Good Deal

Caleb is doing great. No more IV's. We're waiting to find out when we go to Jackson. It will likely be Monday or Tuesday.

Off Meds

Caleb is doing well. He is off all of his heart medications, so that is great news. The latest we have heard is that the procedure at Jackson (University of Miami) will be on Wednesday.
Thank you to all of you who have called, posted, visited, and prayed. We are thankful to the Lord fo you!

Bleeding Scare

Caleb continued to bleed from his incision at his belly button. He had to be re-sutured by the Fellow (student doctor). He also had to receive a blood transfusion. He is doing well now. We look forward to a better recovery now. We had pizza with friends here at the hospital tonight.

Lap Surgery For Stones Not Completely Successful

The surgeon was able to remove the gal bladder and one of the stones ubstructing the common bile duct via lap surgery today, but the other one is apparently too big to advance into the intestine via the methods used in lap surgery. It was too risky to open him up, so the plan is to transfer to Jackson Monday for an ERCP. An ERCP is basically an endoscopy where they cut the muscle that goes from the common bile duct (CBD)into the intestine so the stone could pass. If this doen't work we go back to MCH for a pretty big and rare surgery. This means at least one more entubation and another hospital transfer. How is Caleb doing? After a bunch of doses of Morphine and Adavan he is finally asleep and more stable. one of his incisions is bleeding significantly from fighting the nurse and mom who spent most of the night trying to keep his oxygen canula on his nose so he wouldn't desat. Hopefully his vital signs will stabalize after some good rest and be strong enough for part two come Monday. We are in the ICU again and need your prayers. We are exhausted and just want to be together as a family again.

Surgery Continues; Ministry Happens

We met a Christian couple from the Bahamas. Their daughter, Hannah, is the same age as Caleb and has a complex respiratory ailment. We were able to share and pray with them.

The surgery is still in progress. We were able to meet a doctor friend who told us that they were still using the laproscopic method. This is good. If they are able to complete the surgery with a laser it means a smaller scar, less pain, and a quicker recovery.

Surgery Underway

We said good-bye to Caleb. Dr. Sola will be performing the surgery. Hard to say how long it will take. He will attempt to do it laproscopicly (via laser). One of the cardiac anesthesialogy assistants is a Christian. He is one of God's people placed there to be in prayer. God has his people everywhere. We are a big family.

Surgery Time Change

Caleb's surgery will be taking place at 4:00pm today (Thursday). Please keep him, the doctors, and the medical staff in your prayers.

Transfer and Surgery

Caleb has multiple stones in his gallbladder and two stones in his "bile duct tract". The anesthesia department at Baptist Hospital does not feel comfortable treating Caleb because of his heart condition. Therefore, we were transferred to Miami Children's Hospital today. Our GI doctor spent 3/4ths of the day on Tuesday talking with doctors and surgeons trying to come up with a game plan. They were originally planning on doing the ECRP at Baptist and then transferring to Miami Children's for the gallbladder removal. The ECRP is a procedure that is not done at Miami Children's. Transfering to Jackson Hospital was also considered.

So tommorrow (Thursday) at 3:00pm Caleb will undergo a surgical procedure to remove his gallbladder and then the surgeon will remove the stones in the tract. It is a very rare situation. Miami Children's has only done one of these with a baby as young as Caleb this year. It should be a fairly long procedure, maybe three to four hours.

There is an outside chance it will get rescheduled pending the availability of the cardiac anesthesia team.

We do have a peace. The Lord is good.

Stones

It's interesting that they call these things stones and not pebbles. Anyway, the MRI revealed three stones, one in his gallbladder and two in the "tract". The two will be removed with a procedure called an ECRP. This is kind of like a tube in a tube that is placed down his throat into his esophagas and down toward his gallbladder. Then, after this procedure is done, Caleb will have his gallbladder removed during a surgical procedure. None of this will happen today. We will post more information as we get it.

Caleb is happy as ever, constantly moving around, chewing the cables attached to him, kicking, laughing, playing.

Yesterday he had to be fastened down on a table during a GER test - that, I believe, stands for Gastro Esophagal Reflux. The test took an hour and Caleb endured it like a champ!

Or maybe not.....

One of the surgeons doess't think Caleb has stones because he's never seen it before. Today's MRI should confirm that. If he does have them, they will likely try an ERSC or ESPC (or some letters like that). This is a way to remove them without surgery.

1:30pm
The MRI is over - waiting for results.
They gave Caleb two doses of Versed and it still didn't knock him out! What problems do you have with your 8-month old? For us, it's his immunity to Versed! (chuckle, chuckle)

Gallbladder Stones

On Thursday, our GI doctor admitted Caleb into Baptist hospital due to his feeding and vomitting problem. We usually go to Miami Children's Hospital, but our GI doctor uses Baptist. We really like the hospital - super clean and nice rooms - only one patient per room. A bigger play room (for Genesis). Better TV channels. Great security. Bigger cafeteria with reasonably good food. It's a little bit farther from our house. We're getting good at evaluating hospitals.

Caleb's a hard stick. That means it's difficult to get a needle into his vein for blood or an IV. It took the folks at Baptist about three or four tries. That breaks a parents heart - your kid screaming, blood squirting, and your heart pounding. And then we do it again! Maybe I don't like this hospital anymore.

All of the tests came back negative - until recently. Something was wrong with his liver - it was "backed up" or "full" - probably because of all his medicines that he takes. Yesterday they found another big problem - stones in his gallbladder - lots of them. They are even spilling out. If one gets into his pancreas, we have big trouble.

Our GI doctor is shocked. She has never seen this before. Usually this would be seen in teenagers, but never a little baby. We have learned that sometimes that 1% is us.

Caleb will be a case study. Other doctors and surgeons will be consulted - perhaps even from University of Miami.
This likely is the reason for his pain when he eats. It's also very likely that Caleb will have surgery sometime within the next several days.

This little guy is my hero.

Still struggling

Caleb seems to have quite a bit of pain, especially when he eats. He's not eating all he needs to, but he is gaining weight, albeit slowly. We have an appointment with a new doctor who specializes in homeopathic medicine for children on Monday.

Miracle Workers Comments

Did you see the show? Felipe's cute, eh? He's a great little boy. That surgery is the same surgery that Caleb will have in about 3 years or so. It's one thing to lay little Caleb on the operating table as an infant. We're building a history with him; we have a relationship with him; we love him. It's going to be tough. But we'll do it with the strength of the Lord and with the prayers and support of our friends.


This was a common scene, and those like it, in the hall of the CICU at MCH.

Thank you to those of you who watched. If you want to learn more check out this link:
http://www.abc.go.com/primetime/miracleworkers/bios/105709.html

Please post your comments if you saw the show!