Off the Ventilator

Mitchell is no longer on the ventilator. They were able to remove his breathing tube about noon today; He has been doing well since it was removed- just has a little bit of oxygen via a cannula in his nose. 1 more chest tube was removed this morning, leaving 1. His Nasogastric (NG) tube was removed as well. The next step will be starting a feeding tube, possibly within the next 8 hrs. so he will have a new (smaller) tube placed in his nose.
Specific requests:
Mitchell's blood pressure is staying a little elevated- they added a new medication last night to help with this.
He will have a follow-up Ultrasound of his brain tomorrow; We are praying that things have remained stable or maybe even show some improvement.
Pray that he will tolerate his feedings- they will gradually increase/ attempt feedings by mouth.

Jon & Juliane will be driving home in the morning;
Mom & Bethany will be staying until Thursday.

Post Op day 4

Mitchell had a seizure last night about 9 p.m. An ultrasound revealed that he had had some bleeding on his brain. The Neurologist did not feel that there was evidence of any residual effects at this time- he is off of the sedative medication and moving his arms and legs; the brain oxygenation monitor has remained the same. They believe this occurred because of the blood thinners he was on during and after surgery- at one point his blood was thinner than the desired level. They will continue to monitor him, and the plan is to repeat the scan on Monday.

Please continue to pray for his recovery & that this incident may remain isolated to the 1 event.
It was a little scary to learn of this & the unknown factors at this time.

The nurse plans to discontinue a drain and 1 of his chest tubes today as well as work on weaning him from the ventilator.

Chest now closed

We are happy to report that the surgeon was able to close Mitchell's chest early this afternoon. He said he was happy with the progress made, as well as the overall functioning of the heart. If he has another good night, they will attempt to begin weaning him off of his sedative medication as well as the ventilator tomorrow.
Our surgeon will be on vacation for the next 2 weeks; please pray for the nurses as well as the new doctors caring for him.
Other prayer requests:
Jon is on his way up from Ft. Walton Beach tonight; he should arrive around midnight.
Joel will be driving up to Greenville, SC tomorrow to fly home to Tampa tomorrow night.
Juliane will be traveling back to Pensacola with Jon on Monday.

Thank you for your faithfulness praying for our little boy. You all are such a blessing to us.

How Great is the Love of God

As we are going thru this situation, we are reminded of how much God loves us.

John 3:16 says For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

We were all born sinners and not deserving, but because of Jesus' death and resurrection; we all have the opportunity to accept His gift of salvation.

Rom. 3:23 says For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom. 6:23 says For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom. 5:8 says But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Praise the Lord for his gift of Salvation:
Acknowledge that we are sinners.
Repent of our sins and ask God to forgive us.
Believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He rose from the grave.
Pray in faith believing that what God promises, He will do.

Acts 16:31 says Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

Rom. 10:9,10,13 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

We are so thankful for a loving God who is faithful to us. We may not know the reason for all of this right now, but we can rest in Him knowing that He doesn't make any mistakes.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. It is a wonderful thing to be held by God & uplifted by the prayers of others.

Small Improvements!

At Mitchell's stage of recovery, the phrase "no news is good news" would probably be appropriate. However, his mom and dad have reported there have actually been a couple of slight improvements since yesterday afternoon, so we are rejoicing at this news.

One change has been in the amount of urine output, which may seem insignificant but is quite important at this stage of the game. Two other encouraging improvements have been in his pulse, which is slightly lower, and the temperature of his extremities, which is higher than yesterday. Jodi had reported yesterday that his little hands and feet were quite cold, so she and Ted are pleased with this change.

The surgeon told them this morning that it is likely Mitchell's chest will be closed in a day or two, and that will bring a certain measure of relief to both Ted and Jodi.

There are so many possible complications after this surgery, some obviously more serious than others, but it is definitely a blessing that at this critical time there have been no real surprises. We are all so thankful for the excellent nursing care Mitchell is receiving and for the extra personal attention he seems to be receiving from the staff.

Right now, Mitchell is at a stage where there may be no news to post, so if there are occasional lapses, don't be overly concerned. We will make sure to update any changes or prayer requests; in the meantime, please continue to pray for strength for both Ted and Jodi, for the nurses caring for him, for decisions his doctors will be making, and for the rest of the family as they enjoy their time together and continue to be an encouragement to Ted and Jodi. For those who can't be in Atlanta, thank you for your continued messages, prayers, phone calls, and other expressions of concern that mean a great deal to the entire family.

Post-Op Report

We know many of you are praying as well as waiting for an update regarding Mitchell's first night after surgery. Ted and Jodi are on their way to the hospital to see him. Ted was able to see him for a brief time last night, and other than the initial surprise of seeing his tiny chest opened and covered with only a transparent material of some sort, he was pleased with his overall appearance.

The nurses have reported that he remained stable all night and this morning; his pulse is somewhat rapid and he's requiring extra blood, but this is not an unusual event following such an extensive and lengthy surgery.

The rest of the family will probably take some time off today to hang out with the kids and see some of the sights of Atlanta. It's hard to imagine how exhausted everyone must be after so many hours in the waiting room yesterday, so we're hoping they can have an enjoyable and even relaxing day.

Thanks to everyone who waited with them, prayed with them, and generally encouraged them through the long hours yesterday. If I mention names, someone will undoubtedly be left out, but your presence and concern were very much needed and appreciated. Jodi will fill in the details of Mitchell's condition when she's able, but we did want you to have a general update of his first few hours after surgery and thank you again for helping them through the past 24 hours.

Praise the Lord for a successful surgery!

Dr. Kanter just came to the Waiting Room:
Praise the Lord- he is happy with the results.
After the first attempt, an echo was done; Dr. Kanter was not happy with the size of a portion of the heart. This is why they put him back on bypass and enlarged it more. He was much happier with the outcome.
We are so thankful for God's provision for Mitchell & for a very experienced surgeon.

Prayer Requests:
Because he was on bypass twice, there is an increased risk of bleeding (they give a blood thinner while on bypass).
His chest is still open raising a risk of infection: Because of his small size & swelling, the chest was left open with a patch and sterile dressing covering his sternum. We expect that the surgeon will be able to close his sternum within a few days.
The first 24 hours are the most critical- Please pray for stable blood pressure, heart rate & oxygenation. Heart arrhythmias are a risk after these surgeries.
Please pray for the nurses taking care of Mitchell tonight.
Please pray for us as we get to see him, possibly as early as an hour from now. Ted will go in first; After 10 hrs of waiting, Jodi isn't sure if she's ready to see him tonight. She may wait until morning.

Off Bypass again

The OR nurse called to report that Mitchell is off of bypass again. They are monitoring him for bleeding, etc... and will call us again in an hour. We are approaching 7 hrs now- Joel just read Psalm 37 to us, and we are reminded to "Rest and wait patiently."

Something more to fix

We received a call from the OR- after they finished the planned procedures, they repeated an echocardiogram. Due to a finding (unknown to us at this time), he is now back on bypass getting some additional needed correction. I imagine this may not be all that uncommon, since they do additional testing in the OR to find these things. We were told that Dr. Kanter will explain the details when he speaks to us after surgery. We're thankful that they can diagnose the problem now, so that he doesn't have complications later.

We appreciate your prayers as he may be back on bypass up to 30 more minutes; we should receive a follow-up call within an hour.

Surgery Update

We received a call from the OR- Everything is going as anticipated; he has been on the bypass machine for a little over an hour.

Jodi's brother, Joel; sister, Juliane; close friend, Michelle Hockema & Michelle's Pastor are here with us.

Surgery in Progress

We received a call about 12:15 p.m. that Mitchell's surgery had begun. No complications with the anesthesia- he went to sleep without any difficulty. We anticipate hourly calls with an update from the nurse in the OR & will try to notify you of his progress.
Thank you again for praying for Mitchell today!

Streams in the Desert

"There is nothing that pleases the Lord so much as praise. There is no test of faith so true as the grace of thanksgiving. Are you praising God enough? Are you thanking Him for your actual blessings that are more than can be numbered, and are you daring to praise Him even for those trials which are but blessings in disguise? Have you learned to praise Him in advance for the things that have not yet come?"

He Worketh- Ps. 37:5
"Commit they way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
We need to truly commit out of our hands into His, our burden or anxiety. He worketh, even now; and praise Him that it is so.

Praise God that He is in control.

More Pictures

Your Support is a Blessing

I'm sorry we have been a little delayed with our blogging; thanks to Ted's mom, we knew you had been informed of Mitchell's arrival and upcoming surgery.
We are thankful that he has remained stable since his delivery and are anxiously awaiting his surgery tomorrow. He is going to be the 2nd case of the day- we don't have a definite time, but we can anticipate him leaving the CICU by 11 a.m. EST to be prepped for surgery. The surgery is expected to take 6-7 hrs. as it is quite complicated. His 1st procedure is called the Norwood procedure- http://www.choa.org/default.aspx?id=4131 for more information.

We have many things to be thankful for:
Mitchell waited until full term for his arrival with a good birth weight;
We knew about his heart before his arrival so that all necessary measures were taken immediately.
We are in a good place experienced with Mitchell's complicated heart.
Most importantly, His little body is in the hands of our Great Physician who has a plan for Mitchell and for us.

We could not begin to list those who are supporting and praying for us- We are so thankful for your prayers & your messages of support.
Thank you to all of our family- You all are such a blessing! Ted's family is taking care of things for us that we can't do right now, and they are praying along with their church family; Jodi's mom has been in Atlanta with us since last week; Jodi's sister's family has been here since Friday and made arrangements to stay thru this week; Jodi's brother, Joel will be here for Mitchell's surgery tomorrow- he wants to be here to pray with us (this means alot as Jodi feels he will be here to fill her dad's shoes.); and Jon would have already come, but his school year is still in session, and he is waiting until next weekend.
Thank you to our Pastor & his wife for driving up from Pensacola and visiting us the day of Mitchell's arrival- they actually got to see him before Jodi did- we greatly appreciated the visit & prayer for our little boy. We also appreciate all of the prayers from our church family at Burgess Road Baptist Church.
Thank you to Bob & Carolyn Humphreys for coming back to Atlanta again to see us- to be of support to mom during Mitchell's delivery, visiting us at the hospital & again praying for Mitchell & our family.
Our close friends, the Hockemas live in Athens, GA; We attended their church Grace Baptist in Dacula, and their pastor has been praying for us as well.
Thank you to the Reid family, our neighbors who are taking care of our cat & dog as well as our mail & house.
Thanks to Landrum for being supportive in Ted's extended absence from work- I don't know what I would do without Ted!
We are overwhelmed & blessed to know that people all over the country are praying for us. Thank you! It's wonderful to know at any point during the day that people are praying for Mitchell.
To pray specifically:
Dr. Kanter is Mitchell's Cardio-thoracic surgeon- that his surgery will go well without complications.
That he will not experience any excessive bleeding or signs of infection.
That the staff will be prepared to receive him after surgery & care for his needs.
And for our family as we wait during this lengthy surgery.

Sorry to be so lengthy; we'll try to update you as soon as possible; Ted's mom will likely help us with this. As we get updates throughout the surgery, we will try to relay for a post.

Thank you for praying for Jodi's recovery as well- 5th day post op today & getting around quite well; just a little tired. Thankful for the strength to get to and from the hospital to visit Mitchell.

Wrapped in Blanket Grandma Holz made

Surgery on Tuesday

At this time, Mitchell is scheduled for surgery sometime on Tuesday. He remains in stable condition at the Children's Hospital. Unless his doctors decide that he would benefit from an earlier surgery or possibly a catheterization, Tuesday will be the day. Jodi is doing well, still somewhat tired, but much better than yesterday. She could be discharged from the hospital this evening but may stay until tomorrow morning. Of course, she's ready to get back to their hotel and be with her family as soon as possible.

If there are any changes in the next few days, we will be sure to inform you. We appreciate your continued prayers and wish everyone a nice, and safe, Memorial Day weekend.

Mitchell photos

Baby Mitchell Update

Jodi is resting comfortably and already has some company this morning - her mother, Madison and Mackenzie, and the Humphreys. Ted has taken Jean and Madison to NICU to see Mitchell, and Mackenzie will be going up later as she will only be able to see him through a window.

The ECHO has shown that the ASD (atrial septal defect) is inadequate; apparently this causes problems with the mixing of the blood and will probably necessitate an earlier intervention than had been planned. At this time, it looks as if Mitchell will be transferred this afternoon to Eggleston Children's Hospital. It's unclear whether he will be going to the cath lab immediately or if they will wait until surgery. Ted and Jodi are expecting that surgery will most likely be tomorrow or Friday. Even though this may not be the most ideal situation, there were other possible defects that he does not have, so we are thankful for that and again ask for prayer for the doctors and other medical staff who will be involved in his care and procedures in the coming days.

Thanks again for your continued concern and support.

Baby Arrival!

We (Ted's parents) are happy to report that James Mitchell Holz was safely delivered into the world via C-section at 8:35 a.m (Eastern time). We apologize for the delay in passing on this information, but after Ted and Jodi arrived at the hospital at 5 a.m. for a scheduled delivery at 6:45, they were informed that it had been postponed to 8:15. Other than a slight(?) problem with Jodi's epidural, all went well, and, to quote Ted, Mitchell "was squawking." His Apgar scores are quite acceptable - 8/8 - and at the moment he is having what will be the first of many tests, an ECHO to determine more precisely what needs to be done. The cardiologist whom Ted spoke with indicated surgery may be on Friday, but we will know more as the day progresses.

Mitchell weighs 6lb., 10 oz., just two ounces shy of what had been estimated, and is 19 " long. Jodi's initial evaluation of his appearance is that he probably looks more like Mackenzie did as a newborn; Ted is going to withhold his judgment, at least for a few hours. Apparently he has quite a lot of fairly dark hair, which would be more of a Huff characteristic, but we will wait and see!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for the family and for little Mitchell during these past months and also for the many kindnesses you have shown to them. It has all been very much appreciated.

As more information becomes available, we will be sure to let you know. Please continue to pray for Ted, Jodi, Jean, the girls, and Mitchell and for the doctors as they make plans for the first surgery.

bumped til 8:15 am eastern

Atlanta Perinatal 38 weeks 2 days

Not much to report after our visit today. Mitchell is estimated at 6 lbs 5 oz; Dr. Matsumoto guessed about a 6 lb 12 oz delivery (which happens to be the same as Mackenzie).

We enjoyed a nice visit with Bob & Carolyn Humphreys last night & this morning; They left us after praying for Mitchell & our family; It is so wonderful having them around- can't help but be reminded of my dad whenever Bob is around. His prayer sounded just like Dad's would be for his grandson. We are blessed- I know that Bob prays for us just like he would his own family; he's taken over in Dad's absence.

We're doing well, just a little tired. It's a little after 7 here, and I'm ready for bed. Ted made time to play with the girls for a bit at a park near the hospital after our appt. We are so glad that they are here with us; can't imagine if we had to leave them behind in Pensacola.

Thank you for the comments, emails, cards, phone calls and texts- we appreciate your support & knowing that you are praying for us.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

In Atlanta

Thank you for your prayers as we traveled today. We arrived at our hotel about 5:30 this evening. It is a beautiful place- we are very thankful for the accommodations. We arrived in time to eat dinner here- It was Greek night, so we had Gyros, Greek Salad and soup; the girls & Ted also enjoyed the cookies they bake here for dessert. Ted had the fun job of unpacking all of our stuff- I think we had the car filled to its capacity. After being up since 5 & cleaning before we left, I am a bit exhausted. I think I'll save unpacking the suitcases for tomorrow. I am resting, Ted is watching basketball, and the girls are enjoying going thru their basket of new toys & games.
Thanks to Landrum, Ted's office for their overwhelming generosity and send off. They sent enough food with us to stock our kitchen, so I don't think Ted will have to go to the grocery store anytime soon.
Our schedule this week is fairly relaxed. Tomorrow we get to see our close friends, the Humphreys with Jewish Missions. Bob & Carolyn will be at a monthly Bible Study in Atlanta tomorrow, so they are staying to spend some time with us; Wednesday will be an appointment with the Perinatologist, and Friday another appt with the OB.
Scott will be bringing Jodi's mom on Monday when he comes to Atlanta to record.
We will keep you posted on our progress. At the moment, we are still scheduled for Wednesday morning, May 20th at 6:45 a.m. (EST) Will update if things progress sooner, and Ted's mom will post after Mitchell delivery.
Thank you for continued prayer & support.

OB Appt.

Not much new to report- it's hard to believe that we will be in Atlanta this time next week.
Had a follow-up appointment with our OB today; Mitchell's weight is now estimated at 5 lbs 12 oz.
We're planning on spending Mother's Day here in Pensacola and heading to Atlanta on Monday. We have appts. with the OB and Perinatologist next week before the delivery.
Will update as we have more details regarding Mitchell's arrival and pending surgery.
Hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day!