Post-Op Photo and a DVD Surprise

Here is a picture of Owen from his 4/19 Post-Op appointment. He is having fun coloring while waiting for the doctor. As you can see, his incision is healing nicely.

Also, we received an unexpected package in the mail from Children's Hospital. It was a DVD of Owen's operation! It is shot very close in, so all you can see is the heart itself. Since you don't know who (or often even what) you are looking at, it has a somewhat abstract and clinical feel. It was interesting to see how they repaired the heart--we could see the stitches and the patch itself being secured.
-Jon

Post-Op Appointment #2

Owen went back to Children's Hospital today for another follow-up appointment. They did an "echo" (ultrasound) of his heart, an EKG, and a general check-up. Everything looked normal! He is now able to stop taking the last of the medicines he was on.

They want us to continue to limit his motion for the next few weeks, but aren't overly concerned if he pulls up and "cruises" along furniture, etc. I'll post a picture or two from the appointment soon. His next appointment will be two months from now.
-Jon

Spring Pictures

Spring has sprung and we've had some nice weather days. Here are a few recent pictures of Owen and sister Clara.

Owen and Clara in our backyard

Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Hi!

Blog Tips

Here are a couple of tips on using the blog.

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You can leave a comment for any individual post on the blog. Below each post, you will see a small text link that says "0 COMMENTS" or "3 COMMENTS" or similar. To leave a comment or read others comments on that post, just click that text link. Enter your comment in the box under "Leave your comment". If you would like to leave your name, under "Choose an identity" select "Other". As soon as you click on "Other", a box will appear so you can enter your name. When finished, press the "Publish Your Comment" button.
We appreciate everyone who has left us comments so far!
-Jon

Post-Op Appointment

Today, Owen had his post-operative appointment at Children's Hospital. He had another chest X-ray and an EKG. Results were good for both. He is still retaining some fluid, so needs to continue taking medication a while longer. Owen is energetic and wants to be active, so we have to keep him from doing too much. His next appointment will be April 19th.

Many have asked how large his scar is, so here is a picture showing that:

Here is a picture of him riding his firetruck, one of his favorite activities:

We will probably not be updating this blog very often in the coming weeks, mostly because there isn't a lot of news to report. That's a good thing since it means life is back to normal! Check back after the 19th for another update.
-Jon & Amy

Praise God for healing!

"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1

I read this verse the day after Owen's surgery and what a blessing it was to my heart being able to praise the Lord for His truly perfect faithfulness throughout this journey knowing the Lord knew what we would be going through long ago!

We are so glad to be home and Owen is recovering very well. We know that it is because of your faithful prayers that he is healing miraculously. He is crawling around, pulling up, talking, and riding his little fire truck around the kitchen. We ventured out to church today much to the surprise of many who were shocked at how wonderful he looks less than a week after surgery. His scar seems to be healing and the glue they used to close the incision is starting to peel off. He still has one or two stitches where his chest tube was removed and we will get those out this Wed. when he goes for his post-operative check-up.

Jon and I are still trying to catch-up on lost sleep and regaining energy after all the build-up from the last several weeks. We have been so incredibly blessed by you who have upheld us in prayer and have been the hands and feet of Jesus to us. Looking back on our journey we do see that the Lord had the perfect timing despite our wishes for this to be over sooner than we expected. We were thrilled with the nursing staff and the doctors at Children's. Our dear nurse Terry worked so hard to find a way to help Owen when he was crying after surgery. A couple weeks before surgery I started taking his hand and squeezing it 3 times while saying "I Love You" and then kissing his hand so that I could let him know I was there even if he was in a deep sleep after surgery. The first time we saw him I squeezed his hand and he knew I was there. A little tear spilled from his eye and he started to cry a little. It was very difficult to see him hooked up to so many machines and not be able to scoop him into my arms and comfort him. I spent a lot of time leaning over the rail of his crib doing my best to comfort him during his 6 hour crying spell. I prayed that the Lord would help him to stop crying and I trusted that somehow the Lord would make a way to help him. Finally at 10:00pm after a new dose of medicine Owen fell asleep. Praise the Lord! Tuesday was a much better day and we rejoiced when each tube or wire was removed. We were overjoyed when they said we would be able to go home on Wednesday. We were in ICU the whole time because of a shortage of nurses on the regular patient floors. The nurses weren't used to such a "healthy" baby who was trying to crawl out of the crib. At that point they knew he'd be better off recovering in the comfort of his own home.

We will write another update after his appointment on Wednesday for those who are interested in finding out how things are going by then.

Much love to you all!!
-Amy