Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us"


Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Surgery Update

The picture at right is one that was taken a couple days before his surgery.


Well the surgery took half the time they thought. They did fix the hole and the triatriatum (the membrane that causes him to have three atriums). They were not sure if they were going to have to fix his tricuspid valve as it was showing a leak. They did not have to fix it, so that is good as it is close to the 'pacemaker' part of the heart. They think the repair of the hole and the triatriatum helped the tricuspid leak.

We finally got to see him around 8:30 lastnight. He has the 'normal' incision from heart surgery-one that goes from the collar bone to the sternum. In addition, he had two leads that were left on his heart that were there in case they needed to shock his heart at anytime. He also has a chest tube in to remove the extra blood from the surgery.

They were hoping to extabate (remove the breathing tube) him lastnight however he started to clamp down on the tube and wheeze so they decided to do more frequent breathing treatments through the ventilator and leave it in through the night.

He was extabated this morning. At the same time they removed the leads from his heart also. They have left the chest tube in and are hoping to remove it sometime today. He is still on many drips (IV's) to try to regulate the heart function as one side of the heart now is seeing less volume and the other side of his heart is seeing more blood volume. In addition, they are trying to regulate his blood pressure meds. They are hoping to have those well regulated by sometime this afternoon. They told us lastnight that the next 48 hours would be crucial as far as heart function.

He is pretty uncomfortable this morning so they are trying to help his pain with morphine and other meds.

We appreciate everyone's continual prayers, thank you so much. We ask that everyone continue to pray that Caleb's heals from this well and continues to make baby steps in the right direction.

Also, I want to thank my dear friend Jen for updating the blog and keeping everyone updated via email. We love you Jen and miss you very much.

God Bless you all!

God Bless Caleb!!

13 comments:

lbug3000 said...

sarah and family,
we have been checking your blog constantly since monday and we are so relieved to hear that the surgery went well and that caleb is comfortable. he is so incredibly amazing and brave!!! as are all of you!!! we will continue to pray for lots of healing and a healthier road ahead....god bless all of you!!!
christie foppiano, lela, charlie, piper and brian

Becky said...

Dear Sarah, Brian and family,
So releived for all of you that surgery went so well. To say what a little trooper he is, in an understatement! Love and prayers for all of you through his recovery. Thank you for the update..I know, like everyone, I was waiting anxiously to hear how he was doing.
again, Much love and you're always in our prayers!!
Becky and Bobby D

Crystal M. said...

We continue to think about and pray for Caleb everyday. I have a friend who lives about an hour from Duke and when she read about him she wanted to run to the hospital and be there for you.
Caleb is such a fighter, keep it up big guy.
Hugs and love,
Crystal and Eva

CorrieYoung said...

So glad to hear surgery went well. We'll keep praying extra hard that the next days go extremely smoothly. Yeah Caleb!! I'm just so happy that this is behind you and you're off the vent!!!! What two HUGE hurdles!! Yeah, yeah, yeah!!!

You keep it up little fighter!

God Bless you sweet baby!

Corrie Young

skeybunny said...

Hi Sarah, Caleb, and Brian,

I am always checking your site for the latest updates. It sounds like the surgery went about as well as it possibly could have. I'm so glad for you guys. I know Caleb isn't home free by any means yet, but he is this much closer to being strong enough for his thymus transplant. Keep fighting Caleb--You are an inspiration to us all with your incredible spirit and strength!

Hugs,
Sarah, Jeremy, and Evan Storrs

Anonymous said...

Go Caleb Go!!!!! It is my pleasure to help in any way I can, and since communicating is definitely my thing...(too much as you know, HA!HA!!). We miss you so much and are so proud of your beautiful little boy! Caleb is so special and it is obvious even to those who have never had the pleasure of meeting him! You are all so strong and so amazing! We will keep praying and you all just keep taking it moment by moment and showering your boy with kisses from all of us!! We love you all so much and miss you so, but we know that one day we will all be together again!! God Bless you all! Hugs and Kisses to all of your family!! WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Love-
Aunt Jen, Uncle Andy, and Haleigh

Anonymous said...

sarah and brian
so glad to hear that caleb is out of surgery and continuing to make his baby steps
know that we are all praying for caleb and your family
always in my thoughts and prayers
alana

Anonymous said...

Ok, so I had to come and leave a comment to tell you all once again that I'm thinking about you and loving you...but then I read my sister's comment...and well, I burst out laughing. To say that communication is "her thing"...well that's the understatement of the century!!! HAHA!! But hey, stick with what you're good at right? I know it's often much easier to just call her and then she can update us...that seems to work out really well...we all just love to get our Caleb updates to check on how our little guy is doing.

I love you guys!! Stay strong and get stronger Bubber! :)

Love,
Aunt Jess

Anonymous said...

I am so grateful that you've had some positive news and certainly pray that continues. You all have really been inspirational - as so many of us have said!!! Remember to take care of yourselves as you take care of Caleb!!!

Much love to all-
Chris XOXO

amy and mighty max said...

Thank you so much for the update. You have been in my thoughts constantly. What a major hurdle...and now we have to get through this difficult recovery time. But the extubation and tube removal are good, good signs! I remember how encouraging that was for Maxwell. Less cords and tubes always is good!

Please keep us (your fan club) posted Caleb and family!

Amy and Maxwell

Neurotic Atty said...

You don't know me, but I found you through Mighty Max's website a few months ago. Know that I am praying for you all and especially for Caleb. I always think Caleb looks so big in all his pictures and videos, but he looks so small in this picture. I know, though, that he's really a bruiser and that he will fight through all of this. Take care!

Lara in WV

Anonymous said...

Gram and Pap Byrum
Caleb is truly an amazing little boy who understands that he is loved by so many. He is so easy to love and we certainly do feel blessed. Brian and Sarah are an incredible team who work together to keep their son strong. God bless Caleb.

Shannon said...

Dear Caleb,
We are thinking of you today. We ask that your pain be taken away and that you recover very soon.
Love,
The Best Family
Austin Texas