Going Home Soon!!

OUR AWESOME SURGEON DR. MAX MITCHELL!!!

GRAMMIE

GRANDMA AND UNCLE TY

AUNTIE ASH

We received some pretty exciting news from Dr. Mitchell himself this morning. He says Logan looks great and is doing very well and may be released to go home tomorrow!! As long as we feel comfortable, of course. He is only on a whisper of oxygen and taking Tylenol and Lasiks. We have to be sure to care for his incision by cleaning it with soap and water and 'scoop' him up when we lift him. We're ready to take our boy home!!

Moving on Up...to the CPCU!!!

Thursday, 11:55 AM (Day 4). Well I am pleased to announce more good news! In the next hour Logan will be moved up to the ninth floor of the hospital, and upgraded to the CPCU (Cardiac Progressive Care Unit). This is great news!

I am pleased to report that Logan's lungs are doing great, and that he is almost off oxygen completely (he's on just a whisper). This is also great news, as the high-flow oxygen they had him on yesterday mixed a little too much with his formula and he spit up twice yesterday. Logan's normally a great eater, and has never thrown up before, but he hasn't had a problem since yesterday afternoon, so we're on the right track:)

Logan also had most of his tubes removed yesterday! They had pulled one of his drain tubes early yesterday, and they pulled the second one this morning! They also got rid of some sensor tubes, as well as an IV line and an arterial line. What this all boils down to is seeing our baby boy returning to normal and that he is quickly becoming healthy again! (It also makes it MUCH easier to hold him:)

His color looks great, his blood pressure is great, heart rate, oxygen, everything is really positive. As we walk through the CICU we are reminded how extremely lucky we are, because there are many other small children who are having some complications and our hearts break for them. We've met some incredible parents, and realize that Logan is really quite lucky and, of course, special:)

Here's a great shot of how Logan's scar looks. The top gauze is simply to protect his incision from drool and sweat. The bottom two gauze are where they removed the drain tubes. The pink irritation adjacent the incision scar is simply from the tape being removed and will heal within the next day or so.

This morning Pastor Terry stopped by for a quick blessing and prayer over Logan. Logan is certainly a testament that prayers work:) Look at how content and happy he is! The CICU nurses of course love him to death! (By the way, the staff is simply incredible at Children's. We have yet to run into a nurse or doctor that we don't like!) He's only cried a few times in here, and we've noticed his cry seems a bit clearer and not as raspy, although higher pitched.

Logan has gotten back to his normal expressions, including the random smile and smirk! Overall, we're extremely pleased at how well he is recovering, and we look forward to bringing him home soon!

Day 3

Logan right out of surgery. This is with his breathing tubes still in.



8:50 AM. Yesterday was a very progressive day for Little Logan. He's healing impressively well and on his way to making a full recovery! The biggest feat yesterday (by far) was getting his breathing tubes out. He was also able to get his catheter out, also a plus. At one point yesterday afternoon, he went 8 hours without peeing, and they threatened him to reattach a catheter to him, at which point he promptly peed freely.

Logan has also started to eat again. We started him off with some sugar water, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Throughout the night he drank one 2 oz bottle of formula, followed later by a 4 oz bottle. Logan's never really had a problem eating:)
This is our most wonderful cardiac doctor, Dr. Carrie Villavincencio! She has stopped by to check on Logan very frequently, and we're simply amazed at her level of compassion for him.

One area of concern for Logan is that his right entrance to his lung is slightly collapsed. This is not uncommon after surgery, especially with Down syndrome patients. It's typically caused by shallow breathes and not being picked up and handed all about. The drain tubes in the void spaces between his lungs and heart are more than likely causing him to take shallow breaths, to avoid his lungs contacting them and causing irritation. So, in order to counter-balance this, they simply put him on a different cannula of oxygen, providing him with slightly more oxygen. This problem should be go away on its own within 24 hours.

Logan will have one of the drain tubes removed today (both were about to be removed, but he's still got some fluid draining from the right drain tube) and both are expected to be out by tomorrow. Logan will more than likely spend today in the CICU, with hopes of going to the CPCU (the step-down unit) tomorrow.
On a final note, we finally got the opportunity to hold Logan!!! I can't tell you how happy that makes us:) It's really great to have him in your arms, and Logan really seems to have missed it! He's right at home being held! He's got such a great temperament, and really has only cried twice since he's been here. We can't to get him all better and eventually home! Thanks for everyone's healing prayers; Logan is a testament that they work!

Breathing tube out!

9:38 AM. They just pulled Logan's breathing tube out (a process called extubation for all you nerds out there...)! This means he is recovering at an incredible rate! The breathing tube provided positive pressure for his lungs, but it seems our little super-hero continues to beat the odds! Currently they have him on a cannula of oxygen (just a small clear tube that's slightly inserted into his nostrils), but he'll be off of that soon too. Now that the tube is out, Logan will be able to "eat" relatively soon. In two hours he can have clear liquids (we'll give him Pedialite, a baby gatorade so to speak), and in four hours some formula. We personally can't wait to hold our little guy!

The CICU

6:O7 AM. Well after a huge day yesterday, today is a fresh start, and we are happy to report that Logan is doing great. His breathing is doing really good, in fact, and if his blood weren't slightly acidic now (something that's completely normal after surgery), then they would have already pulled him off the ventilator and had his breathing tubes removed. This will more than likely happen later today. (Our nurse said this is remarkable for the day after surgery). Logan had two drain tubes installed during the surgery that help his body remove excess fluid from his void spaces and lungs. This morning they are collecting less fluid and the fluids are running more clear (again, great news). Logan is currently on a few different medications (morphine, tylenol, dopamine, and lasik), again, all part of the procedure. He looks great, given what he's been through, but we can't wait to get his breathing tubes out. He isn't as swollen as I'd expected him to be, and his coloring looks good. We should be able to hold him today too, which we've been yearning to do. Yesterday they had to give him quite a bit of fluids, because his blood pressure was a bit low. Normally after heart surgery, your heart will "sag." What this means is that 6-8 hours post surgery the heart has its hardest time recovering, but that's what the CICU is for. The drugs they've given him help his heart contract more, in essence loosening it up. Remember, Logan's exterior wall of the heart had become thicker (since the heart is a muscle and it was working extra hard to get him oxygen), and so also more stiff. Now that he has 4 separate chambers in his heart, like we all do, his heart has to figure a way to pump to get all of the blood going where it should. I can't tell you what it's like to look up at his vitals and see his oxygen in the high 90's! No more tet spells for Logan (not that he's had any, but now that risk is over!) We'll get some pictures out later today as well.

GREAT NEWS!!!

We just got word of some FANTASTIC NEWS!!! Logan is off of by-pass and stable! The surgery went textbook, and with no major complications!!! Also, even more shocking is that they WERE ABLE TO DO THE VALVE-SPARRING TECHNIQUE!!! I'm in such a state of shock right now that I don't even know what to say. This means that more than likely, Logan will NOT REQUIRE ANY MORE SURGERIES!!! Thanks to all of of you who have kept Logan in your thoughts and prayers! I've always known that prayer works, but we are truly humbled by this whole experience, and know without a doubt that the Lord was in the operating room and looking after our Logan. We are so extremely grateful and in a state of awe. Logan only had a 20% chance of having this procedure done, and we were preparing for the worst. He's got to be one of the youngest babies to have this procedure done (most have to wait 4-8 months before they are able to do it). In 45 more minutes he'll be in the CICU and we'll be able to see him. A sincere thanks to everyone who has thought about our Logan. More to come...

VSD Patch Installed!

12:15 pm. Julianne just informed us that Logan just had his VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect, or the hole between the bottom two chambers of his heart) patched. They do this by cutting a small piece of gortex material and literally sewing it around the hole. Logan's hole was about the size of an adult's pinky nail. They hadn't gotten to his pulmonary artery yet, but that's what they'll tackle next, so I'll have more on that next hour. By the way, his heart is about the size of his own fist. Keep the prayers coming, they're working!