had a good night and they will remove the breathing tube today. They still need to solve the problem of secretions in his throat and lungs, which may be caused by nerve damage to his throat but we won't know until they can remove the breathing tube. I hope to post another update from the airport this afternoon. Paul arrives tomorrow for the weekend and Helen follows next week. Have a great holiday weekend and send healing thoughts Dad's way.

Phil

Dad - May 26

Hi all. Dad continues to rest and is stable in the ICU. His lungs are slowly getting better and the doctors hope to be able to take out the breathing tube in the next couple of days. The good news is that his kidneys continue to function well enough to not need dialysis. I hope to have more good news to report later today.

Phil

Update on Dad: Tuesday, May 25

Hi all. This week is my shift in Houston with my Dad. He is currently in the ICU, on a respirator and sedated. He has some fluid in his lungs that they need to clear before the respirator can be removed. We are hopeful that will happen in the next 24 hours. His kidneys seem to be slowly coming back and there is hope they will regain full function over time.

For those who may not know, dad had surgery two weeks ago in Houston for an aortic aneuryism. The surgery went well from a cardiac perspective, but there were two complications. One is the functioning of his kidneys. They weren't working right away but it looks like they may come back. The other is paralysis in his legs. Unfortunately it doesn't look like that will come back. Dad has been incredibly strong about this and is eager to get on with the next phase of his life. We just need to get him healthy and out of hospital so he can begin the rehabilitation process.

Thanks to all of you for your love and support. I will continue to provide updates as frequently as I can, but feel free to send emails or call. I would love to hear from you.

Thanks,

Phil

Update on Scott: His Left Hip

Hi all. It has been way too long since our last posting. Unfortunately it seems the right time to post is when we come back from the Doctor or hospital :( Since the last posting Scott has been doing great and growing into a fun and happy little boy. He started walking at 14 months and is quite a destructive force. He likes to flip thing over and toss them out of his way. However, we noticed a little hitch in his step and was not as stable as he should. We finally got an xray on his hip and it showed a difference in development from the right one. His doctor wanted to get more detail so he scheduled an arthogram.

Scott had the arthogram on his hip this morning (xrays with dye for better contrast - requires general anesthesia). The test went well and Scott was a trooper. The test confirmed the doctor's suspicion that Scott has a misformed left hip socket and ball (top of femur). This was likely caused by lack of blood flow when Scott had his infection in the hospital after his heart surgery. His cartilage and everything else looks good. The doctor's opinion is that nothing should be done now, monitor Scott every 6-12 months going forward and then do surgery to correct the problem when he is much older - like 12! There should be no pain associated with the hip, but he will likely have a limp. We will just have to see how severe it is and how much it restricts his mobility and activity.

While Scott was anethesized during the test the doctor noticed that one of the tendons to that hip was very tight (as is common with this type of issue) so he cut the tendon to loosen it and reattached it. We hope this relieves some pressure on the hip and gives Scott greater mobility. We'll see what happens over the coming days and weeks.

The silver lining is that we won't have to deal with a cast any time soon.

Hope all is well with all of you,

Phil, Mindy, Will and Scott

Brotherly Love

As you can see from the photo, Scotty is quite enamored with his big brother. Will enjoys playing with Scotty and constantly makes him smile :)

Scotty is sitting up now and seems to be very proud of himself! He also has 2 bottom teeth which came in a couple of weeks ago. It would be nice if he was showing more interest in eating solids. He is still gaining good weight because he loves his milk but we are working with an occupational therapist who specializes in feeding issues to help him get better at taking solid food. He is showing some progress albeit very slow. We just keep trying....