Making progress...

Jayden has been making lots of progress. He's actually surprising a lot of doctors, but doesn't surprise us because he is such a strong baby. Since the last post, Jayden had several IV drip lines going for different blood pressure meds, various nutrients, pain meds, etc., but as of today that has been reduced down substantially. He really only has two going, and that is to keep him hydrated and to keep the central IV line good just in case they need it. They were able to wean him off the oxygen completely, so all of his breathing is on his own now. His blood pressure meds have been reduced down to an oral med. For pain, he is receiving Tylenol, which is much better because he's more aware and not so loopy/drowsy.

We did run into a few minor complications last night. The chest tube he has, which is used to drain excess fluids from around his heart, started showing fat cells, which is an indication that a duct (forget the name of it right now) was damaged during the surgery. This duct is part of the lymph system and is used to help flush out fats from the system. This is not an uncommon thing to happen with this kind of surgery. They have a general idea of where the lymph nodes are in the body but every body is different and sometimes a lymph node is damaged during surgery. Because of this, Jayden will have to go on a special fat-free diet. This means he will have to eat special formula for 4-6 weeks and Crystal will not be able to nurse him (She is really sad about this).

Our goals now are to get the chest tube out and to have the central IV line replaced for a traditional IV (Poor baby has had too many pokes). They say that it might be a few more days so that they can make sure that the drainage from his chest is under control. Which means we might be celebrating Easter here (Thanks Shelley for watching Tysen...Dan will probably be coming home to see him. We will call you). We trust these doctors and they have been very meticulous. They double & triple check everything and we feel that they are being very attentive to his needs.

We will keep posting updates as they come. Jayden did smile today for the first time after surgery...of course it was at the pretty nurse, but he did smile nevertheless. We love you all and feel free to call us with any questions or just to chat...we will answer if we are available.

Jayden update

They were able to pull Jayden off the ventilator last night, which was a really good thing. He was not very happy, and it was sad to see his silent cry, but they were eventually able to calm him down and make him more comfortable with some pain meds. Once they removed the ventilator, they put him on oxygen. Hopefully, they can wean him off that today.

Aside from the pain and keeping him comfortable, we are a little worried about his blood pressure. Initially, after the surgery, his blood pressure seem to be almost normal, but then started going up. They were giving him two different blood pressure medications intravenously, and were able to reduce it down to one. We were hoping that they were going to be able to wean him off of the one, but unfortunately they had to increase the dose, and will be adding the second medication again. They say that he will probably go home with blood pressure medication. Please pray for his blood pressure to go down. If he continues to make improvements, we might be able to go home on Thursday.

Thanks for all the prayers, kind love and support!

Out of Surgery and Stable

We just wanted to update everyone and let you know that Jayden is out of Surgery and stable. He is still on the ventilator, which is basically doing all the breathing for him. He has several tubes and machines hooked up to his little body as well. It's very scary to see, but we blessed to have him in good hands. Currently, they are keeping him sedated and waiting for his blood pressure to go down. When that happens they will be able to wean him off of the anesthesia and start to see if he can take some breaths on his own.

All of this has really been a great blessing. All your payers have been felt. Please continue to pray for Jayden to have a speedy recovery...It's been working so far. Thank you!!!

Prayers for Baby Jayden

Written by Shelley (Crystal's Sister)

Crystal wanted me to post this blog to give you a little more details of what's going on with Baby Jayden. When Jayden was in utero, perinatologists detected a narrowing of one of his arteries going into his heart through ultrasound. They took lots of tests and told Crystal & Dan it didn't look like anything serious but to follow-up with a cardiologist when he was born. When he was born they detected a slight heart murmur in the hospital and ran some tests to be sure it wasn't caused by the same thing. Everything looked OK and they again advised Dan & Crystal to see a cardiologist to follow-up. At one of his regular check ups Crystal was impressed to get the referral from his regular pediatrician to see the cardiologist even though there seemed to be no sign of the murmur. Crystal got the referral from a doctor at CHOC and went to see him today. During the visit and routine ultrasound the doctor found that indeed the artery was narrow and had worsened. He indicated that it had been a little lower than previously thought and urged Dan & Crystal to go home and pack and go straight to CHOC to admit Jayden into the ICU. Jayden will be there to go through a battery of tests to fine tune his diagnosis. He is set to have surgery on Monday to remove the narrowed artery through the side of his body. We know through prayers, fasting & faith Jayden will be just fine and growing like a weed. Whitman prayers are the best medicine for the Carlsons now. I will try to keep everyone posted on details as they come. Thanks again for the love and support, I am so grateful for our family and Dan's family what a great network to fall back on when you feel you can't do it on your own. We love you all!

Pictures Are So Valuable

I will probably be posting loads of pictures since I have a new born and a sweet two year old that, i think, are so stinkin cute. I want every moment captured...especially the ones where Tysen leans over his brother to give him the softest hugs and kisses ever while whispering, "it's OK baby Jay." I cry every time! These boys are just too cute together in their "Big Brother" and "Little Brother" shirts (thanks Grandma Carlson and Carie).

This Boy and His Music

Tysen LOVES music! He loves to listen to it, sing to it, play to it, dance to it... He just loves it.
He even asks to watch American Idol every night so that he can grab his microphone and sing along. It is his favorite show right now.

Every morning he wakes up wanting to play Daddy's guitar. He has good rhythm and he has a good memory for lyrics and melodies.

Daddy decided to sit down with Ty and teach him a thing or two about the guitar. Tysen was just eating it up! He sat very still the whole time just listening to Daddy and then when Daddy actually let him play it...oh he was soooo excited! He was very careful when he strummed the guitar and he made sure that he strummed all the strings at once or he would try again.

These are the moments that I just have to capture because I'll bet that Tysen grows up to be a great musician some day, and now he can look back and see where it all started...in his Daddy's arms.

Presenting...

Good News!

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Everything went really well and we are expected to come home today at some point. They found the problem and he is expected to make a full recovery. What a strong boy! Thanks to all those who kept Ty in your thoughts and prayers.

Prayers for Ty-Man

Tysen will be going in for surgery, yet again, today at about noon. He will be getting a revision on his shunt because he is showing major signs of it's malfunction.
We just want to ask for prayers that everything will go smoothly for surgery and that he will recover well. Tysen loves all of his family and we all appreciate your love and support. We are very grateful to have the Lord watching over him.