Done at Last.....

We just talked to the surgeon about how the surgery went. Dr. Bacha told us that the surgery results (short-term) are better than expected and that it was more tedious than he expected. Colin's chest is still open and will probably be closed either Sunday or Monday. He was able to fully hook up the left lung without a shunt and change the conduit. Pressures have already dropped in the right ventricle. Now hopefully his body will accept the changes. He did mention that Colin will probably undergo another catheterization to open the narrowed lower left lung arteries that he could not get to. Stay tuned for some photos post surgery.......Thanks for all your prayers.....

Still Going......

Colin is still in surgery....We haven't seen him in 8 hours, however we have been getting updates. Last we knew, they finished up with his back and had put the incision down his chest. They had also just put him on the heart/lung machine and was doing fine.....We should get another update soon...........

Update.....

Ok, so we have had some technical glitches with the Ol'blog. The hospitals wireless network blocks me from getting to the blog as the same for where we are staying, so that is the reason for the delayed updates. Anyways here is the summary of the past few days.....

Tuesday - Colin had a heart MRI and Cath. The cath took approximately 3.5 hours as they did a lot of balloooning of the arteries to the upper left lung. It went well and was successful per the Dr. They were also able to gather all the information needed to determine the surgery for Thursday. Here is a picture from the recovery from the cath..

Wednesday - A day of recovery and meeting with the Dr's. We met with Dr. Bacha, who will be completing the surgery. The plan is to connect the lower left lung to the heart and change out the current conduit that is in place as it has a severe leak. They are also going to rearrange some of the plumbing to the lungs to help the flow to them. The goal of all of this is to reduce the pressure in the Right Ventricle because it very enlarged.

Today - Colin was taken into surgery around 7:30 and has been there since. We heard from the nurses that they have started cutting open his chest. This was the last update received and the next update will be when he goes onto the heart lung machine....... Stay tuned.....

Hello Fom Frigid Boston - Day 1

Well, today is finally over and it was a long day..... Colin is actually at the hospital tonight because when they completed the sedated echo, Colin didn't feel like waking up so the decided to admit him tonight. It really isn't a big deal since we have to be there early tomorrow. Today went extremely well as we didn't have to wait for more than 5 minutes at any given test. This facility is so well run and organized. We met with the Cardiologist who is following Colin's case here. His name is Dr. Freed and comes with an impressive resume. He is a professor of pediatric cardiology at Harvard, so we feel like we are in good hands. We especially liked what he had to say when he walked in and was confident that they could make Colin better and get him off his oxygen and diuretics. He discussed Colin's situation with us and basically said they are going to wait and see what the MRI and Cath shows tomorrow before they decide on what surgical intervention they may complete on Thursday (if at all). Colin does have very little blood flow to the lower left lobe of his lung. They have also noted that there was some narrowing in his right lung arteries and upper left, and that is where they know they can go in and open via Cath proceedure. When they are in with the Cath, they will be able to tell if they can hook the lower left lung up, either naturally or with a shunt. Overall, however he was very positive about his situation so we are praying that the positive vibe will continue. So to recap the day, it was an action packed day with the following positive events:

• It took one stick to get the blood.
• Colin was in a good mood and cooperative.
• It was sunny out all day (only 15 degrees however).
• The staff was extremely friendly.
• Doctors are positive about the outcome.
• We met another child, 3 yrs old, who has the same heart defect as Colin, and you would never know that he had a heart issue.

Well that is all for today. Sorry there is no picture for you all to see, however I forgot my camera back in the hotel room. I will try and get a picture tomorrow. Once again, thank you all for your love and support. Mel and I love reading the comments at night.

We've Arrived!!!!!!

Well, we finally arrived in Boston after a 5 hour drive. We have scoped out where we need to go tomorrow while there was no traffic. We are now holed up in the hotel room as it is going to start snowing any minute. Tomorrow's agenda includes:

• Sedated Echocardiogram


• Lung Scan


• EKG


• Bloodwork

It should be a packed day as we have to be at the hospital at 7:30 am. At night, Godfather Brian and my buddy Jason are stopping by to bring dinner. We will keep updating the blog as the week progresses so check back often. By the way...Thanks to all the families across the country who have left notes of support. We appreciate all the prayers......

Fresh Photos

Just chillin and singing to the Wiggles........

"Daddy, can I help you with your work?"

Is it me or does Colin look like a sneaky son of a gun.........

Look, no nasal cannulas......This is what I will look like post surgery..... PS-He is back to hanging his tongue out like Mike Jordan.....or David Wright.......

Boston.....Here we come!!!!

Well we heard from Boston today and Colin will have a packed schedule next week. The plan is as follows:

Monday - Pre Op Testing

Tuesday - Heart MRI and Heart Catheterization (including stenting)

Wednesday - Recovery

Thursday - Open Heart Surgery

Please pray for Colin next week.......