Update on Surgery, Housekeeping, Prayers

Hi all-

This is Cole's daddy writing and I will lead off with a warning that this will be a LONG blog entry. It will contain a lot of information and answer many of the questions that you all have been asking as he gets ready to have surgery. I will try to help you navigate through this entry by using some subtitles so that you can only read the part that that you have an interest in. Also, we love the comments and will respond to questions asked in these comments. This is the best way to contact us and ask us questions.


HOUSEKEEPING
Please be aware that all of our immediate family has been overwhelmed with the outpouring of love, support, and caring that you have expressed and we continue to covet your prayers. Our friends and family are very important to us and we LOVE each and every one of you very much. Thank you all for everything.

With that being said, we created this blog for a couple of reasons. First, we wanted to give everyone a medium that they could check at their own leisure for updates on Cole's delivery, surgeries, and recovery. Second, we wanted to try to reduce the abundance of calls, e-mails, etc. to us and our family members. So far, the blog has only helped with the first issue. We need to ask for a reprieve at this time from phone calls, e-mails, etc.

Just this morning Laura and I had a chance to visit and hold Cole in the NICU for about 30 minutes. It was great, but I got 5 phone calls on my cell phone in those 30 minutes. My mom informed me that she got 27 calls just yesterday alone, while my sisters are averaging 15-20 calls/e-mails per day. I know everyone is concerned for us and cares for us and we appreciate that. It means the world to us that we are loved this much, BUT at the same time we all do not have the time nor the energy to speak to everyone individually and that is why we created this blog.

Please understand that we can no longer field the staggering numbers of phone calls and e-mails that continue to arrive on an hourly basis. Due to the immediate medical urgency, the initial blog updates were delayed but we anticipate a more frequent update on Cole going forward. We appreciate every call, prayer, and e-mail but please do not expect a return phone call during this time. We will keep everyone updated on this site and will call you folks if we need anything. Please do not take this request as us "not caring" or anything like that. Thank you for understanding.

Obviously this would not apply if we forgot to e-mail you the blog site or if you do not have a PC. I know that there are some extenuating circumstances for some of the calls, but this is the minority.

SURGERY
As most of you know by now, Cole has several congenital heart defects. The first defect is that his septum (the part of the heart that separates his left ventricle from his right ventricle) is not formed thus allowing the blood to "mix." Also, the 2 "great vessels," the aorta and pulmonary artery, are transposed and his pulmonary artery is completely closed. This means that if nothing were to be done, blood would not be able to flow from his heart to his lungs and thus would be fatal. However, through a series of surgeries called the "Fontan Procedure" they can fix this problem my rerouting some of the plumbing in his heart. This allows his heart to function as a single ventricle heart.

The Fontan Procedure is a series of 3 surgeries. The surgeries will take place when he is 2-5 days old, 3-4 months old, and then finally 2-3 years old. Well, his first surgery is scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 7 am and should be over around 11 am. Dr. Watts and Dr. Baird will be performing the surgery at CMC Main in Charlotte, NC. A "shunt" will be installed in his heart and will take the place of his defective pulmonary artery effectively allowing the blood to flow from his heart to his lungs. This will happen tomorrow. He will need 3-5 days to recover from this surgery and will be placed in the Levine Children's Hospital CVICU (Cardiovascular ICU) with 1 on 1 supervision during this time. Then, once he has recovered from that, he will move back into the NICU where they will begin teaching him how to eat so that he can gain weight. Lastly, he will move into the "Progressive" unit where they will prepare him to come home. Babies that have this procedure done usually spend about a month in the hospital before coming home but because of his size and strength, they are estimating Cole can come home within 2 weeks.

COLE THOMAS
As you all see, Cole is a beautiful little boy. How could he not be? He is, after all, my son. :-) He has chubby cheeks that feel like cashmere and a perfectly round head. His hair is dark and very thin on top, but thick and curly around the sides and back of his head. Almost like a man with male pattern baldness - it is so cute! I could go on and on about him, but I think that the pictures posted here are worth more than my words will be.



LAURA
I have 2 heroes in my life and have always told these two people so. The first one is my dad (thanks for everything dad, I Love You!) and the second one is my beautiful wife Laura. Just to watch her give birth to our children is a blessing. I was there, right beside her, helping her count and holding her hand, but I felt like I was an onlooking angel as I watched her. Dr. Hershey, who administered Laura's epidural, is a rock star in our eyes. When it came time to push, the nurse literally had to tell Laura when she was having a contraction and when to push. According to Laura, she felt VERY little and after less than 10 minutes of pushing, baby Cole was born! This was a huge answer to prayer because when Laura had Ava, her epidural had worn off and she had to push for over 2 hours. Quite a difference! Laura is at home in bed resting. She is feeling good and as long as I can keep her stubborn tale from running any marathons or doing any yard work, I am sure she will heal quickly. What a warrior she is. Lovely, I thank you so much for our son - he is wonderfully and beautifully made and I could not ask for anything more as my wife or our children's mommy.



NICU
The neonatal intensive care unit is quite a site. If you can imagine the entire hospital as being a war, then the NICU is the front line of defense and we have our Navy Seals/Army Rangers/Marine Special Forces in there. I was told that only the best of the best nurses are allowed to work there, and I thank God for that.

Cole has quite a challenge ahead of him and he will need a lot of strength and prayer to get through his ordeal. HOWEVER, let me just tell you all that if you were to walk into the NICU and look at Cole and then look at the other babies, you would say to yourself "wow, he looks perfect, why is he here?" There is one baby that weighs 13 ounces, there is another one who was born with his intestines OUTSIDE of his body. It is horrible. There are families in the hallways crying out loud - it is TOUGH. I say this only to ask that whenever you guys pray for Cole, please do us a favor and also pray for the other babies in the NICU. We call them the NICU warriors. I find myself thanking God that my child does not have it as bad off as some of those other little angels. I know that is a bad attitude, but I am just being honest.

AVA
While Laura and I have been at the hospital, Ava's "Pa" and "Nana" have been watching her. Thanks so much for that! Ava is the most important person in our life and you guys watching her means the world to us. They have said that Ava has been incredibly sweet and understanding throughout all of this. She has behaved and cooperated for them. Occasionally, she will have a day where she acts her age (2) and because she spoils us the other 98% of the time, it is tough for us to deal with those days. Being without her mommy and daddy has been tough for her but she is excited and cannot wait to meet "Baby Brother Cold." She can't say "Cole" so she calls him "Cold."