We arrived in Ann Arbor, Michigan around 10:00 pm local time (9:00 pm back in Des
Moines). The staff at Residence Inn has been awesome, there was a gift, a bib, waiting
for Little Al. And there were two stuffed bears, one each for the girls.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, we will head to the University of Michigan Hospital for a tour,
and the social worker is going to explain to the girls what is going to be performed on
Little Al in terms they will understand.
Everyone so far has been outstanding and going beyond our expectations, hopefully I
can report the same each and every day.
Here's hoping I will be able to update tomorrow.
Ryan, Holly & family
 |
| |
 |
Today we met with the social worker, Barb Shaltis, who gave us a tour of the hospital
and explained some of what will be going on in the next few weeks.
We saw several young heart patients ranging in ages of less than a day to some toddlers
who were in for their 3rd surgery. We were able to talk with 2 families that were
having the Norwood procedure. One had just completed his 2nd surgery, the other his
3rd. Both families gave us the same encouraging words, "you have come to the right
place", and "everyone here is wonderful".
Holly and I both came away feeling that some weight had been lifted, our hope is much
stronger than a few days ago. However, we both still feel strongly that we will win this
battle, quoting Gene Krantz, "Failure is not an option!"
The girls and grandparents are doing great, while Holly & I ran some errands they
stayed at the Inn and played games.
We almost took a trip past the U of M football stadium, but decided to wait until this
weekend when we would have more free time. We need to see where Little Al will be
spending his Fall Saturday afternoons in 18 years!
Tomorrow, Thursday, Holly & I will be busy with 3 appointments that span all day long.
We should know much more after that and be able to provide a much clearer timeline of
what is to come. The girls and grandparents will be spending the whole day together
swimming and playing cards.
Check back for the next update, sometime after Thursday evening!
Ryan, Holly & family
We had 3 appointments today, it got a little long for Holly, so she is glad it is over.
First we saw two high risk O/B Doctors in the University Clinic. They just did a regular
prenatal visit to get to know Holly, and to see if she is dilated anymore. She's not, but
she is enough to be induced, so that was a relief!
Secondly, we went to the Pediatric Cardiology department and did another
echo-cardiogram. This is basically just an ultrasound of only the baby's heart. That
took about an hour, and then we met with the Pediatric Cardiologist who talked to us
about exactly what is happening, and what each surgery will do. So, not much new
information there.
And, the last appointment was in the perinatal assessment department for one more
ultrasound to make sure every other part of the baby is healthy, and to guess his size.
From that, we saw that everything else on this baby of ours is perfectly healthy. The
poor baby is very squished in there! He is on his right side, and his head is way down.
They guessed his weight to be 7 lbs. 10 oz!!! That is plenty big for Holly! She said,
though, that number could be 15% large or small. So, chances are he is between 61/2
and 7 1/2 pounds.
It's absolutely amazing to Holly that her son could have such a serious heart condition,
yet be so healthy otherwise.
The one thing that made us feel so good today was that every person we talked to today
knew exactly who Dr. Mooradian is. He is the pediatric cardiologist we saw in Des
Moines who directed us to Michigan. So we know having him as our Dr. back home will
be the best thing for Little Al.
As of now, we are scheduled to be induced Monday evening, delivery could take a few
hours to a few days we were told. So who knows when he will be born, we will just try
to keep you all updated.
Who knows...Little Al might decide he is ready to come on out on his own...which would
very much please his mommy!!!
Ryan, Holly & family...
GO WOLVERINES!!!
This morning, after our 7:30 AM appointment with Dr. Bove, the
surgeon who will be operating on Little Al, we all decided to check out
the University of Michigan Stadium. It is the largest stadium in the
U.S., and is quite an awesome sight!
(click to enlarge)
We all thought we better get the lay of the land if we are going to be bringing Little Al
up here in about 18 years, to drop him off for school!
After the stadium, we decided we wanted to spend the weekend relaxing and being
"normal" since there won't be much more time to do that. So, we took Erin and Megan
miniature golfing at a really cool Putt Putt golf course. They had 3 different 18 hole
courses, and all six of us played 18 holes, and Ryan, Erin, Megan, and Grandpa played
another 18 holes. I think Grandpa was the big winner over all, but Ryan might try to
say he was!:) After golf, the girls and Ryan played video games and won prizes, so I
think they had fun.
When we got back to the hotel, Erin and Megan went swimming and in the hottub until
the thunder rolled in. Now we are just waiting until everyone gets hungry, so that Holly
can have her weekly fix of Mexican food.
On a more serious note, the meeting this morning with Dr. Bove was really encouraging
for us. He is a very nice man, in his mid 50's. He thankfully did not sugar coat
anything, just told us how it was. The plan is still somewhat up in the air since Little Al
is really the one in control, but the plan is that if he is born Monday or Tuesday (let's
hope!), that his surgery will then happen at the beginning of the next week. Then, if all
goes according to plan, and Little Al is as stubborn and strong as his mom thinks he is,
he will spend one week in the ICU, and one week in the step down unit, and then home!
Holly's mom and dad will be coming Monday afternoon so they will be here for the
birth, and then decide if they will stay through the surgery, or go home and come back.
We are very overwhelmed with all the messages we have gotten in our guestbook. Hello
to everyone we haven't talked to in a long time, it humbles us to know just how many
good friends we have. We apologize for not responding to everyone, but please know
we appreciate every word and thought.
Ryan, Holly, and family
GO WOLVERINES!!
How was his name chosen, you ask?
When their father died when Ryan was 15, Alan became a second father to him. Holly
also thinks Big Al is pretty cool.
Andrew is Holly's cousin who died a few years back at a very young age. He and Holly
had a very special and close relationship, and this is her way of honoring his memory.
Dean is both Holly and Ryan's dad's middle name...cool, huh?
SO...we stewed and stewed over names for our children even before we got pregnant.
We both wanted to incorporate all family names, and we think we did a darn good job
doing that! We also wanted a name that sounded really tough over the loud speaker at
the Southeast Polk High School baseball field. You know... "and now up to bat for
Southeast Polk, Al Miller!" We thought that would sound pretty cool.
Well, for those of you wondering, now you know...and for those who weren't............
We are going to try to relax and be normal again today, so we may or may not have any
more news to report later.
Ryan, Holly & family
GO WOLVERINES!
No new news to report at this time, we are still waiting for Monday to come so we can
induce and get things started. We put in quite a bit of walking today in hopes of
coaxing Little Al out, but no such luck....We toured the Henry Ford Museum which was
quite interesting and even took in the NASCAR IMAX 3D experience, in possible hopes
of getting Little Al dizzy, but nope, he just jumped around when he heard the engines
roar...gonna be a Dale Jr fan!
Well, we really wanted to just let everyone know what was happening. We would also
like to take this time to thank everyone for all the supportive emails and entries in our
guestbook. We hope you all understand that we may not be able to respond to each one
individually at this time, but that does not mean that we do not appreciate them, in fact
we look forward to them!
Until tomorrow...
Ryan, Holly & family
GO BLUE!
Not a whole lot to report for today. Little Al did NOT decide to play Punxsutawney
Phil and come out to see if the timing was right. Personally, I just think he is doing
exactly opposite of what his mother would like him to do! (If so...imagine the next 18
years)
We relaxed today, doing laundry, running to the mall to pick up a little something for
Little Al and the girls....
(click to enlarge)
The football will be for all the doctors and nurses to sign for Little Al to keep and
now the girls now have U of M stuff to wear when taking their little brother out on
the town, they are very excited!
Well, even though neither of us can sleep, we need to try to get our rest. Unless plans
change, we will be going in around 7:00 pm tomorrow night to induce. We have been
told it can take hours or days, usually the later, before delivery, so it could be a long
next couple of days.
I will try to post whenever I can, but do not get worried if you do not see anything
for a day or two, we may be to busy or exhausted.
Wish us luck!
Ryan, Holly & family
GO WOLVERINES! GO BLUE!
