After an entire week of worry, bad news and setbacks, David made an awesome recovery this past weekend.

On top of what I wrote in my last update, he had a seizure Saturday morning.  Thankfully, they studied ultrasounds of his head and couldn’t find anything.  There’s definitely an injury up there, but it looks to be nothing major.  He’ll be on seizure medication for quite a while to prevent another one.

Everything seemed to be going down the drain that morning, but he was stable later in the day.  That night and Sunday, he made what appeared to be a remarkable turn-around.  He was bright-eyed and alert, and he was so peaceful. As of Monday night, most of his tubes (chest, oxygen, etc.) had been removed.  His blood pressure is also down to normal.

He’ll start eating again Wednesday to see how his belly does.  If it does well, then he could be moved from the cardiac ICU to a regular room sometime this weekend.  That’s the final step before going home!

Please continue to pray!

We hope you had a good Christmas.  Ours was as we expected, but good.  However, we need a lot of prayer today.

David has had some setbacks after his surgery.  His belly is swollen, which is a complication from heart surgery.  They are not feeding him from the bottle today, and they are probably putting him on a special formula tomorrow.  How this will affect Amy and her nursing remains to be seen.  She doesn’t want to give that up, but may have to in order for his digestive system to function properly.

His blood pressure is also a little high.  They think they can fix it with medicine, so we’re waiting to see how that goes.  There is also a slight problem with his lymphatic system, but that could be corrected with the formula.  Lastly, a small portion of one of his lungs has collapsed, but the doctor said that was normal after heart surgery and should correct itself.

Please continue to pray for David and us.  We don’t know when we’ll be out of the woods simply because one day is good, then the next is like taking two steps back.

It’s Christmas Eve night, and we’re gathered in the living room.  The tree is decorated and lit, and we’re watching Christmas cartoons with Alyssa.  Santa has already called and said he’d be here after she’s asleep.  It all seems like Christmas, but in many ways it doesn’t feel like it.

Christmas, first and foremost, is about the birth of Jesus.  It is certainly a joyous time in that we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

However, this year is very different.  In one sense, we are celebrating another great present in our new son, David.  He is so precious to us.  In another sense, it’s a very hard Christmas because we’re waiting to see how well he recovers from heart surgery.

There will be no trips to a grandparent’s house on Christmas Day.  There will be no siblings coming to our house.  There will be no huge dinner with all the family.  There will be small meals and trips to the cardiac ICU, but it’s all okay.

Why?  Because our son is making progress.  Because we’ll still give as much joy to Alyssa as possible.  All four of us will be together.  Maybe not in the typical holiday setting, but we’ll have each other.

In the end, what more could you ask for?

David spent all afternoon in surgery, but finally came out around 6 p.m.  We are happy to report David came through the surgery with flying colors!  For now, all is well.  Dr. Dabal didn’t have any problems implanting the shunt, but the next couple of days will tell the tale.

They are going to monitor him closely to make sure everything is stable.  We are really praying his oxygen level is stable, and we pray he starts eating again as well as he has been.  Those will be the two factors in when we get to bring him home.

David has many trips, including ones for surgery, ahead of him, so please keep him in your prayers, especially during this time of recovery.  He looked good, even though it was hard to see him with the red line down the middle of his chest.  He’ll start waking up Tuesday and hopefully get stronger by the day.

Thank you for all you’ve done for us so far.  All the calls, e-mails and prayers have helped us through this.  Please keep them coming!

David’s surgery is today (Monday, Dec. 22) around 2 p.m. CST.  The doctor will implant a shunt between two arteries above his heart. If all goes well, he shouldn’t need another operation for a few months/years.

We don’t know what the future holds anymore except that God is in control of all of this.  We are weary, we are nervous and we are still faithful. We love our little boy, and we want him to pull through this.  We want him to live to be an old man.

Please say an extra prayer for all of us today.