2nd Surgery Scheduled

Mitchells 2nd Surgery, The Glenn is scheduled for October 27th. We will head to Atlanta on the 25th to take him for pre-op the morning of the 26th; then we will take him back early on the 27th for his surgery. We don't have a surgery time yet; we will find out at his pre-op appointment.

Things are staying about the same, although he seems to be having more difficulty tolerating his feedings. In spite of his fundoplication for the reflux, he is spitting up more. He also seems to get more irritable with the feedings. The last several nights have been less than fun- needing to stop it periodically, some spitting up, ? gas pains... but we've managed his goal amount.
He is still getting 4 bolus feedings during the day- slowed them down just a bit to see if that would make him more comfortable. I have been holding him straight up during his feedings, and that seems to help. You could say I'm not getting alot done, and someone might be getting a little spoiled. His weight last Wednesday was 10 lbs. 4 oz; we are getting ready to go to the doctor for his weight/sat check shortly.

Thank you for your continued notes/prayers. We feel very blessed by your support.
We hope you all enjoy the weekend with your families.

Ted, Jodi, M, M & M

Update: His weight was 10 lbs. 8 oz. - up 4 oz. in 9 days- not quite as much gain as they'd like, but he's headed in the right direction. We're going to try to add a bit more to his feeding each day to get in a few more calories.
His oxygen saturation was 91 %.
His next appointment is September 3rd, which happens to be Madison's 8th birthday.

Good Report

Jodi and Ted are on their way home from Atlanta and she asked me to share a note with you. Mitchell's heart cath went well, and everything looked OK. His surgery will probably be about a month from now, and they may have the date tomorrow. He travels very well - hope it's the same today. Thank you again for your prayers! Mom Huff

Cath started at 9:05 eastern

Sorry for the delay, We weren't able to get a wireless connection on our laptop. The nurses took Mitchell back to the cath lab at 9:05 this morning. The doctors said gaining access can be time consuming; it could take about 2 hours.
This cath is diagnostic for his 2nd surgery, the Glenn. They are looking at structure- functioning of his Right ventricle as well as anatomy of his aortic arch that was repaired during his first surgery. They will also measure his pulmonary pressures to ensure they are adequate for a successful surgery. We will get results from the Cardiologist today about the cath, but the Cardiology/Surgery team will meet next Monday and determine his surgery date.
Thank you for praying for him. We will try to get results to you as soon as possible.
Our family friends, the Humphreys are on their way from Ringgold, GA and should be here with us shortly.

Mitchell's Heart Cath

I received a call today - We are to take Mitchell to the hospital at 7:15 a.m. Monday in preparation for his heart catheterization. The plan is to be out-patient, but there is a possibility of them keeping him for observation.
We will update as soon as possible on Monday.
Thank you again for your prayers.

3 months old

Thank you all for praying for us & following Mitchell's progress.
Hard to believe, he is 3 months old today!
The Home Health Nurse visited yesterday- he is up to 10 lbs. 4 oz. That made a 4 1/2 ounce increase for the week. He's still not quite on the charts, but following a steady growth curve.
In spite of his fundoplication (his surgery for the reflux), he has started to spit up almost daily. It hasn't been too significant, just a bit uncomfortable for him. Having the tube, it is easy to replace what he has lost. He is still on a continuous feeding at night and 4 boluses during the day. We have been trying to decrease the amount of the time for the bolus- he's almost to an hour. He seems to be sensitive with the increased volume, so we have taken it slowly. We are still working on the oral feedings. He is able to suck & swallow, but we don't accomplish a whole lot. We usually give him about 10 minutes before starting a bolus. Don't want him to work too hard for it.
The Therapy team came last Friday to evaluate Mitchell. A Developmentalist will see him monthly, but the Physical, Speech & Occupational Therapists thought he was on track & will re-evaluate him in about 3 months.
Ted & I will leave on Sunday to take Mitchell to Atlanta for his heart cath on Monday. Mom will stay with the girls, & Madison will start school on Monday as well. We will try to update as soon as we have news on Monday; at the moment, we do not have a time for the procedure. Someone from surgery will also come over & see him in the cath lab. The plan was to change his feeding tube during this trip, but since he had a new one last month; I'm not sure if they will replace it again. His occult blood test is finally negative. Anytime his tube gets changed, it seems to start over again.
Everyone is doing well, & Jodi has survived all of Ted's traveling thanks to her mom & sister's help.
We appreciate your prayers!

12 Weeks Old

Cardiology visit yesterday- 9 lbs. 15 oz.
She continues to be pleased with the results of his echocardiogram.
He had a blood test to check his Hemoglobin/Hematocrit because of the positive occult blood. It was lower than the last time it was checked, but still acceptable.

Requests:
For the bleeding (related to his G-tube & use of his aspirin) to resolve.
To advance with his oral feedings- we held off on his oral trials when he was breathing quickly; and now he is not as coordinated with it. We are attempting to give him a bottle for about 15 minutes twice a day.
Ted will be traveling again this week.
We will be leaving Sunday, the 23rd for Atlanta.
The girls will be staying with grandma, & Madison will be starting her first day of school on the 24th.

Another Good Week

Photos in the Family Room Today


Smiles for Daddy last night


Mitchell has had a good week- 11 1/2 weeks and up to 9 lbs. 9.5 oz. today.
Next week he sees his Cardiologist on Wednesday & is evaluated for Therapy on Friday.
We will be heading back to Atlanta 2 weeks from Sunday for his heart catheterization on the 24th.

Prayer Requests:
Continued health
Since his G tube replacement 2 weeks ago, he has tested positive for occult blood. This is probably due to the irritation from the tube combined with the use of aspirin. We are praying that this will clear up & will not have an effect on his blood counts. His aspirin has been changed to once every 3 days, so we are praying that this is adequate for the conduit in his heart.
Continued strength for all of us- Ted will be traveling again on business several days the next 2 weeks.
A good report from his heart catheterization.

We are looking forward to being past the 2nd surgery & being able to go to church again as a family.
Thank you for your continued support!

Home 1 month

Mitchell was 10 weeks on Wednesday.
Sorry for the delay in posting- we had a nice, uneventful week; Only 1 appointment!
Jodi did stay busy with Ted having a business trip from Tuesday thru Fri. night.
Mitchell saw his cardiologist on Monday- she was pleased with his progress; we actually get a week off this week. His next appointment with her is Wednesday, August 12th.
This week we see Mitchell's pediatrician on Wednesday.
The home health nurse continues to come weekly to check his Blood Pressure, weight & oxygen saturation.
Overall, his progress is good. Cardiology is pleased with his current heart function. They will continue with the echocardiograms to monitor his heart function and for adequacy of the conduit.
As of Friday, he was up to 9 lbs. and 4 oz. They would like to see a 7 oz. gain each week. With the exception of 1 week, he has met this.
Still planning for Mitchell's heart catheterization on August 24th.
Thank you for your continued prayers & notes of encouragement!