Check up with Dr. Teodori

"Thank you, Dr. Teodori, for saving my life. Love, Andrew."

Andrew had his check back with his surgeon today. He is doing wonderful: off all medicine, oxygen saturation at 100%, weighs 10 pounds, slept 6 hours in a row last night. He truly is Super Andrew. 

Thanks to each one of you for all your love and support!

G R A T I T U D E

We want to send a BIG THANK YOU to each one of you for the part you played in Andrew's recovery. Kind words, cards, packages, emails, texts, prayers, fasting, and positive thoughts pulled us through those difficult eleven days. We have felt at peace and Andrew was blessed with a miraculous recovery because of your strength, faith, and love.

On Saturday, I was taking a break from the hospital. I took a minute to research a bit more about the arterial switch operation (ASO). The ASO is one of the most complex surgeries for congenital heart defects--a 9 out of 10 according to our surgeon. Typically, babies stay in the hospital 14 days after the surgery. Andrew was released on Sunday after only five days. He has had no complications so far. What a miracle!

Thanks again for your love and support!

Love,

John, Elise, Paul, Megan, Ivy and Andrew

HAPPY

I'm going home!!!

Quick Update

Just a quick update on Andrew's progress.  His central line came out today, so the only thing attached to him besides monitors is his nasal cannula with O2 running at 0.05L per minute (not a typo).  Once he weans off of that, he's golden.  There is still a chance he'll go home tomorrow, but I'd guess more likely on Monday.  He's still eating like a champ - he put away 50mL at his last feed.  Andrew had an ECHO yesterday.  The tech said it looked like a 'near perfect repair.'  I am so glad things have gone so well so far.  What a tough kid - I feel so blessed...

A couple pictures from the kid's visit yesterday - it was their first chance to hold their new brother:

Andrew's Heart Defect

At his twenty week routine ultrasound, Andrew was diagnosed with transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA). At a fetal echo a few weeks later, the diagnosis was confirmed and further found to be simple d-TGA. Simple d-TGA means that Andrew didn't have any other defects (simple) and that the cells that would become his aorta and pulmonary artery twisted to the right instead of the left (d) as they were forming.

I like Mayo Clinic's picture and description of TGA. 

It can be found here:

Postop day 3

Andrew continues to amaze.  He is off all meds and fluids.  Pacer leads have been removed and his last line is hep locked.  Just basic noninvasive monitors remain.  Nasal cannula will come off after the next echo shows normal function.  He has been eating like a champ as well.  The biggest concern of the day is his bilirubin is a touch high.  It's nice to worry about normal newborn stuff for a change.  He is on track to be home on Sunday barring a setback.  Hooray!

Here's a couple photos:

Andrew shows what he looks like under the cape:

Lack of tubes this morning:

Andrews first postop feed (two nights ago):

Mom holding baby for the first time since surgery (yesterday):

Thanks again for your support everyone!! 

Post Op Day 2--Evening

Medical stuff: Dopamine is done. Art line will be removed shortly. Continue feeds and add in nursing if tolerated. One last IV medicine will be stopped in the morning. Andrew is taking two medications by mouth that he will continue for a while at home. He is also on Tylenol for pain as needed. If my chest has been pried apart, I'd want something a little stronger. 😉

Mom stuff: I was able to hold Andrew for about two hours this afternoon. It is so fun to feed him, talk to him, read to him, and see him more alert. 

I think his doctors are pleased with his recovery. I know I am happy as can be. This morning, Dr Teodori, Andrew's surgeon, told us to get his room ready at home. The time may be getting close. 

Postop Day 2 - Morning

Overnight, Andrew did great.  He had his first bath, the cerebral oximeter removed, and is no longer on the epi drip.  Once he gets off the dopamine, he'll lose the art line as well.  He also started eating like a normal kid overnight.  He has had no trouble picking up where he left off and is eating the same volume at the same frequency as before surgery, which is really quite impressive.  Many heart babies really struggle with the whole eating thing.  What a kid!

Here's a picture of the little guy this morning.  Much less puffy and looking pretty good!

Big Day

So, today turned out to be a pretty big day - in a good way.  

Foley catheter came out this morning, chest tube out this afternoon and this evening, Andrew was extubated!  You can't keep this kid down.  He continues to exceed expectations.  That being said, we are cautiously optimistic about the future knowing there are still so many variables left.  He is still on a tiny dose of epi and dopamine, but hopefully should be off of those soon as well.  

We are so grateful for the excellent care he has received here and the support and faith of all of you.  We feel blessed that things have gone so well so far and have seen the hand of God guide Andrew's progress here.  

Tonight we couldn't be happier, tomorrow we go back to work to get this SuperKid home...

Full Body Shot

For those Napoleon Dynamite fans out there, here is Andrew's "full body shot" so you can stop being "TOed." 

This is from late morning. 

Post Op Day 1 -- Afternoon

I went home last night to eat dinner with the kids and sleep. They even treated me with the opportunity to solve fights. It was great to be home!!!

What a treat to be greeted by this face upon return!

Here is a photo from last night. He was pretty puffy. 

Postop Day 1 - Morning

Pretty uneventful night last night - which is good.  Epi is still on, but starting to wean.  Pacer is off and he is in sinus rhythm at an adequate rate.  He is still puffy, but has managed to get rid of a lot of fluid thanks to diuretics, so a little better than last night.  Sedation has been decreased, so he will move a little when you touch him and tries to suck on his ET tube like a pacifier, but is very comfortable.

Plan for today is to slowly wean sedation and extubate tomorrow morning if all continues to go well.  They have been decreasing his respiratory rate and he has been triggering the vent and should hopefully start mostly breathing on his own soon.  He has also had a return of bowel sounds, so will slowly start to feed him through the NG tube today also.  Hopefully should be able to make significant strides in weaning down those pressors too.

Everything is on track so far...

All Tucked In

Andrew is still doing well.  He is tucked in for the night.  Added a little epi to keep pressures where they want them, but nothing he can't handle.  I just wanted to post a "before" picture of Andrew with all his lines/drips/pumps so we can show progress as things improve.  It's a pretty impressive display...

Surgical Success!!

After six hours in the OR, Andrew is tucked in and stable in the PICU.  By all accounts, surgery was a success.  There were smiles on the faces of the whole surgical team.  He is still on medication to  support his heart and is being paced, but neither of those things were completely unexpected.  Despite the wires and tubes he is still adorable, but we'll spare the pictures for now.

Thank you all so much for your prayers, messages and gestures of support.  It would have been so much harder without you there with us.

The road ahead will undoubtedly be long and bumpy, but we are so pleased with how everything has gone up to this point.  We will keep you up to date with his progress...

Quick Update

Phone call from the OR.  On bypass and moving along as planned.  No surprises so far.

Off to the OR

He's off to the OR.  Updates to follow as we get them.  Thank you all so much for your support during this time!

Update 4/21

Short story:  Andrew will be having his heart surgery tomorrow.  Please pray for an uneventful surgery and quick recovery.

Long story:  Andrew has been off and on desaturating since Saturday afternoon.  They have been attempting to wean off the prostaglandin, only to have to turn it back on again several times.  Sats have been hovering from the upper60s (off prostaglandin) to mid 80s (on prostaglandin).  Except when he cries or is fussy.  Then he turns a very blue color and sats drop to the 40s.  This creates a lot of excitement around here, as you can imagine as everyone frantically tries to calm him down.  Elise finds this far less amusing than I do...

As I sit here, holding Andrew for only the second time, his sats are hovering just under 70 with the prostaglandin turned on.  So, he will be heading to surgery first thing in the morning.  Please, if you could take the time to pray for this little guy we would appreciate it.  We will update as needed while surgery progresses

Saturday is a Special Day

Dr Teodori (heart surgeon) visited and asked we begin feeding the hungry boy. Yippee! I am able to nurse Andrew and then give him a teaser amount of formula every three hours. 

After skipping the night nursing attempt for a blood transfusion, I was able to try again at 5 a.m. Andrew didn't suck at all. I gave him his bottle and tried again.

He nursed for 30 minutes. 

He is nice and pink and a lot less fussy after his transfusion. 

Pray he can continue to have energy to nurse and that he can rest peacefully. And that his umbilical lines will stay in properly. 

Happy Easter!

John's First Ever Blog Attempt

There's a not very well known song that goes, "I started a blog that nobody read..."  I have never attempted to blog before because I figured there's not many people out there who care that much about what I have to say.  But this little guy Andrew is definitely worth talking about, so here goes...

Andrew was pretty blue after he was born.  His sats were in the 40s shortly after birth and he was rushed to the NICU pretty quickly.  Despite the low sats, he managed apgars of 8 and 8 and was a vigorous, wiggly kid.  After umbilical lines were placed, he was intubated and sedated for the atrial septostomy.  It took the NICU resident two tries to get the tube in - he told me later that he was nervous intubating an anesthesiologist's kid.  I didn't even know that he knew.  The septostomy went well, they were able to increase the area of flow between the atria from 3.5mm to 6.5mm.  Sats went from the low70s to the mid80s quickly.  The goal is for sats to remain in the 75-85% range until surgery.  

He was extubated the next morning to CPAP.  Now we're weaning him off the high flow nasal cannula to a regular nasal cannula.  They will probably start weaning the PgE today also.  If all continues to go well, surgery will likely be next Friday April 25th or the following Monday.  This will give him time to start eating, let his lungs develop, and get used to life in the world.  If there are any setbacks, he'll go earlier.  There is still a long road ahead.

He's a tough kid though.  I held him today for the first time ever.  If you didn't know better, you'd think he was just an average kid.  You wouldn't even know he was a superhero.  But I can see his potential.  Once you meet him, you'll see it too...

CPAP/cannula/holding Andrew

Great day! Rounds were straightforward: Andrew did well in his septostomy, was over breathing the vent, and was ready to be extubated. Goals for the weekend include introducing feedings, weaning prostaglandin and preventing hypoxia.

Andrew was extubated right after rounds. He was not ready for a nasal cannula yet, so he got to experience life as an elephant. His skin is all wrinkly and he still hasn't had a bath, the CPAP (blue and white in photo) just adds to the experience. 

Grandma and Grandpa Morrison brought Paul, Megan and Ivy for a visit. While they were there, Andrew's doctors decided he was ready to step down to the high flow nasal cannula. 

While Paul and Megan were in his room, Andrew was placed in my arms. It is a 10 minute-two nurse job to move him two feet from his warmer bed to the waiting arms of his mom. He has many lines and they must not be pulled out. 

It was SO gratifying to hold him. 

Megan can't wait for her turn. But it may be a while before the kids are allowed that priviledge. 

But, Andrew did enjoy grasping their fingers.

Andrew is still very mellow--his medicines are keeping him pretty drowsy. The prostaglandin will be weaned before surgery. I can't wait to see a bit more of Andrew's personality. 

Thank you for your love, support and prayers. Please keep his next goals--normal nasal cannula, feeding, reduced prostaglandin--in your thoughts and prayers. 

#prayforandrew

Sixteen hours old

Andrew had his balloon septostomy last night. The cardiologists came to my recovery room with a report at 10:30. They had been at the hospital all day waiting for his arrival and for him to be stable enough for the procedure. 

Everything went well. They were able to enlarge a small hole that existed between the two upper chambers of his heart, doubling it's size and increasing his oxygen saturation from low 70's to upper 80's. 

I was able to visit him last night at 11pm. He is perfect. 

Andrew is no longer sedated, but is resting peacefully despite intubation. He is breathing 52% oxygen this morning. They are weaning the ventilator, but not the percent oxygen he is breathing. 

I am by his side now. Rounds will happen soon. I will update again after that occurs. 

Please pray that he can be successfully extubated soon. 

Andrew Elias Morrison

He's here! Born at 5:21 pm, 7 lbs 1 oz, 19 inches long. I got to give him a kiss before he was whisked to the NICU.

Andrew has had two echos of his heart and is off to the cath lab now for a balloon septostomy. 

It has been a whirlwind kind of day, but I am so glad Andrew endured labor well and is here with us. 

The big kids came to visit. I am jealous as I'm still in recovery. I'll see him soon enough. 

Baby Time

Baby Boy Morrison is on his way! I was admitted at noon for an induction. Please pray that labor goes quick and is event free and that the baby will be well cared for in those first few critical moments of his life. 

Baby Boy Arriving Soon

Hello family and friends--

We have decided to "resurrect" this blog to share our baby's medical journey. No guarantees we will update with any regularity, but that is the hope.

We know people all over the world are praying for our family and our little heart baby. The tender mercies of the Lord--too many to count or list here--have been evident to us since we learned at our 20 week ultrasound that our baby would face special challenges. God has special reasons He wanted to send this baby into our family and He has been carefully preparing us and those around us for years. It has touched our hearts and kept us at peace to have all of you in our lives. Your caring words and actions have been like the Savior's hands on earth for our family.

Love,

John, Elise, Paul, Megan and Ivy