In Your Eyes

First off let me apologize for the last couple of posts having such horrible grammar issues. I have been really tired and stressed out lately so I've let it slip. Thank you English people for not raking me over the coals.

We left David yesterday pretty bummed out, it was the first time leaving him since a week ago and beyond that he wasn't really eating as well as we would have hoped. It became a reminder of the mountain that David still has to climb before he gets to go home to Mt. Olivet and Bowling Green. This morning we accidentally slept in. Our intentions were good to get up to the hospital early, our bodies however decided to have a different plan. By the time we got up to the hospital and got back to see David he was wide awake and looking around, which once again is my favorite thing to see. He is a little cross eyed in this pic but I just took it at the wrong time. What I love is there seems to be a change in the look of his eyes. He is still intense, yet there is more intrigue, it is almost like he is starting to analyze that which is around him. Thankfully we have gotten this stare and look quite a bit which makes us very happy. The first feeding went much like the ones before had went. He went super hard and then got tired and fell asleep. So we decided that the next time we would watch a nurse and see what if anything she could show us. She was able to feed him a whole bottle!!! The next time we fed him we had figured out that we more or less had to out stubborn him and that is exactly what Nicole did. She fed him more than what the Doctor's had prescribed which we feel is just an added bonus. It really turned into a great day for a lot of different reasons but the biggest was the ability to feed him and hold him afterward. Just having the ability to love on him and bond with him in that way made us happy and to end the year on a good note made it even better.

We know that the new year has a lot of challenges in front of us and mountains for the 3 of us to climb together. Yet we know that we don't do it alone, not only us as a family but those who surround us and lift us up in prayer and love. We wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

-D

Fix You

On the good side of the day, David got to move back down to NICU today! The big deal of that is David is out of the most critical part of his recovery. His next challenge is to get weened off of the last couple of medicines, air support, and learn to eat. As you can see the orange tube that was put back in his nose some of his nutrients are coming via feeding tube. He is still getting to feed from a bottle but what he doesn't eat normally it gets put in the tube. We were excited and sad for the move. Excited because it is a step in the right direction, I mean the next step (whenever it is) is home. The hard part is a couple of more things.

1. We don't know when that next step is going to happen. We are no longer on a time table but merely on how much David eats and how much he gains.
2. We are no longer able to just hang out in his room because he doesn't have a room anymore so we are back to visiting 2 at a time.
3. We had to leave David tonight, I mean like not just leave the room for a little bit but I am sitting at my mom's house typing this. It sucks to know that we can't just stay with him but we know that we have to for us and more importantly for him. Needless to say we will be back first things int he morning.

The hardest part of the whole thing is the inability to fix David. Part of parenthood that we want to be about making sure our baby doesn't hurt. The kissing the booboo, turning tears to laughter, making things right. We have come to the point of understanding that in this situation we can't fix what is wrong with him. We can sign consents and we can be there for him in the fussiness and after surgeries but we can not fix the thing that is wrong with him. What we can do however is love him and do whatever it is we can do to help him out.

While it is hard to leave him my favorite part of the day is right before we do. Not because we are about to leave but because we have been doing our night time routine. We both sing songs to him and kiss on him and then Nicole and I take each others hands and then take a hold of his and we say the Lord's Prayer together. Tonight as we were doing that David had this amazing calm whether it is the loving touch of parents or a holy moment of the spirit working within us or both. But it really meant a lot to me at least. I think in the process of all this I will eventually come to understand that while we can't physically fix his heart, our love and the love of his family, friends, and others will be huge in mending the emotions and lovingly telling the story of his life.

-D

Hungry like the Wolf

David was pretty fussy last night and this morning, it just seemed like he wouldn't go much past 30 minutes without letting out a pretty crazy yell, scream, or cry. I know many of the parents out there right now are saying, "And your point is?" I'm with you, I know that baby's get fussy and sleep is something you learn to live without. What was hard for us last night and early this morning was that we have not been able to feed David since the first day he was born and he didn't eat anything. It was difficult for us to know exactly what our son needed but also knew that we couldn't give it to him. I think on the grander scale of life we see that everyday, people who can't give their child those things they need to sustain them whether it be food, clothing, shelter, or love. Some of it is by choice and others by actions but for many like us we have the ability but couldn't because of outside circumstances. Needless to say we were ecstatic when we were able to feed him. We both have gotten to take turns holding the bottle trying to give him the nourishment that Nicole has worked so hard for, I mean literally since David has been born she has been expressing regularly (for those of you who aren't down with all the baby lingo that means pumping) sometimes she brought out a couple of drops, other times ounces but she has always tried and been true to do what she could to help David out in that way.

So this is where your prayers come in, he is hungry and he is trying to eat but that whole swallowing thing has thrown him for a loop, just pray that the nurses and specialists work with him and his natural instincts kick in because I fully believe that is the major thing that is going to hold us back from going home earlier than we thought. On the nice side it has been nice knowing that we are able to feed him and change his diapers. Literally these small things continually make us happy that we get to do something that reminds us that we are the parents of this beautiful baby boy.

-D

Beautiful Boy

So from the first time that we found out that David was going to have to have this 3 surgery process we were told that sometime after his first surgery (The Norwood for those keeping score at home) there would be a time when he would slump, where things would go wrong and he would take steps backward. We have sense that point sat on the edge of our seats as he has continually done amazing, waiting for the slump to happen. Until today we had been waiting in anticipation for nothing but today we found out that David wasn't quite building up another pressure in his lungs and fluids were starting to build, in fact the term they used for it was that his lungs had to some degree collapsed. At first we were freaked out but we noticed that with every test and doctor assessment they got happier and happier with him. Once again the slump we thought was going to happen just became a not great day. He is now fully off his blood pressure medicine and his pain medicine unless he is just unruly. In fact they are talking about sending him back down to the NICU to start eating here in the next couple of days once his lungs are back to the right point. He is starting to get some volume back in his voice slowly but surely. We know when he isn't happy pretty quickly. The staff is starting to say things like he has been one of the quickest Norwood kids to recover from this extensive surgery. While we are proud of that and laugh when he shocks and amazes the staff every time we look at him we are just reminded how amazing he is, how amazingly lucky we are to have been in places that knew how to treat him and how much of a fighter he is.

You might ask why I chose Beautiful Boy as my title outside of the picture of cuteness that is up top it also is the song I sang to David tonight. I have always loved John Lennon and the Beatles but that song (which is also in one of my favorite movies, Mr. Holland's Opus) has taken on such a new meaning. I love my sister's baby with all my heart. Stella is amazing. I love the kids and youth I have ministered too in my life, I love my friends kids but nothing compares for the love and simplistic beauty of looking at my son and having him grab my finger. Him crying is a chance to love on him, changing his diaper is a chance to make him comfortable, I truly feel my heart has learned to grow and love in a new way and I can't get enough.

May we all see the beauty in the things of everyday, may we learn to serve and love others with our very fibers, may we see love in new ways and faces.

-D

Learning to Breathe

So since Thursday, the picture that is here is the vision we have seen of our son. When you first look at the picture I think many of us are immediately pulled to the orange feeding tube or the tape holding the respirator in place so he could breathe. For me however I am always pulled to his eyes and hair. His eyes always seem to have an intensity to them, like he almost knows what is going on around him and is determined to beat everything he is going to come up against. Even when he was way drugged up he would open his eyes every once in a while and in between glazed over looks you would see that same fierceness. His eyes and the way his body has reacted has been continually giving us hope along with all of your prayers. The other part of David which freaked some people out the first time they saw him post-chest closure was his chest tubes which stuck out of his sternum carrying fluids away.

Today we had some very dear loving friends, Nathan, Cory, and Peggy and the boys drive from Nashville and Memphis to come and see us and meet David. David was going back into nap mode so we went and grabbed a quick lunch downstairs (btw after David leaves here I'm never eating McDonald's again) and by the time we came back up David's chest tubes were out and he was doing amazing. The next step was too eventually get his respirator out. We thought it was going to happen after shift change but about and hour and a half before that was too happen one of the doctor's comes in and fifteen minutes later David looks more like this:


That's right no tube!!!! We are so excited and pumped up about how good he is doing. That doctor came back in and checked to make sure his lungs were still doing good b/c he had been on the vent for a while and while he was leaving he said and I quote, "I love that kid, he couldn't have done any better!" Of course whole heartily agree with that but what is so amazing is that since he has gone off the machine almost all of his numbers have gone to be better than what they were while they were on the machine. The only number that has messed up a little bit is his CO2 and it is steadily working it's way down. He even came off his blood pressure medicine and his number has stayed the same! The kid is a rock star!

The best part of the day getting to hold him!


Yeah that's still our favorite thing to do, we can just sit and hold him all day long. The fun part is watching him start to show a little personality. He does not like the nurses very much right now. He seems to sense when they are coming and gets fussy pretty quick. He loves to hold onto fingers and have his little head rubbed. The hard part is we have to watch him pretty close because it is good for him to cry, good for his lungs to get going to help him relearn to breathe and get strength but if he bears down to hard he shuts off part of his heart and turns purple so we have to raise his legs up to his chest to release the pressure and he comes back to normal. Still it's amazing how much love, concern, and yet not panic we have when we cries. Right now he doesn't have the full force of his lungs and voice so it sounds like wheeze but he is slowly getting it back. We will soon start trying to bottle and breast feed as he can and they are starting to ween him off his meds to take him down to the NICU to gain weight before we can go home. It could be very soon, it could be a couple of months from now.

The amazing thing to me is how quickly he went from the vent to the himself, it goes back to that look in his eyes. Maye my laziness skipped a generation but he has this sense that he is going to do whatever he has to do. Our hearts have just been warmed by how amazing he has been. Also on a fun note his little chin moves his lips pretty good so I have been giving him lots of voices and accents all night long. It has been a long 10 days but we finally got to laugh and hold our child like we have dreamed about since we've been married. So overall it's was a great day. LOVE ALL OF YOU!!!

-D

Something the Lord Made

So today one of some of the nurses and doctors were telling us about a movie titled "Something the Lord Made" and it is about the men and woman who came up with the idea for the shunt that is now in David and all the socio-political and racism that was occurring around them at that time in their lives. I would highly recommend it if you like a good drama as well as helping to explain part of David's surgery,mostly the need for blood to get to the lungs. I just got done watching it and to think that those people had a role in saving my baby's life is amazing.

David has had a pretty good day today. The great big thing is his chest is closed now and healing. Hopefully in 48 hours the dressing can be removed and we will see him healing right up. He still had his moments of acting up. His heart starting beating faster then they liked, his blood pressure dropped a little low but overall he fought through it and did just fine. They sometimes have to pump fluids or play with lines but he is still pretty stable. He is just temperamental from time to time (not going to say where he gets that from).

I think the hard part for us is that it feels like every time we have a hurdle and it gets jumped and he does amazing such as his chest closing up and he is just fighting through it. Yet instead of being able for all of us to rest the next step is getting him off the respirator and getting his chest tubes taken out and it feels like all these major things keep on coming and coming and coming and it keeps on beating on all of us. It then makes us feel bad for David because all of our stuff is stress he's the one that is going through it really. We have to remind ourselves that we have to take this thing one day at a time because when we look to far down the road it looks daunting and scary and really it is. Yet David is a little fighter and he has shown amazing strength and determination. My favorite part of the day right now is whenever a nurse moves him (to not get a flat spot, and to avoid bed sores, and such) he will open up enough of his eyes to give them the death stare and then he goes back to sleep. It really is pretty funny.

So I know most of you want a picture and I have one but I didn't want to put it up top because it has a lot of tubes and not everyone is about that but this is the first picture of him with his chest closed and if I may say so myself he is absolutely perfect and beautiful.

Every New Day

So we sadly don't have any David pictures for everyone today. We thought about putting some old ones on here or even taking some new ones but he was resting so well we didn't want to mess with him too much. I will tell you the best part of the day for me was that when he wasn't as asleep as he usually is and Nicole or I would talk we could see his little eyes move under his eyelids towards us. There is something that I can't fully describe when I feel like he knows my voice and is straining to hear me and search me out. I think there could be a sermon there somewhere. David in general had a pretty good day, his blood pressure wanted to act like a roller coaster but the doctor's never really let it go to far one way or the other until they were way on top of it. He got his UAC line out of his belly button and started eating a little bit through a tube. I think this made Nicole happy to know she was pumping for a reason. We tried to ignore Christmas a little bit wanting to celebrate it later once he was doing better, we still had the family come up and ate with them or just hung out but saying Merry Christmas to people was hard at times. (On a quick side note, the nurses, doctors, and everyone else never once complained about having to work today which amazed me). Still it was nice to have his stocking ready with stuffed animals and books to read to him soon. The other big thing is the plan is that tomorrow they will close up his chest and start the process of getting the respirator out soon. It feels like some really big steps are beginning to happen! We still have a ways to go and every once in a while there are some small setbacks such as tonight he had to go back on a full suction chest tube to get rid of some air in the patch and just make sure everything is all right but it's precautionary so it's a tiny step back with a lot of big steps forward.

I think the amazing thing is that living in the hospital which we have done for the last couple of days brings about a sense of monotony. Yet every day I wake up it feels brand new b/c some very big things could happen that day. At the flip side some very scary and bad things can happen as well but there is a sense that when I wake up I have a purpose even if it's too sit and look at my son all day long and make sure he is good to go. My song of the day is "Every New Day" by Five Iron Frenzy here is a link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPru3nUMfL4

I think too often we get caught up in the routine and lose some of the joy that every day is a new chance to do amazing things and to love like you never have before. Part of my feelings recently is that I will never once say I should have shown David more love because every day is a chance to do that again and again, more and more. I hope that I take my disposition with him and put it towards everyone I meet because every day is that chance.

Anyways tomorrow is a hopefully and prayerfully going to be a good and huge day for us. Love all of you and Merry Christmas!

D

Christmastime is Here.

So the picture at right is the closest we were able to get to holding David today. We both got to put a hand under him and rub on him a little bit. As you can see he has a massive amount of more tubes, IV's, and other things going into and out of his body. He is covered up for two reasons: 1. To keep him warm and 2. To cover up his open chest. But as you can see he is very fragile looking right now. It is hard to see him this way but in many ways, and people who work with kids can attest too, he is so much stronger than Cole and I could ever hope to be. He has shown tremendous fight and he continues to amaze us at how awesome he already is.

David has had a good day, we are now 30 hours post surgery and things continue to go good. We aren't saying great because things can change so quickly but so far so good. The doctors and nurses are happy so we are too. Usually after a surgery like this babies are put on an ECMO machine that helps the heart and lungs rest and begin to start back up, it is risky but at times vital. David so far has not had to go on it at all! He just keeps fighting and showing grit. He is starting to breathe more and more on his own and could lose the respirator in the next couple of days as well as closing his chest. Then he will continue to slowly start the process of waking up more and more. Here it can get scary because as he cries and does things babies can do that can work the heart can affect the shunt. One of the nurses said you will spoil him but you have too. So it's weird to have an excuse to spoil a baby. I can't wait for someone to speak about our parenting skills or lack of self soothing and give them a doctor's note! :) But honestly we will have to take special precautions that we have never thought about before but that is part of our new life. David has also retained quite a bit of fluids (He gained 2 pounds last night and didn't eat a thing, so yeah we can't complain about our holiday weight gain). As soon as some more of the lines come out David will also be able to eat and Cole is really excited about that and I am too. Not only the nutrients that he will get but also the bond they will be able to have thru that makes me smile. So as you can tell David is going good but he is not out of the woods yet, he still has a long road to go down but he is a fighter and we love him so, so much.

Many of you have asked how we are doing. Seeing him has made our hearts happy. Seeing him breathe normally has brought us peace. getting to "hold" him today made us smile. But we are still mourning and grieving the situation, that David has to go through this. We are still in the process of adjusting to what our new life brings and sometimes it feels like a punch in the gut and sometimes it's tears of joy. Either way we know a couple of things:
1. We love David with all our hearts and souls. Providing a safe, loving home that seeks to do the work of God is all that matters to us.
2. We know that God has been with us, loving us, and holding us.
3. Our families have been great. It's been a stressful situation but they have been awesome about giving space up when needed and being right there when we need it on the flip side.
4. Our friends have lovingly respected our decisions, prayed over us, loved on us, and made sure we are ok.
5. David has made an impact on the Kingdom of God already. It seems like people are uniting behind him no matter how large or small it is. People praying for him, looking to help, wanting to be there for him and us and our families. People living the way Jesus has asked us to live.

So on this Christmas Eve Cole and I are sad, we wish and want to be at our home in Bowling Green watching the snow come down in front of our tree holding David. Yet we are thankful that David is doing so good right now, that he has loving friends and family, that the doctors and nurses are becoming family to us and him and that his life has already and will continue to be a remarkable one. Please keep praying for David and us that God's peace will envelope us, that God's healing and grace will be poured out. Also let me wish you all a Merry Christmas from our family to yours. Joy to the World! The Lord has come!

D

Broken but Beautiful

So here I am sitting in David's room in PICU at Kosair's just chilling. He is resting and doing great and even though he is starting to swell and still have tubes and lines everywhere he is beautiful. One of the scariest things for us as we were talking about surgery with the nurses we were told that his chest would remain open, it would be dressed but open just in case they had to go back in it was quicker and safer. We of course freaked out because that is naturally what you don't want to see the organs of your child should stay internal in my opinion. They covered up his chest and when we went in instead of the fear of what we were going to see we were overcome with peace and joy that he was still fighting and doing great. As the grandmas (Noni and Gigi btw) and the aunts got to see him and left Nicole and I agreed we wanted to look at his chest. Now understand we were mourning last night that his perfect skin was going to be no more but as the nurse pulled the towel back we saw his heart!! I mean saw it pumping and moving blood and doing it's job. It was in that place that I realized so much more that no matter what his skin looked like he's still perfect and beautiful and amazing and no matter how broken his little heart is it is still beautiful and amazing and the surgeons are taking what is messed up and making it right in a new way. There is something profoundly Divine in that making that which is messed up right in a new way. In this season of advent of hope of a new way in Jesus my new image is not a baby in a barn but the pumping heart of my son that nothing is too far gone for hope for a better tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all of you. Thank you all for your amazing Christmas presents of love and affection and prayer.

D

Pray!!!

David is back in surgery as I type this. Please join us in praying for him as he goes through this scary time!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just One Look

So before today we last really saw David's eyes a couple of hours after he was born when he tried to nurse a little bit. After that the nightmare kind of began and David has been sleepy (like all babies) and at times sedated to help control his breathing and how hard his little heart is working. We would see flashes of his eyes but they were peeks or he was giving the stink eye to someone (which is hilarious). Well today that all changed and everything inside of me changed. We were woke up a little bit after midnight to find out that David's surgery had been canceled, to help set the scene phone rings Nicole answers and in my sleepiness I hear from the other end of the phone Surgery Cancelled, HEART TRANSPLANT! So I was flipping out a little but until Nicole told me that the we had been bumped because a child's

heart transplant had come up. Please pray for those two families one in mourning and the other hopeful. So we slept a little bit more and went on up to the hospital where we both got to hold and love on him which is always amazing. We have found that the afternoon's are the roughest. Emotions tend to spring up, tears more easily come and so on. Today was no different as we continue to realize that our sweet baby was having surgery tomorrow. We tended to always go back and look at his chest and feel it one more time before he has a scar of his journey in life. As we had our last little bit of time before we left David decided to open his eyes for over 35 minutes!!!! He studied and looked at both of us and when we said his name or talked towards him he would look over at us. He kept looking at my Louisville and trying to read it and with just one look from a sweet little boy my heart just melted. I have loved him so much but to see him interacting with us and studying us made us both just grow in our love for him and each other. We are hoping and thinking it was his way of saying, "I'm going to be ok and will see you soon" but no matter what it was what I do know is that it was the greatest Christmas gift I could ever get...ever!

Tomorrow is the day however 7:30 Eastern time our boy is having surgery. We are just praying he continues to show how strong he is. We are amazed at the outpouring of love and support from everyone. This child is covered in prayers in an amazing way and when we think about it we cry and cry. Our friends are without a doubt the most amazing freaking friends ever! We love you all.

You know I'm bad, I'm bad

So David has already started his Michael Jackson impersonation! So the high points of the day.
1. We both got to hold him today!!! This is one of the small things that has become more and more huge to us. WE LOVE that we get to cuddle and bond with our Little Bit.
2. I am amazed more and more with Nicole. Knowing that David has so much of her in who he is gives me such great hope that he is going to be an amazing child.
3. David got baptized!!! We rejoice in him receiving this and doing it like a champ, no crying (from him) and just knowing that David was surrounded by his family who promised to raise him to Love and Serve God, looking to help others around him and to do justice for the Kingdom of God.
4. Our Favorite nurse was back. Nancy has given David and us so much love and comfort. I have an amazing respect and love for nurses because they do so much of the work and get to know the patients so well. We will eventually be back in the NICU and today Nancy told us that she is going to get him back and that made us very happy.

Now on to the hard parts of the day:
1. I left and picked up some stuff from the house in Bowling Green to get more clothes and do make sure the house was ok and all that fun stuff. It was really hard to walk into David's room and also to walk into a house that looked like it did when we left, like people throwing things around the house at 3 to drive like crazy.
2.David's baptism while exciting and loving was also hard on us. It was something we had thought about doing in a big celebration with our church family at Mt. Olivet. It was just another reminder that our plan of life and raising David has been thrown upside down and we are still adjusting (read reeling).
3. Louisville is playing in it's first bowl game since 2006. I was looking forward to us watching it together in his Louisville onsie cheering on the Cards. However when he screams and gets fussy his lil face turns red so we are going to say that, that was how he is cheering on his Cards!
4. The realization of what is going to happen tomorrow more and more and we are flat out terrified.
5. David got a little fussy as the night went on and eventually it got to the point where we couldn't touch him a whole lot because it only made him worse.

All in all we are going to have a long day tomorrow but David is going to have a harder and longer one. His fight is absolutely inspiring and we can't wait to see him moonwalk.

Save the Date!

David slept for a good portion of the day (Who knew babies did such things?) and as we found out later in the day it was for good reason. As you can see by the pictures he is calming more and more down everyday. He slept and hung out most of the day without his paci, and the highlight of the day is Nicole got to hold David for about an hour and the three us just sat and cuddled with each other as a family. David had a slew of tests (2 heart ultrasounds, a brain ultrasound, and a renal ultrasound) (also did I spell renal correctly?) Everything seemed to be in order and we eventually met with the Cardiologists who explained a little more in depth what the procedure he thought was going to happen but he didn't know when or exactly how it was going to go down because he had to meet with the kiddo heart surgeons to discuss it, we thought this meant that is was going to be hours or even tomorrow until we got any more word and that surgery would be next week. Literally an hour later the three of them came down to tell us that David is having his first of 3 surgeries on Wednesday!!! So in a weird way we are excited and scared to death!!! David will be in hardcore ICU for at least 2 weeks and then we will have to stay another 4-6 weeks until he hits some benchmarks in eating and weight since he will have to learn to eat at a month old. So the procedure is something like this:

1. They are going to expand the aortic arch because right now his is so tight blood won't really get down to the bottom organs and legs so they will expand that out and the PDA valve will go away.

2. They will separate the pulmonary valve in half. One half they will attach to his aorta artery to increase blood flow in case he is narrowing anywhere else. This is also done so blood is not flowing back into the lungs.

3. The second half of the pulmonary is shunt to a branch of the aorta so that blood continues to flow into the lungs.

This is just the first surgery, the best way for me to put is they are going to MacGyver his heart into a working blood pumping machine. We are terrified and super weepy still but also able to laugh and be excited that we have a plan and a date. So please please pray! Also know that for the next little while I won't be answering my phone still. It's still hard to talk too much about it and most of the time is spent with him or sleeping. Also on Wednesday if you are in the Louisville area we are asking that you just pray for David and for our peace. We will be surrounded by our moms and sisters and will be loved on and trying to rest when we can. Thank you all so much again and again thank you for your love and support.

D

Pics Galore--Day 3

So yeah I think the pics are always better than anything I could say. Today seemed to be a pretty good day for David. They had started him on Prostra which is the drug that keeps his valve open. Some of the side effects is he can run a fever, it can make him agitated, and it can lead to him having some shaking but this should happen over 24 hours. All of those things happened in an hour and half so last night was a little rough but by the time we left at 2:30 this morning his temp was down and he was calming down. We got back up early this morning and met with the cardiologists who said that David was doing good and that we were just going to keep an eye on him today and have another Ultrasound tomorrow (Monday). So on Monday we should have some more news of some kind. David has gained an ounce and is being super sweet, loving, and funny. For a two day old he keeps us smiling and laughing at how amazing he already is. He also got an IV out of his hand so we get to hold a hand with nothing on it but him which means more than I ever thought it would. Cole and I still have our moments of being really, really sad especially when we think that today would have been the day we brought him home from the hospital so we had some cries over that. We continue to be amazed and blessed by everyone's love that has been sent either through facebook, surprise visits, and gifts from a far. Thank you all for blessing us and continuing to pray for David and us. We love you all.

Grace and Peace
D

Owner of A BrokenHeart

So first things first here is the pic of Day 2 of David's journey to awesomeness!






As many of you know yesterday David went from happy and healthy, to some small issues that a NICU visit was a precaution to flying to Louisville because he had heart defects (btw I like heart issues better...I know stupid PC stuff but he's not defective...I know I'm wierd) and open heart surgery was going to happen, so they discharged Nicole, we told the fams and we all made the trip to Kosair's Hospital in Louisville. Last Night/Today we were able to go back 2 at time to hang and be with David and love on him the best we can which consists of hand holding and a couple of times Cole and I have been able to hold him which has been awesome. Today we got to meet the Radiologists who has been working and diagnosing David and these are the issues:

1. Most people have 2 ventricles in their heart that pump very specific blood to either the lungs or the body. To the lungs they pump blood with little/no oxygen to get oxygen it then eventually gets to the other ventricle to be pumped into the rest of the body so that he can do his thing. Instead of two David has just one and both oxygen rich and no oxygen blood are mixing together in there. This is causing his lungs to work harder fluid to possibly build and not enough oxygen to get to the rest of his body.

2. His Aorta and Pulmonary arteries are switched. The amazing thing is that if he had just this issue it could have been deadly very quickly but because of issue #1 they compensated for each other.

3. He has a skinny aorta arch which restricts blood flow to the body.

4. To help with #3 they are going to try and keep open a valve that usually closes after birth. They are using a medicine to keep it open and hopefully it will stay that way to help with the blood flow.

So with all that being said it means that he will have to have 3 open heart surgeries. The first could/probably will be in a couple of weeks. Then #2 will be at 4-6 months and #3 at 2-3 years. They can't make two ventricles but they can work to make sure that enough of the oxygen rich blood goes to his body.

So we have figured out that Nicole and I have had 4 hours of sleep a piece since thursday at 9 so we are forcing ourselves to sleep. If you try and call chances are we won't answer. It is hard for us to talk with out crying...massively weeping actually. Texting is the best option but most of the time we will be back with him and be preoccupied. Last but not least, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers and support we have cried for our grief and worry for Little Bit but we have cried out of the outpouring of love for David and us. Keep him and Cole in your prayers, she was discharged 11 hours after giving birth and while she is doing good she is sore and hurting and hurting for our worry. Thanks again.

D

A son is born

So the most amazing/loving/spiritual thing has happened. David Allen Hayes was born today at 1:12 PM. I have jokingly said I feel like the Grinch at the end of the movie when his heart grows. These feelings of love and joy are just flat out amazing and so hard to understand. What I do know is that even at 3 hours old I love that little joker with everything I am and will do whatever I can for him. But this blog is purely for Cole and I to share this joy with whomever as we try to take a picture everyday of our precious bundle as he become our little man.
So without further ado here is pic #1