Background History

I thought it would be appropriate to give a brief history to those of you who have joined the Blog without having had the benefit of Grandma Wright’s famous daily “Nannigrams”. My wife, Terri, and I did a considerable amount of family planning before deciding to have children. During Terri’s pregnancy we read books on what to expect and how to prepare, made routine visits to our OB/GYN, ate healthier than ever, and even gave up caffeine. Even with all our planning and precautions, On May 10th 2005, my son Matthew Michael King was born premature at 32 weeks. Four days later he was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. In the eighth week of gestation Matthew’s heart developed without a pulmonary artery. Like wildlife in the Las Vegas desert, life finds a way and with Matthew it was no different. He developed several collaterals connecting his heart to his lungs to supply oxygenated blood. To sustain his life however, our doctors knew he would need a very specialized heart surgery. Las Vegas Cardiologist Dr. Gary Mayman told Terri and me that Matthew would need open heart surgery at Stanford Medical Center. On July 28th Matthew underwent a nine hour surgery to repair his walnut sized heart. The surgery, called “Unifocilization”, was developed and performed by Dr. Frank L. Hanley. As I write you this posting, Matthew continues his recovery at UC Stanford. Now that his heart has been repaired, his lungs are the primary concern. Due to his premature birth, an overflow of blood into his lungs, the trauma from open heart surgery, and living on a respirator, Matthew’s lungs are a mess. Terri and I have been here at his bedside since the day he was born. Every day we try to update our friends and family via this Blog and Grandma Wright’s Nannigram vigil. Each day God continues to bless us with improvement for Matthew. The healing is slow but mostly steady.