Overdue Update!

I am so sorry for the very overdue update! We got home and I just kind of crashed emotionally, so to speak. I haven't been very productive in the last two weeks as I feel like I am still recovering from all the stress leading up to surgery, the surgery itself, and trying to keep Caden from doing too much now that he feels great!

But let me back up and let you know how things have been going since my last update. We drove home on Sunday and Monday, April 21/22. When we pulled into the driveway, we were welcomed by an incredible poster made for Caden by his amazing preschool teacher! She put band aids on the “broken” heart and poster of everyone who was praying for Caden. When she found out when we were going to be home, she worked with Greg's parents to get it put up along with balloons on the house and around the yard. What a welcome! Thank you so much Melissa!

Caden enjoyed some time with Grandma and Grandpa that evening before bed. And the boys were so excited to see each other again. It was so sweet, but at the same time, very stressful because Caden got so worked up, he was doing things he wasn't supposed to do with his restrictions. :(

Unfortunately we couldn't enjoy our homecoming too long because the next morning, on Tuesday, April 23, I had to drive Caden to Spokane to see his cardiologist there on April 24. The doctor at Stanford was very clear that he wanted Caden to be seen as soon as possible upon our arrival back home. So that meant driving 3 hours to Spokane to the cardiologist's office there. But I got to spend the night at my sister's house and see my parents also so that was nice.

That evening we celebrated my nephew, Rylan', 14^th birthday, which was the next day. And my friend, Heidi came over to visit also. Caden loves her and even though he was really grumpy much of the time she was there, he was happy to see her. I am so glad I am able to see Heidi whenever I am in Spokane. I appreciate her friendship! Thank you for coming to visit us!

 Happy birthday Rylan!

 My sweet friend, Heidi!

The next morning at the cardiology office, the nurse did an EKG and took vitals. Then Dr. Burg did her exam and asked me a lot of questions. She really wanted to do an echo on that visit to check the fluid levels around Caden's heart since one hadn't been done since the day after his discharge from the hospital. There weren't any openings in the echo schedule, but she had them squeeze us in because she wasn't comfortable sending us back to Walla Walla without that information. 

I was more than happy for them to do the echo because it would give me peace of mind also. However, I knew that Caden would NOT be happy about it! He's had so many echos lately and some of them have been very long. He is overly sensitive right now due to his surgery and doesn't like being touched at all, let alone having a probe pushing firmly down on your chest, neck, and below the rib cage. I was definitely concerned as to how well he would cooperate and if they would be able to get the images they needed or not.

When the ultrasound tech came out to get us, she introduced herself and told me she remembered Caden from doing his echo last year. I told her he did not like echos at all and she really listened to me. She asked questions as to why he didn't like echos and tried to identify exactly what it was so that she could make it better for him. She wanted him to be comfortable with her and give him a positive experience. After talking to both of us, she let him pick out what movie he wanted to watch while she did the echo. Once the movie was in, she waited until the movie started (not just the opening credits) before touching him with the probe. I have to say that she was AWESOME! She told me she would just do a fluid and effusion check with this echo and they would do a complete echo another time. 

She was so gentle with Caden and was able to get all the images she needed without him complaining once! That is a pretty big accomplishment these days, especially right after surgery when everything is sore and tender! Thank you so much, Kim for taking the time to understand Caden's fears and working with me to give him a comfortable and positive experience.

After the echo we went back in to see Dr. Burg and she told us everything looked great and there was no fluid around Caden's heart at all. Yay! :) So right now the plan is for us to see her in Walla Walla on May 23 for a follow up. That is the day they come down here for their monthly clinic. I am really happy that things are going so well! What a huge relief and blessing to us!

We got home Wednesday afternoon, April 24 and get to be home for good now. Greg's parents left first thing Thursday morning to go back to their house and take care of all the things they had to do there. We are so grateful they were able to be here to take care of Kyler while we were gone. I really feel this was the best option for him to stay in his regular routine of school, piano lessons, swimming lessons, etc. It helped keep his life “normal” while we were gone. And, having both of his grandparent's complete attention was pretty nice. They doted on him and he loved every minute of it! 

Goodbye Grandma Mary & Grandpa Dan

Saturday, April 27 we went to church and our pastor made an announcement up front to the congregation about us and how well Caden was doing. What a blessing to be part of a church family who has been lifting us up in prayer during this time in our lives. During church Kyler brought me to tears. All on his own, he filled out a prayer request/praise card for Caden. I had to take a picture of it because it was so sweet! I love my boys so much and I am so glad to see Kyler praising God for Caden's smooth surgery and speedy recovery. 

We have until May 21 for Caden's restrictions for sternal precautions. This seems like a very long time away! But that means no contact sports, no monkey bars, no climbing, etc. And this includes riding a bike because if he falls it could be bad. But even though he can't ride his own bike right now, Greg was able to take him on a bike ride. All three boys went on a bike ride Saturday afternoon. Kyler rode his bike, and Greg pulled Caden in the bike trailer. I'm not sure we've used the trailer since we moved here, but it was sure nice to have it still! Caden was so happy to go on a bike ride and enjoy the beautiful day! 

On Sunday morning, Greg took Kyler to our church for his “marathon.” Our church is doing a kid's marathon which has the kids running almost 3 miles every Sunday for 9 weeks, so that by the end of the 9 weeks, they will have run a complete marathon – 26.2 miles. It is a fundraiser for our church building project and the kids are supposed to get sponsors to donate money. Some days Kyler has been more excited about doing this than others. But he is committed to it at this point, so he has to do it. On April 28, he was very excited to start running and took off FAST! The photographer captured a great shot of him running full speed ahead! Greg said he didn't maintain that for long and had a hard time completing the run because he was so tired. There are two more weeks left now before they are done.

Kyler is #12 right up front!

One of the biggest highlights of being home was having Caden's friend Brooke-Lynn come over to play. She is a friend from preschool and the kids love each other. It was so much fun to have her, her little brother, Carter, and their sweet mom, Jessica, come over for a few hours on April 30. Caden is really missing preschool right now and having a friend come over was just the thing he needed! And they brought him some wonderful, fun toys and activities to play with. Thank you guys! We love you!

Caden and Brooke-Lynn

Since then, we've pretty much been laying low. It has been challenging keeping Caden from doing all the things he's not supposed to be doing... He is feeling just fine and doesn't understand that his bones still need to heal from where they split his chest open. It doesn't matter how many times I try to explain it to him in different ways, it's just a hard concept. He has been in tears more than once because he can't ride his bike, or climb things, or go to the playground and play like normal.

I have had a hard time getting motivated to do much of anything. I don't know if it's because we don't have anywhere we need to be and that makes me lazy. Or if it's because I am still processing the emotional stress of Caden's open heart surgery. Either way, I am trying to be more productive. We have some very dear friends coming to visit us in June so I am using that as motivation to get some projects done around the house that I've been putting off. Primarily I am working to complete the refinishing of a bunk bed set I got last year. Everything is now sanded and I have one coat of stain on one side of everything. There is still lots more work to go, but I am going to get it done before our friends arrive!

Thank you all so much for your prayers for us and Caden as we continue to keep him from doing too much. He has less than two weeks left of his restrictions and we will be so happy when that is over! Then we will actually be able to enjoy our summer! :) I'm sorry I was so slow in posting an update but I just had a hard time sitting down at the computer to get it done after I got home. Thanks for checking in. We are so grateful for all the love, prayers and support we have received!