It All Runs Together

I realize I have not updated in a couple of days. There's a very good reason for that. I have been extremely busy and totally exhausted. I have not slept much ... all to my detriment ... but sometimes things just get to me.



I was told Thursday upon my morning visit with our Dr. that Kadin was requiring heart surgery to close the PDA valve on the outside of his heart. They had given him medication to close it, and it appeared to have been closing, but did not get closed completely. It was now causing some issues in the lungs with backflow of blood settling in the lungs and causing it difficult to breathe, thus requiring more help from the ventilator. Ok, lots of repeats here, but I realize some of you are new to reading my blog so I want to cover all bases here ... sorta.



I called my husband to tell him that our baby needed surgery and he was just beside himself. I don't know at what point the decision was made, but he made the decision to come to FW to be with me as soon as he got off work Thursday. I was so surprised and so happy that he was coming. It worked out perfectly because the surgeon ended up pushing the surgery back several times to finally being able to perform it on Friday at around 7PM.



It all went well ... he seemed to be recovering ... until about 10:30PM last night. He crashed. It all went to pot in a matter of seconds. Literally ... SECONDS. My oldest son, his dad and stepmom had come to FW to be in town for my son's cheer competition in Denton today. So they decided to stop by the hospital and let JT see his little brother and to drop off some gifts for Kadin. My son and I went back to see the baby and we weren't there but for a few minutes when they asked us to leave so they could get some xrays. Kadin had already been put on a blood pressure med earlier in the day because his blood pressure kept dropping. It bottomed out while my son and I were in the room with him. So they asked us to wait out in the waiting room for about 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes turned into more than half an hour. We were scared and nervous as you can imagine. JT had to leave so he could get a homework assignment completed and then go to the motel with the rest of his team. Before they left, his dad Bryan prayed for Kadin and all of us. Danny and I then went to be with the baby and it was the scariest thing I have ever witnessed. My limp and lifeless baby was just there in his bed. Tubes were everywhere since they had now strung a total of NINE medicines to attempt to keep him alive. This included some insulin since his blood sugar was also too high. So now he was having 3-4 different blood pressure meds, pain meds, insulin, steroids, and a variety of other things being pumped thru his body. The Dr. started talking about how he was not responding very well to the medication to raise his blood pressure but that there was still hope ... His profusion was good, he was peeing good, and a few other things that I don't really remember ....



The Dr. said a few things that led me to believe that our baby was critically ill. Well, first of all she said he is very very sick. She said she has seen babies sick before, but he was the worst she has seen in a long time. The good thing was they were not having to do CPR at this moment. I was so upset. My husband was upset. They had me sit down in a rocking chair and he knelt down beside me and we just sat there. Tears rolled down my face and I heard him sigh quite often. The team of RN's, the Dr., the Respiratory techs, ALL of them were working so diligently to save his life. Between that and prayers ... it worked.



I am proud to say that he is doing wonderfully today. His blood pressure is holding it's own and he is not on any support from medication for that. THAT in itself is wonderful news. His blood gas reports are coming back excellent and they are able to turn down the ventilator some more every time. He is being weened off the insulin, also. He was receiving some more blood earlier tonight but that, again ... is not unusual and very par for the course in his situation.



He was resting when I went to see him this evening. They had given him a little bit of morphine to calm him down. He was really misbehaving before I got there. His body looks somewhat swollen from all the fluids they were pushing, but it is getting better. They are putting some antibiotic creme onto this feet and legs and I was glad to see that. He was peeling and it just looked bad. He got a paci too and he likes it. I can't wait to see him tomorrow ....

While we were at Cook's, we got the message that my husband's nephew's son (whew!) Michael, who is 14, had been admitted to the hospital with some form of leukemia - I believe they were waiting for the tests before they said definitively, but that is the suspicion. So we walked around the hospital trying to locate Danny's nephew Gary Don and his wife Angela and we finally found them. We had it so bad, but glad we were there and could at least see them and Michael. Michael really seems to be in good spirits about it all. He was just mad he missed his first plane flight because they drugged him up! lol So I guess we'll wait and see how all that turns out. Please pray for them ......

Well, wow, I am sssoooooo sleepy but wanted to get an update on here since it had been 2 days, or something like that anyway. We ran over to Denton real quick to see my son compete this afternoon and then a quick run back before the kids had to go back home. I hate this arrangement but am trying my hardest to make the best of a not so good situation. I just can't wait to take Kadin home and have a normal life again.

OH .... lemme say that the bake sales were great. I am so grateful for everyone who contributed and who worked the sales for our baby's benefit. I just can't say enough how grateful I am for it all .... THANK YOU!

I really enjoyed seeing my children this weekend too. It is still quite an adjustment for them and for us all, but we are going to manage and make the best of it. The kids are making this their "home away from home" when they are here and I am enjoying it. It is still somewhat stressful at times, but until we are used to this routine I expect that. It will get better ... it has to.

Thanks for your prayers still and all the support you all have given to us. It means the world to me that all my friends and family and our community have pulled together to be there for us during this uncertain time. I never dreamed we would be here, but here we are and by the grace of God, we're gonna be just fine!

Love and Blessings to you all,
Leslie