Sunday, January 2, 2011

Caleb "exercising" in his new seat - Caleb has to hold up his head and use his head, neck and core muscles to sit in this seat. Hopefully this will strengthen some of his muscles that have been slow in developing.

Things are still the same with Caleb. His nurse's appointment will be this coming Friday so he can get his next RSV vaccine. He is still bothered by the reflux, but we can work around it by laying him on his tummy on our chests while he eats. Another benefit of the NG tube!

As the new year begins, we would like to say thank you to everyone that has followed and prayed for Caleb. We have been so blessed with the support we have received from our friends, families and the new friends we have met (or never met for that matter). Phil and I can never thank you enough for helping us through the low spots and celebrating the good things that have happened.

I have been asked what this next surgery will entail. The abridged version is that they will disconnect the Superior Vena Cava from his heart and dump it into his pulmonary artery and remove his shunt. This will send the blood from the top part of his body directly to his lungs, bypassing his heart all together. Following is a link to the U of M informational page for Caleb's condition - Tricuspid Atresia. If you scroll down to "How is the problem treated", Caleb had the Blalock-Taussig shunt as his first stage surgery and will be having the Hemi-Fontan on January 18th.

Tricuspid Atresia Explained