Chirstmas card

I thought I would post our card in case I forgot to email it to any of you. Maybe next year I will be on top of things enough to send cards via the U.S. mail. Have a great Christmas Eve.

Lizzy is home!

This afternoon the nightmare ended and our sweet baby is home again. I feel lucky Lizzy was only there for six days. I can't imagine how hard it is on parents whose kids are in the hospital for weeks.
This picture is when I held her for the first time since the surgery. It was so hard that first day to see her cry and not be able to pick her up. I was so happy when they let me hold her the next day but it still felt wierd because she was hooked up to so many monitors.


By day two and three she slowly got tubes and things removed and seemed more like our Lizzy again. It was hard to get her to eat and she was throwing what little she ate on the second day. She absolutely refused a bottle and we were desperate to get her to eat so I stayed night and day to try to get her to breastfeed. After many nights sleeping with my clothes on and alarms beeping every five seconds I am very excited to be able to be in my own bed tonight. Lizzy is eating well now and she is her old happy self. She has a lot of bruises, needle pokes, and skin rashes from all the tape but she doesn't act like it bothers her too much. Tylenol is all she needs for pain and we have to be extra careful when holding her. The latest echocardiogram showed that the hole is fixed and working great. The bad news is that her tricuspid valve is slightly damaged (The surgeon works through that valve to repair the hole). It happens about 40% of the time after this surgery and usually doesn't cause a problem. It is something that will require a close eye throughout her life but hopefully won't be a big deal. A big thanks to Marilyn who kept our apartment spic and span while taking care of Tyler. I missed Tyler so much this week but it was comforting to know that he was in good hands. Thanks again for all the phone calls, prayers, and support. I love you all.

Lizzy After Surgery

This is Lizzy in the intensive care unit right after surgery.

She has:

• 2 IV's; one in her foot and one in her right wrist
• an arterial line in her left groin area
• a central line from her neck through her jugular vein to her heart
• a Foley catheter in her bladder
• a chest tube draining her thorax
• those wires are a temporary pace-maker
• a pulse-ox monitor on her left thumb
• temperature and cardiac output monitors on her forehead and lower back

She is a little out-of-it from all the meds, and she mostly just lays there and groans occasionally. It is a little sad, but we know it won't last long.

Open Heart Surgery!

Well poor little Lizzy only gained three ounces at her last weigh in. Dr. Samyn the cardiologist thinks she should have surgery to fix the hole in her heart as soon as possible. They are going to squeeze Lizzy into the December surgical schedule. We just found out that it is going to be on Monday December 10th. After the surgery Lizzy will be in the hospital for seven to ten days! Thank goodness My mom and Andy's mom are coming to help out! I am soooo grateful for their willingness to come, espically so close to Christmas. I know they will be sacrificing a lot to come during the busy holiday season. Keep Lizzy in your prayers. Keep me in your prayers too- The thought of my baby's chest being cut open makes me nauseous and weak at the knees but I feel confident things will be okay. I love you all!

Grammuh and Grampuh's Visit

Grammuh Marilyn and Grampuh Gary visited for Lizzy's blessing and we had a great weekend with them. They showed up with all sorts of goodies and presents for all of us and we LOVE everything they brought. We ate at some yummy restaurants and had our own Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday after Lizzy's blessing. The food was delicious, I love Marilyn's cooking. Tyler had a lot of fun joking around with his grandparents, he especially loved playing with Grampuh Gary. We did lots of fun things including the Discovery World Museum in downtown Milwaukee and the Mitchel Park Domes where there are beautiful indoor gardens. Thanks for the fun visit Gary and Marilyn, we love you guys!

Lizzy's blessing

Lizzy looked like an angel in the beautiful blessing gown from Grammuh Marilyn. Andy gave a very heartfelt and sweet blessing. We were so glad to have Gary and Marilyn and our close friends there for the blessing. I only wish all our family could have been there to share the wonderful day with us.

Han Solo

Tyler put on my Baby Bjorn and said "This is my Han Solo costume!" He would shoot his gun at the storm troopers on T.V. while we watched Star Wars.