Well, not much to report today, although it seems that I can always find something to
talk about even when there's not much to say!
Little Al is still going strong. Today he didn't improve any, but he didn't get any
worse. This last weekend we were hoping to get headed home next weekend, but
we're not sure now if that will happen. The reason I say this is because he still is
having trouble with junk in his throat and not coughing it up. We need to stay in
moderate care until that gets cleared up. He learned to cough this weekend, but he
hasn't really been doing any more of that. So, he's still getting suctioned every once
in awhile, which we can't do at home, so need to stay here until we're sure his lungs
and stuff are OK.
He did pretty well today. Didn't drink much out of the bottle, but really sucked on
his pacifier which is good. We held him a lot, he calms down a lot when we hold him!
Especially when his daddy does! He really does have a special bond with him. That's
OK...I only gave birth to him...really, I'm OK with it!! Just kidding! I think the bond is
very cool. Most of the time he can really calm him down!
My friend Rachelle came to see the baby one more time, and Noah really bonded with
him! Click here for photos!
The Cardiac Doc on call tonight is Dr. Lozier. We met him on Alan's birth-day, and he
is from Des Moines! Very cool to have that connection here! And, his dad knows my
dad which is even better! He's a very cool Doc, and we're glad Little Al is in his
hands tonight. We also have a really great nurse, and all of Little Al's roommates
moved out today, so he has Nurse Coleen all to himself!
So, that's about it. Hopefully we can head home soon, we really miss everyone,
especially Erin and Megan. They are really ready for their dad to get home!
So, for now goodnight!
Holly, Ryan, and family
Go U of M Medical Staff!!
 |
| |
 |
Hi everyone! Not much new news again today. Mommy spent most of the day bonding
with Little Al by herself. After lunch, Daddy dropped me off at the hospital so I
could have a few hours alone with him. It was awesome! I tried to give him his 4pm
bottle, but he wouldn't take it. He just pinched those little lips shut, and wouldn't let
anything in! So, we gave him the milk through his tube, and I just held him the rest of
the day! It was absolute Heaven for me! And the baby was pretty content, too!
Little Al even let the nurse do her hourly checks without fussing while he was in my
arms. And, as long as I was the one changing his diaper, he didn't complain. Usually,
he absolutely hates that and gets very very angry. But today, he was very calm! And,
he gave me some good ones! Then, right before Daddy got back, he left a good one
just for him!
I have to say thank you to Bob Christensen. Holly works with him, and he sent us some
beautiful fresh flowers! We were surprised, and it was wonderful! We have them
sitting right on the TV!
We also got some great drawings from Alan's cousins Micah and Jonah. I took them
to the hospital to show him, and he loved the Thomas the Tank Engine stickers! So,
thanks for those, guys! I did bring them back to the hotel room, though, because I
didn't want them to get ruined or lost. I will hang them up in his room when we get
home, though!
Well, I think that's it. We'll keep you posted on the time frame of coming home as we
find out. But so far, we are staying put until we can get this congestion cleared up!
I'm actually OK with this, because I don't want to be anymore nervous about things
when we get home and I'm on my own! I'd rather not have raspy lungs if we can help
it!
Click here for today's pics.
Much love,
Holly, Ryan, and family
Go Blue
...and go Hawks and Cyclones, of course...we haven't forgotten our home teams!!
Well, unfortunately we have no pictures for today. But, we have nothing but more
good news to report!
We met with Louise today. She is Dr. Bove's right hand woman, and is basically in
charge of Little Al's care, and more importantly, she says when we go home.
She came in today and told us that in the last 24 to 48 hours, Little Al had taken
great strides in getting better. His breathing rate had slowed down, and his stuff in
his throat is sounding a little better. So, basically as soon as a bed opened up, he was
to be moved to the "floor". What this means is that there is a light at the end of our
tunnel!!
When we went to say goodnight to him, he had been moved to a room on the floor, and
he was lying in his bed sucking on his pacifier! And, he took a little more food out of
his bottle! What a boy! So, we left him for tonight, but after tonight or tomorrow
night, I will be spending the night in the hospital with him. The rest of our stay will
consist of Daddy and I learning how to take care of him after we leave here. We will
be doing all the feedings, and meds, etc. We pretty much know how to do all of that,
so it should be a piece of cake! What I'm going to miss is the sleep! Little Al is in a
room with another baby, so sleeping should be interesting! I will be able to come to
the hotel during the days to get naps while Ryan hangs out at the hospital.
After we get discharged (hopefully the beginning of next week), we will spend
another night or two in Ann Arbor, just to make sure we are comfortable leaving, etc.
Then, we will take two days getting home. I am just so relieved to be talking about
coming home! As long as he can get the stuff out of his throat, we should be on our
way soon!
SOOO...hopefully we will be talking to some of you soon from our own home!
Thank you Dr. Bove and the U of M Medical Staff!!!!
Much love,
Holly, Ryan, and family
P.S. I must apologize to Dr. Lozier! Yesterday when we were talking to him, I asked
him if he went to Valley. YIKES!! He did not, he went to Roosevelt! Sorry about that,
Doc! :~)
Hi all!
I (Holly) spent my first whole day at the hospital with Little Al. Daddy came to
relieve me for a couple of hours, and then I will be spending the night there. I have
to admit that the idea of spending the next several days in the hospital doesn't sound
too appealing, but I also had a hard time leaving my boy when Daddy came to relieve
me.
The big news for today is that he got circumcised. I'm sure it wasn't such a great
thing for him, but to us it's one step closer to going home! He will be getting his
discharge tests done tomorrow, which entails another echocardiogram and some other
stuff. Then, as long as he keeps getting rid of this raspiness in his throat, we will
hopefully be outta the hospital by Monday or Tuesday! Very exciting, that's for sure!
Like I said before, though, we will be spending another night or two in Ann Arbor
before we head home, and then one night on the road. So the best case we'll be home
by the weekend...if we leave on Monday. I know that the girls want their dad home
ASAP, so I hope that happens. I guess that Nana probably would like to see us home,
too, but I don't know! :~)
That's really all the news for today. We are just busy learning how to do things so
that we are ready to be on our own at home! We are pretty good at it already, so it
should be a breeze!
Thanks for all your support! We can't wait to be home and see everyone!
Pics from today!!!
Much love,
Holly, Ryan, and family
GO BLUE!!!
Well, no photos today...sorry!
I spent the night in the hospital last night, and it was not very fun. The 2 hours sleep
I did get would have been worth it if it would have been my son keeping me up! But,
he slept through the night...everything else kept me up! So, I came to the hotel and
took a nap when Ryan got to the hospital.
Poor Little Al had a very rough day. Between x-rays, echocardiogram, and blood
tests, he was not a happy boy. All we really know new now is that we know we will
not be discharged on Monday. We are bracing ourselves for being here through next
week again. They need to run more tests to see what is wrong with the stuff stuck in
his throat. They think it either has to do with his vocal cords, or a nerve that runs
close to the heart that may have been stretched during surgery. Problems with either
of these could affect breathing, swallowing, and talking, as well as creating this
fluid that he can't seem to get rid of. So, since the hospital basically closes down
for the weekend, we are once again on hold. I don't know, do you think we should
consider closing the funeral home on weekends? No big deal "sorry sir, we can't do
anything for you today, after all it is the weekend!!" Of course, I am kidding. Just
trying to get across how ridiculous we think this situation is! Because of this, we are
going to take a break from updating you for the weekend. We will resume with the
updates as we know more, hopefully that will be Monday.
I am staying once again at the hotel at least tonight, and maybe through the weekend.
As I was up and wandering to and from the pump room a million times during the
night, I realized that I was basically the only parent staying there. And...the nurse
kept coming in and doing feedings and meds which is basically the reason I thought I
was to stay. So, we talked to the nurse tonight, and she said that since we have
basically been there to do absolutely everything during the day, that it wasn't as big
of a deal for us that we stay there. She said we could wait until the night or two
before discharge if we wanted because she was able to teach us during the day. So,
that relieved me, and I am going to try to get some better sleep tonight.
One cool thing happened tonight when we logged on to look at our guest book. A
woman had happened across our website. She is at Mercy in Des Moines with her
daughter who is under the care of the great Dr. Mooradian. She has a similar heart
defect and it was a comfort to her to find us. She actually was at Mercy using one
of their computers to update her own website and happened to see our web address
on the browser there and felt like she needed to look at it for some reason. So,
someone at Mercy had logged onto us today, that's pretty cool!
So, we will update on Monday, but not before then.
Thanks for all your support!
Holly, Ryan, and family