Home at last

It has been 2 weeks since James had his surgery and he is doing great. We brought him home on monday night just in time to celebrate his big brothers second birthday. Tomorrow James has an appointment to make sure he is doing good after surgery, so we will be going back in to Dallas again. He is happy to be home and he bringing more joy in our home. We have another step out of the way and the future is looking brighter. We are so happy that we decided to have James surgeries at Children's Medical Center. Dr Forbess has done a great job, all the doctors, nurses, therapists, and technicians has been amazing. Thank you all so much.

Feeling better

We are two days after his surgery and James is getting better, he is looking more like himself now. He is still in some pain and getting quite a bit of medicine. The doctors have said that with the new anatomy of his heart there will be a completely new pressure in his head. It will take a few days to get used to so his head is probably hurting a lot. His chest and the tubes are probably not very comfortable either. He is looking good though and he is eating his regular dose of formula again. So hopefully we are back to being happy little James again in just a few days.

Moving up

We are now on the 8th floor at Children's Medical Center. James was moved into a new room while recovering from his surgery. He did not need to stay in the cardiac intensive care unit any longer. He is doing really well and we were all surprised when they said we were moving up. His breathing tube was removed last night, he still has two drainage tubes from his chest. He is receiving oxygen to keep his levels high until he is more awake. He is still on some pain medicine and is staying asleep most of the time. He is a real fighter and we are ready to have him at home soon. Thank you Dr. Forbess and the amazing cardiac team at Children's.

All done

James surgery is done, we got to see him rolling by from the operating room. They said that he did really well and we will be able to go see him soon. We spoke with Dr. Forbess and was pleased with the results. The breathing tube will be removed tonight and he has two drainage tubes coming from his chest. Can't wait to see him.

Time is here

We have reached the time for James next surgery. He is having his Glenn procedure tomorrow. He is Dr. Forbess' second case of the day so our time is set for 12pm tomorrow. James had his pre op today and everything looked good. They checked his oxygen level, his blood pressure, temperature, height, weight, they took blood samples, urine sample, and he had an x-ray. We are all set for tomorrow, the only thing that will stop us is if a more serious case must come before us. but we hope that it won't happen. They will connect the superior vena cava with the lung arteries. The surgery will take approximately 4 hours and they said that recovery might only be 5-7 days in the hospital. I will keep everybody updated on how everything is going tomorrow. Keep us in your thoughts.

Click on the links below for a better explanation.

Glenn procedure

superior vena cava

Ready for next Surgery

In only a week we are going back to Children's Medical Center in Dallas for preparation for James Glenn procedure. We have heard that success rates for this procedure is 95% and we are feeling pretty good about this surgery. What this procedure will do is to remove the tube that is directing blood from the right side of James heart to the lung arteries and instead the surgeon will connect the superior vena cava directly to the lung arteries so the blood comes directly to his lungs. That mean James heart will get less of a load and will only pump blood to the body. This will save alot of work for the heart and James should get more energy after this surgery. We are going to the hospital on Tuesday to get a heart cath done so the doctors will get a clear picture of James' heart. We will probably stay the night and come home Wednesday. Then we are going back on Friday for pre Op, we will get an x-ray, check his vitals and get all the information about his surgery. Monday the 13th is the big day. We are the second surgery of the day by Dr. Forbess, but we still have to be there early that morning. James has been doing great in general. He was 14 lbs in weight and 25.5 inches tall on his 4 month check up with the pediatrician last week. His cardiologist says he looks good and is ready for the surgery. I will keep everybody updated on how it is going.

James 4 months old