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2 weeks before he was born ~ we did not know of his defect until he was 4 days old
4lbs 1oz ~ born at 32 weeks
"Unifocalization" ~ 9 hours by Dr. Frank Hanley
Chest was open for 4 days ~ hence the gauze on top
Still on a ventilator (remained on vent for another few weeks)
Mask would assist him to breathe in and out
Waiting for the surgery team to take him off
And still he smiles...
Happy day ~ Look no oxygen!
So much to be thankful for!
One boy's long road to recovery. Matthew was born two months premature with a rare fourfold heart defect known as Tetralogy of Fallot with Pulmonary Atresia and MAPCA's, and Ventricular Septal Defect. He's had two open heart surgeries and will need additional heart surgeries in the future. To appreciate the absolute miracle of this "3 plus million dollar boy", you'd need to look into the "Archives" beginning after his first 9 hr open heart surgery at Stanford, August 2005.
First picture
2 weeks before he was born ~ we did not know of his defect until he was 4 days old
Day of birth ~ May 10th, 2005
4lbs 1oz ~ born at 32 weeks
Day of first surgery ~ July "05
"Unifocalization" ~ 9 hours by Dr. Frank Hanley
After first surgery
Chest was open for 4 days ~ hence the gauze on top
Chest was just closed
Still on a ventilator (remained on vent for another few weeks)
BiPap mask
Mask would assist him to breathe in and out
Getting ready for second surgery
Waiting for the surgery team to take him off
After second surgery
And still he smiles...
Leaving Stanford after second surgery
Happy day ~ Look no oxygen!
Happy Days
So much to be thankful for!
To view more pictures of Matthew while at Stanford, you can expand the year of 2005 by first clicking on the arrow, then the month. He was at Stanford from July thru September of 2005. Matthew was transferred back to Sunrise hospital where he stayed until the end of October 2005.
His second open heart surgery at Stanford was March 16th of 2006.
We've been told he'll need a conduit change, on average, every three years. We are hoping technology will be on our side.
He's our amazing little soldier boy. Our miracle.
His second open heart surgery at Stanford was March 16th of 2006.
We've been told he'll need a conduit change, on average, every three years. We are hoping technology will be on our side.
He's our amazing little soldier boy. Our miracle.
Blog Archive
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2006
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December
(76)
- If you have ever tried to imagine what Matthew's r...
- "Oh, you mean I'm supposed to eat this stuff? I th...
- As you can imagine, once the feeding fight was ove...
- Coming Soon...And so the feeding saga continues. S...
- In what could arguably be called passive aggressiv...
- Merry Christmas everyone! We would like to invite ...
- Matthew was not in the unwrapping mood but Terri d...
- Matthew and I couldn't resist dressing up like twins.
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- Matthew was grumpy after his morning meds so I roc...
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- As a reward for her loving loyalty, Quixa got lots...
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- Our neighbor Marianna stopped by to wish us a Merr...
- When we got to the party, everyone wanted to greet...
- Matthew with his brother Casey.
- Mandi, Joel, and Matthew.Do you ever get the feeli...
- "What you look'in at?"
- Matthew & cousin Daniel.
- The whole family helped Matthew negotiate the stairs.
- Both up...
- ...And down.
- Matthew couldn't wait to be turned loose. He ran t...
- ...And fro.
- Yep, Matthew was a regular "Flash Gordon". In fact...
- After our initial greetings, it was time to open g...
- "Oh boy presents!"
- Mitch's gift to Kim was the hit of the party. It i...
- Terri, Kim, and I played a little gag on Mitch. By...
- Mandi & Beau got a visual of Mitch in lace.
- To Mitch's relief, the box contained a jogging suit.
- As you can see, I was quite proud of myself for th...
- No one could get over how much Dillon has grown...
- But, as his mother, Gabrielle felt obliged to whis...
- In an effort to keep track, Kim offered to write e...
- This year I was selected to carve the bird.
- No worthy "man-task" should be attempted solo. The...
- Eeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuu! Mike, no one wants that part!
- After all of his running around, Grandma Wright ro...
- Merry Christmas Everyone! We had lots of fun bring...
- With all of Matthew's doctor appointments, this is...
- We are attempting to teach Matthew that it is bett...
- That rather smug look on Uncle Keith's face is do ...
- Oh no Uncle Keith...Not the "Lambs"!
- Matthew is getting much better at walking. He stil...
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- Goodnight Mommy! Oh and Santa... We've been extra ...
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- Twas the night before Christmas and all through th...
- Isn't this a cute picture of Mommy & Matthew?
- I'm going to have a talk with Grandma Wright about...
- As you can see by the look on his face, Matthew ca...
- "Bravo, Daddy! Bravo!" Matthew enjoyed seeing his ...
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- This is Terri...Mike will be updating the blog as ...
- Matthew absolutely loves the little doggy puppet t...
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- Though he resembles a drunken sailor (or my co-wor...
- "When Toddlers Attack!"As Terri tried to record Ma...
- Matthew was a real trooper today at the hospital. ...
- Matthew has recently outgrown the sink. Our big bo...
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- I sure am happy that today is over!! We took Matth...
- I have a limited amount of baby experience to draw...
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- Matthew likes to lay on his back and look up at th...
- You know I'm partial to pictures of Matthew and hi...
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- HELLO!! This is Terri :-) , using Kim's name ~ I ...
- Medically, December will be a very busy month for ...
- Matthew likes to use my leg to pull himself up fro...
- Now I ask you, could you resist this face?
- Mommy is in Reno this weekend so it's just us guys...
- In January, Matthew and I had a "boy's only" weeke...
- Matthew is really getting around. He has been vent...
- In addition to exploring his surroundings, Matthew...
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December
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3 comments:
Don't let this picture fool you all...
he DOES NOT DRINK out of his little sippy cup... he uses it to throw around ...
Someday the little magpie will sip out of it...
:-)
Me, Terri
And here I got so excited to see him reaching for the sippy cup. We'll just keep hoping and praying that he will one day love to drink and eat like the rest of us (in moderation, of course).
Love, Grandma Sue
If you click twice on this picture, you will pull up a "zoom" shot of his facial expression. Matthew is trying to figure out how he can climb onto the sofa and toss his sippy cup over the back onto the floor.
On Saturday, Matthew picked out a block from his toy basket, stood and contemplated while he turned it ever so carefully in his chubby little hands, walked it over to the sofa, attempted the throw his left leg onto the couch in order to climb up to toss the block over the back of the couch. Ha Ha. It was so amusing to watch him hold the block and "think" about what he wanted to do with it. One of the "faults" of having many facial expressions is it makes it easier for other people to read you face and plan ahead. LOL
Matthew is a little tuffy, there is no doubt about it. He has a strong, straight tossing arm both forward and backward. Yes, I said backward. When he is going through his toy basket, he picks up and tosses items backward without any hesitation. He finds the right toy via the process of elimination. Pretty smart, I would say. Love you my almost 2 years old grandson. grandma w
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