Easton has been doing great since his repair.  We have had to fight a cold or two that big brother and big sister wanted to share:)  We went to see Dr. Shah our Cardiologist yesterday and don't have to go back for 3 months.  This is great news and means that he is doing very well.  Today will hopefully be the last time we will have to come to the surgical area at the Childrens Hospital.   Easton gets to finally be circumsized.  Ready to get this  over so we can be recovered by Thanksgiving.  Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.  We pray that today goes as well as the other proceedures have.  Ready to get this show on the road.

Well today started off pretty much like the rest.  Easton had a really good night.  He ate really well yesterday after he had his motrin.  His poor little throat is still sore.  The nurse practioner came in before the doctors rounded and asked me how I felt about going home today, I was surprised but told her that yes we were ready.  I had actually been thinking about it because we were only on antibiotics and he only had the one line left but really didn't think it would be possible.  After the doctors.rounded they decided to send us on our merry way.  after all they do we finally left the hospital at 2:15 pm.  So tonight we are home!  It is so nice to have everyone under the same roof!  His brother and sister sure missed him:  and I think he missed them too!  We are so blessed.  We will have several doctors appointments in the up coming weeks but he is healing very nicely.  We pray for continued healing as he is a little sore still.  I will continue to update just not as frequently.  Thank you all for your support!

Easton had a good night last night.  They took his arterial line out this morning so he only has one line left.  Hope to be heading home this weekend but depends on how he eats.  His throat is very sore from the suctioning that was done and it made his throat raw.  He has done pretty well this morning while I have been here.  Eating was the focus for today, and so far we are off to a good start.  He is now also canula free!

Easton had a good night last night.  However when I got to the hospital this morning he felt a little was and was borderline running a fever.  They decided to give him an antibiotic and think it may be the start of an ear infection.  By the afternoon he was back to his old self even smiling at some of the nurses:).   I finally got to hold him today as I haven't held him since last Thursday.  Tyler came over and he smiled at him today and that made Daddy feel very good:).  Hoping that he sleeps well tonight.  Think he may be getting his days and nights mixed up.  Thank God for his continued healing!  Blessings to all.

Easton had another good night last night.  He got a new cousin in the mix as well!  Very happy for his safe arrival.  They took out one o Eastons Ivs and is now on the regular canula as well.  He was able to have a "bowel movement so he is feeling much better.  He has been able to eat some which makes him very happy.   God is good!

Easton had another good night last night.  They took the drainage tubes out today.  Hopefully his cathater will come out soon.  The doctors are very happy with how he is doing!  We are very thankful for that.  The did decide to put him on a high flow canula but are starting to wean him off of that to a regular one then nothing.  Thank you for your continedb prayers!

Easton had another good night.  Tyler and I were able to be there when they took the ventilator out today.  Right now he is on a regular flow canula.  Depending on how he does with this, they may try feeding him in a few days.  If he doesn't tolerate it well then he will need to go to a high flow canula.  Praying that all goes well and that he stays on the regular flow canula.  He is currently on IV food.  So he is getting nutrition ,but has an empty belly.  God is good!

Last night Easton had a good night.  They took him off them paralytic so he is starting to twitch.  The Doctors are very happy with how he is doing.  He has a small stenosis in the pulmonary artery but nothing of great concern.  Just a small narrowing of the pulmonary artey.  He still looks great.  We are very blessed to have such great care.  God is good.

Easton had a good night or he"behaved himself" as Dr. Fotuna puts it.  His oxygen levels are at 98 which is great.  He looks very good.  We found out today that during surgery they take his body temp down to 64.4 degrees.  They are still trying to keep him cool today and will slowly start waking him up tomorrow.  He is on 45% oxygen and had an echo done this morning.  We are praying that looks good.  Thanks for the contined thoughts and prayers.

Tyler and I were able to see him and kiss his head.  He is on a ventilator and will be for the next couple of days.  He is still very handsome:)  We both were happy to see his oxygen levels at 96% rather than his normal 75%.  We are both very exausted and emotionally drained but praise God for taking care of our son!  Many prayers have been answered!  I have learned what it means to pray without ceasing!  God is Good!   We appreciate all of you inspiring messages ,prayers and thoughts.  God bless you all.

Surgery is Complete!!

Today finally ended after a long 10.5 hour surgery.  After they got in there they found there was more that needed repaired then they originally thought.  They put in a new pulmonary valve.  He had to carve out quite a bit of muscle to make way for the pulmonary valve.  He also put in the left pulmonary artery and then had to put in a right artery as well(as I understood.)  They had originally only done the left but then when they took him off the heart lung machine he struggled quite a bit.  He also closed the hole between the bottom two chambers.  He then had to create another small whole to help at this point, but not in the same place the other one was.  This hole they can close in a cath lab if they need to.  They will keep him very sedated for the next few days as the first 12 to 24 hours is the most critical.  Dr. Fortuna is very happy with the surgery and doesn't expect anything to happen but they will be monitoring him very closely.   v

Well he is still in the operating room.  They decided to make a few more repairs.  We arent sure what they are yet it will probly be a few more hours.  He has been in there since 9:30 this morning and it is now 6:30 pm.  We are ready for him to be done but also want them to do what they need to do.  Keep on praying!

Repair surgery

Well today is going well so far.  We had to be at the hospital at 6 am.  They took Easton back at 8.  Surgery started at 9.  They have been giving us updates periodcally throughout the day.  They are now starting to take him off the heart lung machine which bypasses his heart and lungs during the surgery and gets blood and oxygen to the rest of the body.  They are doing what is called warming  and bringing his body temperature up so they can start taking him off heart lung.  This is one of the first steps to this.   I will update later when I know more.  Prayers have been and are being answered.  Keep sending them as we have a few days to get through to make sure everything is working properly.

Where to begin...  Easton had a cath lab on August 16th.  This is where they go in through the groin and up that artery into the heart.  While in there, they put some dye in to take some pictures of the heart.  they have decided that in 2 to 4 weeks they will schedule his surgery.  His Cardiologist is recommending they do the repair, but they will discuss his case on Monday as a team.  I am relieved to know that my Kiddo will soon be repaired for a few years.  Dr. Shah thinks that they will put in a new valve and a new left artery becasue the arteries are small.  The right one is slightly bigger so I am not sure if they are going to do anything with that at this point.  He is getting so big!  Love it! 

Easton had his Cardiologist apointment on the 3rd of June.  I know, I am a little behind.  Dr. Shah is very happy with his progress.  He even took him off one of his medications.  He is very pleased with how he is doing.  We still are not sure when his next surgery will be.  His levels are starting to slowly decrease the bigger he gets so the shunt is working as it should and this is what the plan was so I guess we are going according to plan:) 

He is getting to be such a big boy!  Almost 13 pounds now!  He has been sleeping through the night so mommy and daddy are getting more sleep!  He still has crazy hair!  I just can't bring myself to have his hair cut yet!  He is a very happy baby and we couldn't ask for more!  Big Brother and Sister really think it is great that he will smile at them now, so of course they want to be more involved now!    I told Ely the other day that one day he is going to want to go everywhere he does . Not sure if he really believed me:)  Can't wait to see his reaction when that day arrives! I can't believe that he is already 3 and a half months old!  Where has the time gone. 

 All else is well at the Horner House,  we are busy with tumbling and T-ball right now and love every minute.  Along with going to the Doctor, but that all seems second nature now.   We feel very blessed, God is good !  Until next time! 

Easton had his cardiologist appointment last Monday.  They are very happy with his progress.  We are still not sure at this point when he will have his surgery.  We did find out that if they think that he will need his next surgery this winter that they will do it this fall because they do not like to do it when there are so many more germs.  He is a big growing boy!  He weighs over 10lbs now!  I can't believe he is already 2 and a half months old!  One of the nurses that we had up on the PICU was in with Cardiology so that she can become a nurse practitioner so it was nice to see her and catch up with her.  She couldn't believe how big Easton had gotten and how big his hair was:)  He also had his 2 month check up and started his shots:(  We had to check with the cardiologist to make sure that it was ok for him to get them because sometimes they don't want you to due to the stress that it can put on the child, but Dr. Shah said that Easton was doing so well that he should have them.  Hate to see them cry but am glad he is doing well enough to have them. 

We have been busy at home.  Easton went to church for the first time on Mothers day, it was pretty special :)   I started back to work today and the other two have been such a big help!  I think this will help to make a more structured schedule for us with house duties (that is my goal anyway:) So thankful for the support we have including our family!  Grandma Krehbiel is watching them three days this week and Grandma Horner will have them on Wednesday.  We feel very blessed for all of the prayers we have received and have seen what the power of prayer can do!!!!!  Blessings to all of you!

Easton is growing like a weed!  Newborn clothes no longer fit!  He has really started smiling and you have to love all of the involuntary reflex movements.  He sometimes scares himself.  I thought he might wear 0-3 months for a while, but he is so long now that he is close to start wearing some of the smaller 3-6 month clothes!  Monday is going to be a busy day for us as he has 3 doctor appointments that day.  He does very well sleeping at night.  I know we will get him sleeping through the night and then it will be time for his next surgery:)  Hopefully it won't take too long to get him back on track after that.  We still don't have a set time when the next surgery will be. It will all depend on him and how he grows.  I hope that it will be this fall if not later rather than sooner so he has more time to grow, but we will see!  He has (knock on wood) been a very good baby this far.  He doesn't cry much unless he is hungry and then he wanted it yesterday:)  I will update again after our cartiologist appointments on Monday along with his  pediatrician appointment where he will begin his shots.  Can't wait for that:)  God is good!

Easton had his second cardiologist appointment today.  His doctor was very happy with how he looked and sounded.  He weighs about 8 1/2 lbs and is now 22 inches long!  Ty thinks he is going to be nine feet tall at the rate he is going:)  The shunt is working great, and the PDA arteries have not closed yet, which may actually work to our advantage.  It may allow him to grow a little more before the next surgery.  Still not sure when that will be.  Will just depend when he outgrows the shunt.  Sure can't believe that he is already 6 weeks old already!  The kids are sure glad to have him home.  They both are very helpful (sometimes too much:))  They sure love their little brother!  I go back to work in a few weeks so trying to findsome one to come baby sit a few days a week.  He is such a good baby.  Only gets up once to eat in the middle of the night so really can't complain!  Since it has been so nice out we have been able to go outside for walks.  I keep a bottle of hand sanitzer in the stroller!  I don't think I ever thought I would be a germaphobe!  God is good and continues to bless our family.  With God all things are possible Matt 19:26

Whew!  Made it through our first week at home!  I think we now have some sort of a schedule down!!!  We have 3 doctors appointments next week so that is going to be interesting trying to get to those on time!  He is doing very good.  His heart rate and oxygen levels have all been where they were at the hospital.  He is now over 7lbs!  Big Boy!  He is getting long.  He is still very skinny though!  I am going to have to get the three month clothing out and washed up since he is about too long for the newborn clothes.  Still wearing newborn diapers though.  Hopeing that the remaining weeks go as smoothly as this one did!  Ely is enjoying calling him "Mini Me" since he looks so much like he did when he was a baby!  He thinks that is pretty cool!  Ella just wants to mother him!  But that is pretty much what I expected. His hais is hilarious!  Not sure if it will ever lay down, but I guess time will tell!  We are a very blessed family!  God is good!

We are home!  We were discharged on Friday and are now home.  It went well the first night home.  He slept well, not sure how well I slept.  I think I was worried about not hearing him.  The next day was a little rough:)  We are trying to get into a routine, along with weighing him everyday and taking his oxygen levels.  I then have to email these to the nurse each Monday.  Today was our first visit to the pediatrician's office.  He was very happy with Easton's progress.  He weighs 7lbs now and is 20 1/2 inches long.  It was quite the ordeal to get out of the house this morning!  I forgot what it is like to have an infant.  I decided later that I should have packed the diaper bag the night before:)  Hadn't really thought much about it until we were ready to walk out the door.  I was also trying to figure out when he would need to eat next, which of course happend to be when we would not be at home, so I had to pack a bottle as well:)  Had to make a run to McDonald's Drive-thru for hot water to heat it up!  I must say I was glad when we got home!!!  Please continue to keep us in your prayers during this time for healing as well as for my sanity:)!   Praise be to God for he is good!   I am a firm believer that God only gives us what he knows we can handle.  We feel very blessed!