Happy Update

Monday Isaac had an Echocardiogram and a visit with Dr. Puchalski, his Cardiologist. Isaacs heart function is doing well, it hasn't got any worse. He still has only half a heart and a leaky tricuspid valve along with some other smaller heart issues, but he is doing well. He is still getting between 85-91% oxygen saturation which is normal for him and really great. Dr. Puchalski says he shouldn't need another visit for a year. I couldn't be happier with this report, Isaac is a living miracle. Isaacs recent virus scared us, and gave us lots of stress, however it is normal to see in heart kids. We are thankful we have had the last eight years with him. Isaac has helped us realize how blessed we truly are. We look forward to many more years with Isaac and are excited to see him grow and develop. We have learned to appreciate the simple pleasures in life, and don't regret this journey in the least.

March Update 2011

Currently Isaac is doing well other than having the stomach flu off and on for over a week. I will double check with the Pediatrician to see if there is any concern with having this flu for so long. Isaac still has two more stages of ear surgery, next one will be done probably in May 2011. Isaac will be getting Baptized soon, if you are interested in coming, please contact me. We are currently still making arrangements for a date. Thanks for caring about Isaac & checking in on him.

Brief Update

I've been too busy to update lately. However, I just wanted to update on Isaac's health. On October 5th, Isaac had stage 2 of his ear surgery. It went really well & healed extremely fast this time. Also he was blessed to have many people pray for him, which I believed help Isaac be almost completely free of pain. There was discomfort, but not pain medication needed after surgery. Isaac is really happy with his ear. Isaac loves Doctor Fairbanks, the plastic surgeon. This is another blessing, to have a wonderful doctor who genuinely cares for his patients. I've noticed his patients are passionate about doctor Faibanks, he is one of a kind.
Isaac saw his Cardiologist on October 21st (his Dad's birthday also). THe report was good. He said that Isaac's heart was still leaking, however not any worse than before. It's too risky to fix at this point. I hope we find a way for it to heal on it's own without surgical intervention. Even Heart Catherizations make me nervous, I've heard stories about Cath nightmares. Anyway, I am thankful Isaac is stable. I try not to worry about when things might change. I am always thinking about how to not take our time together for granted, as well as my other children. I have a perspective that is weird to some, and too real to others. I try to live my life with no regrets.
Isaac won an Award of Merit today for a Reflections project he entered at his school. He is real happy that he won, even though it was not a medal. His sister Brianna won five medals today in the same competition.
Thanks, to all of you who stop by to check on Isaac, I appreciate your concern.

Microtia Surgery Stage 1 (re-Do)

For some of you, you might remember Isaac having reconstructive surgery almost two years ago on his left ear. I just didn't feel good about the first surgery, almost every aspect of it. I feel bad I put Isaac through a painful surgery again, especially when it turned out to be a mistake. This time I feel bad he has to go through so much pain, however, I feel that the surgeon is perfect for the job. After much thought I went to doctor Siddiqui (a very skilled plastic surgeon I met at Primary Children's Medical Center in 2003), to see if he could do Isaac's second stage of Microtia Surgery. Dr. Siddiqui looked at it and said it was not done right and needed to be redone. He reffered Isaac to Dr Grant R. Fairbanks (a plastic surgeon/sculptor) who does re-do's as they call it. Doctor Fairbanks glady took Isaac as his patient, and carefully planned out the reconstruction of Isaac's ear. Doctor Fairbanks is one who takes great pride in his work and thinks out the best scenario for his patients best interest. He takes the time to do everything extremely well and considers the patients future like no other. I have been very impressed by his caring hands in giving the best for Isaac. He is truly a doctor who cares about the welfare of each patient, going well beyond the call of duty. I am thankful Isaac was lead to such a skilled and caring surgeon and I feel he will be the best to complete the next two steps of Isaac's ear reconstruction.
Isaac's surgery went as well as planned. After surgery, recovery was a long process. Isaac retained a lot of fluid, which gave him some setbacks for a few days. Also, Isaac has had a lot of chest pain, due to rib grafts and removal of one rib. Isaac came home after about five days in the hospital. His ear and chest are healing well with no signs of infection. I expect his chest will continue to be very sore for a while.
At the end of July Isaac will be attending second Grade at CopperHills Elementary. We are excited to work with Mrs. Wright (his new teacher). We look forward to a sucessful school year.

Why am I a Bad Mom today?

Why do I feel like the worst Mom ever? Because of strict attendance policies at school, I sent Isaac to school with a stomachache. Knowing that I just am getting over a flu that lasted for a little over three days, and he probably caught it. Also knowing for a fact that Isaac had a croup episode early Monday morning. I also am bugged because the steroids he had to take for his croup have their side effects, which include lower anti-bodies, crankiness, insomnia, anxiety and increased heart risk. All of this leaving me to feel like I am not a very good Mom, just before Mother's day. I really hate making judgement calls like that. Especially when it REALLY BUGS me when other parents send their children to school sick. I wish we could re-write some of these policies. I feel that as long as children that have missed exessive days from school, can do well enough on their testing at the end of the year to show that they are not a truant that the test should show enough to say that the student is not trying to be a truant. Especially for a first grader, come on now, let's get real. Sorry, if this is a bit annoying, but I had to vent today. I am seriously feeling rotten & guilty.

Catching Up

Isaac is doing well in school and finally catching up in his developmental delays enough that he is transitioning to a regular 1st grade class for half a day now and back to the Special Ed class in the afternoons. He will probably be in a regular class all day very soon. He is very smart and reads better than any first grader I have ever met. Isaac is reading Chapter books such as "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and loves it. Isaac will still need a little help with his social interaction skills, but not much more than that. Isaac, much like other heart kids, spent a lot of time in a position where he couldn't do much physically for so long, he learned from everything going on around him. It is amazing to watch how his brain works, I like to pretend with him that I steal his brain through his ear so that I can be smart like him and he loves to yell at me to spit it out. Isaac is such a character, and so much fun to tease in a fun way, I am thankful I have this time with him to play. I feel bad that some of my heart friends had such a short time with their loved ones to play like I have been able to enjoy. I guess each one of us has a different mission in life and we all will get a chance to be with our loved ones again someday. I am so thankful for Heavenly Father's Plan for us & the chance to be with our loved ones again & for the sacrifice that Jesus made for us all especially at this Easter season as well as throughout the year.

Strept Throat

I kept Isaac home from church yesterday & school today due to a bad cough and mild sore throat. Today I took him to the doctor just to make sure it did not turn into something more serious. The pediatrician looked at his throat and decided to swab it. A few minutes later the medical assistant came in and told us the Strept test was positive. This is the first time I can remember Isaac having Strept, which is a real blessing after seven years of other health issues. I am thankful I can still find plenty of blessings to count. I think I have just learned to see the blessings around me better. I feel so blessed that he is not as sick as many kids are when they have strept. I sometimes feel better about bacterial infections since they usually can be treated easily with anti-biotics. Viruses scare me a lot worse.