Henry is doing great!  Cutting teeth and working on walking and getting ready to turn 10 months old next week!  Sorry for the brief update, but just wanted to post that things are going well and share a few photos.

Henry the CHUNK!

Henry is doing great! He has been given clearance to swim and has been very busy visiting all of Dave and Dana's friends and family. Keep praying for his continued strength and for those little insides to keep growing. He's with out a doubt a fighter just like mom and dad..... and if you can't tell he's putting on the LBS as well! Dana's arms should be pretty tone by the time he's up and walking! In the photo you have Maja giving his little buddy a kiss. Maja was very excited to have been told that he can now kiss Henry on the head and hands instead of his feet. Not that he minded kissing his feet, but hey..... we all know if Henry is anything like his daddy his feet probably really stink! Have a great week!

-Uncle Danny

Henry Doing Okay

Henry went to Children's Mercy today to get his staples out. The incision bled a little when the staples were removed and Dana and Dave were told to keep giving Henry his extra antibiotics to keep infection away. The echo looked good, but the x-ray still showed signs of swelling so Henry will still have to take meds for the swelling for a few more weeks. Not exactly what they wanted to hear, but things should be fine soon. Henry is still quite sore by the time evening comes. Hopefully this will pass soon as well. We are all waiting for him to start his chattering again!

Just 5 days after surgery, Henry continues to amaze all of his doctors, nurses and family. He was discharged this afternoon and resting well at home. He was more than happy to get in the front door and see his dog Molly, his cat Tessa, and everything else familiar. The doctors said they could see no good reason why he should not be at home. He breezed through this open heart surgery! We are so thankful and happy. He will be very sore for about a week. He will go back to Children's Mercy on Thursday to get his staples out. Most of the swelling has gone down and he really does look amazing for all that he has been through over the past few days. Mom and Dad look both exhausted and relieved.

One Day After Surgery

Henry is doing very well and recovering quickly. The ventilator was removed at 3:00 a.m. this morning. Dana was able to feed him a bottle later on. He was very excited to get it. He hates missing meals! He is happy to sit up and is getting all his meds by mouth which is wonderful. He should be moving out of intensive care sometime in the next day or so. He is enjoying watching his Mickey Mouse movies on the dvd player in his room. He will be getting oxycodone instead of morphine tonight to avoid what happened last stay in the hospital. He is still pretty swollen in the head and neck area.

God works in such mysterious ways. Today, while sitting in the picu waiting room, I met a family from Wichita. They mentioned that their daughter had just had heart surgery from the same surgeon as Henry. When we got to talking, it turns out their daughter has Heterotaxy Syndrome just like Henry. She is just six weeks old and had her shunt put in today. She was also born without a pulmonary artery and liver and stomach reversed. How strange life is!

Dana and Dave seem to be holding up quite well, although I know how tough this is for them. I know how comforting it is to them that everyone continues to keep their family in prayers. Thanks!

Seeing Henry

Dana and Dave just came out from seeing Henry. He does have baby handcuffs on to prevent him from moving too much and is starting to wake up a little bit. They are planning to remove the ventilator between 5 and 8 tonight if things go okay. He is now breathing over the ventilator which is really good. They say he will be REALLY MAD when he wakes up. Dana and Dave plan on staying at Ronald McDonald House tonight which means they will be right here with Henry. More to follow.....

He looks good, or so we have been told

Mr. Henry will be up in his room as soon as all the patients have been settled. The tornado warning has ended and he will be leaving the or. Both doctor and nurse say he looks great! We are so thankful. After sitting in the stairwell for so long, Dana is a little more than anxious to get to her baby. They are going to try to get the ventilator off tonight. Please keep praying for everyone in this hospital. The stories are so heartbreaking.

He is out, kind of

Henry is out of surgery, but cannot leave the operating room. A tornado has touched down a short ways away and they are not going to take him out of the operating room until it has passed. They are moving all patients in the halls against the walls. Henry is safer in the operating room. We are all sitting in the waiting area of the picu with other families. There are no windows in here. We are in here with families who have kids in the picu from the Joplin tornado. The stories they are telling us are horrendous. Pray for all of them as well.

Almost finished!

The nurse came and led the family into the PICU waiting room. Henry is off of bi-pass and doing great. He should be up in recovery in the next 30 minutes. Dana and Dave are very nervous about seeing him for the first time. It is always tough. Not only prayers for Henry, but for Dana and Dave as well.

Update on Surgery

The nurse just came out to tell Dana and Dave that Mr. Henry is doing very well! He is now on bi-pass and close to halfway through his surgery. They said that Henry talked and smiled at them before he went to sleep. Go figure! Keep praying, he is doing well!

Surgery Day

Dana and Dave and family are in surgery waiting room at Children's Mercy Medical Center. Henry is safely in the arms of God and Dr. Lofland and sleeping soundly on the operating table. They have just begun to put him under. This should take about an hour. He actually went off to the operating room dozing like he knew exactly what was going to happen. The surgery should take between three to four hours after he has been put to sleep. More to follow as the surgery progresses!

The Next Surgery "The Glenn"

The bidirectional procedure is the surgery used to prepare the heart for the Fontan Procedure. It is a surgery in which a detour (shunt) is created from the aorta to the pulmonary artery. The surgery is performed on infants and young children who are born with a congenital heart defect that reduces the amount of oxygen rich blood circulating throughout the body. These infants often show signs such as a bluish tint (cyanosis) to the skin, lips, fingernails and other parts of the body. Although a successful procedure will improve immediate signs and symptoms of the underlying heart defect, the procedure does not correct the heart defect. Other surgeries are usually necessary in the future to repair the defect itself. This second surgery will probably be done when Henry is about three years old.

Although not exactly a Fontan operation a bidirectional Glenn (BDG) shunt is similar to it and is called a type of "Partial Fontan" operation. It is also called Bidirectional Cavo Pulmonary Shunt (BCPS).

The bidirectional shunt is performed by connecting the superior vena csvsa (SVC) to the right branch of he pulmonary artery using fine sutures, and dividing or tying up the pulmonary artery. Now, venous blood from the head and upper limbs will pass directly to the lungs, bypassing the right ventricle. The venous blood from the lower half of the body however will continue to enter the heart.

At a second operation, the lower body venous blood will also be diverted to the lungs, thus creating the "complete" Fontan circulation.

The bio directional Glenn shunt is preferred in very small babies - below 2 years of age - in whom the lung vessel resistance is still quite high, and in borderline cases with abnormal pulmonary arteries. While avoiding the risk of failure of a complete Fontan operation, it also partly relieves symptoms. It is well after the lung vessel resistance is low, a change to complete Fontan is possible. Otherwise nothing further is done.

This is just s brief description of the surgery. Hopefully this will help understand exactly what Henry will be going through during his next operation.

Please keep prayers coming!

HENRY ON HANBACK.COM

I emailed Mr. Hanback as soon as we got back to keep him updated on Henry as he had asked last November. For those of you who don't know him, he was the hunter that posted about Henry and Dave's deer last year when Henry was going through his first surgery. Well, I checked the blog today and Mike has already set to work getting the prayers going for the upcoming surgery on May 25th. If you want to check it out you can go to http://www.mikehanback.com/blog/index.cfm/2011/4/22/Easter-Prayers-for-Baby-Henry . Mike is an excellent writer and hunter to boot. He does things the right way, which is why I enjoy watching his show on Versus during the season. Be sure to check out the comments section as well. Several people who don't know Henry, Dave, and Dana are sending the nicest messages and prayers his way.

That being said, stay strong Henry. Mom and dad are.

Love you.
Uncle Danny 

We Have a Date!

After hearing from the cardiologist today, it was announced that Henry's open heart surgery will be on May 25th. This is both exciting, because we finally have a date, and scary because it will be open heart surgery. We have a little over a month to keep Mr. Henry healthy and strong before surgery. I find that thinking about the surgery just causes so much anxiousness that whenever it enters my mind, I just say a little prayer for Henry. Hopefully God will be looking down on our precious Henry and his mom and dad on that day in May. I am sure he will have extra guardian angels at his side. Please also keep Dana and Dave in your thoughts and prayers as the anticipation is almost as bad as the actual surgery. They will need to keep their minds occupied on other things. One great event to look forward to is the arrival of Henry's new cousin Maja! I am sure after surgery they will become great playmates.

Henry Feeling Great!

Grandma Darcy reluctantly left Dana and Dave and Henry today. Henry's kisses and hugs will definitely be missed. Henry was very sore for several days after the heart cath. He took tylenol for a few days to help out his aches from being poked like a pin cusion. This morning he woke up ready to go. He had his first "real" bath since the heart cath, got dressed and was back to himself. It truly is amazing how fast he bounced back. He will need to get strong before the next big hurdle. Keep praying!

I'm Awake!

Out of recovery and off to have a bottle! Mr. Henry woke up immediately after removing the tube from his throat. Of course, he was hungry! Dr. Karlson told Dana and Dave that everything looked really good and growing properly, even the pulmonary veins, yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because of the heavy load of RSV patients, surgery will be scheduled in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Mom and Dad should be able to bring Henry home sometime this afternoon after 3. We are so thankful for all of your thoughts and prayers. Praise God!

In Recovery

Henry made it through the heart cath with flying colors despite the fact that he had nothing to eat for over 8 hrs. That's pretty rough on a starving little fellow. Mom and Dad to meet with Dr. Karlson in the next little bit. Henry will be in recovery for about an hour. More to follow. Keep praying!

The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades!

Henry will be going to Children's Mercy bright and early tomorrow morning for his heart cath. Even though this procedure is a minor one, it is still very scary. Henry will be on a ventilator for a short time. After, the doctors will meet with Dave and Dana to let them know just exactly what is going on "inside" of Henry. After his cardiologist has her post cath meeting with other cardiologists on Friday a date will be looked at for Henry's next open heart surgery. Talk at the hospital today was probably not until May because there is still so much RSV at the hospital and that would be very dangerous for Henry. So for now, he must just stay as healthy as possible so that when he is scheduled he is ready to go. As usual, he hammed it up for the doctors and nurses today at his pre-op appointment. He was so good despite having to be checked by numerous physicians. He even got to see one of his favorite doctors, Lori today! Mom and dad have to be up at the hospital very, very early in the morning, so hopefully Henry will cooperate with his feeding schedule. I will update after the cath and again when Henry is out of recovery. Please pray for a speedy recovery and good news!

Henry Growing Fast

Mr. Henry has taken quite a growth spurt over the past few weeks. When the nurse came to the house to give him his RSV shot on Thursday he weighed in at a hefty 12 pounds 10 ounces. He his surprising everyone, including his doctors who did not expect him to reach 10 pounds before his next surgery. He is now lovingly referred to as "Chunky Monkey". Mom and Dad cannot seem to fill him up. He has become quite demanding for food. Not only is he still eating his regular bottles, but he is also enjoying bananas, oatmeal, pears, applesauce, peas, squash and much to his dislike sweet potatoes. Hallelujah! Henry is now (once in a while) sleeping up to seven hours during the night. Mom and Dad are finally getting some much needed sleep. Please continue your prayers for Dave, Dana and Henry. They will be going to Children's Mercy in the next few weeks for Henry's heart cath. The doctors will insert a camera into his vein to make sure there are no surprises before his next surgery. This is not a major procedure, but he still will be under anesthetic and that is always scary. In the meantime, enjoy some more Henry pictures.

Meeting More Family Members

Grandma Darcy will be doing posts and updates on Henry while Danny and Kelli are on their exciting adventure in Ethiopia. In a few short weeks Henry will have as new cousin to share all his toys with.

Last week Henry was introduced to his Great Grandparents from Wyoming. Grandma Carol and Grandpa Tommy enjoyed spoiling Henry and visiting with Dana and Dave. Aunt Jane and Uncle Byron also go in on the fun.

Henry is blessed to have so many family members and friend who care so deeply for him.

Heart cath scheduled

Henry is scheduled to have his heart cath on March 29.  The doctors are anticipating this to be a relatively quick procedure and hope to have him home by that same evening.  From there, plans will be made on how and when to move forward.  We're praying the heart cath will reveal that even more healing has taken place over the last four months than the doctors are expecting. 

Henry had a doctor's appointment today and he is now weighing in at 11 lbs 8 oz!  The doctors had originally said they wouldn't do surgery until he weighed in at 10 lbs, and so this is wonderful news that he is growing and getting stronger.  Because we're still in prime season for RSV, surgery won't be happening for at least another month, so he still has several weeks to pack on the pounds.  And, to celebrate the good news: Henry got to add oatmeal to his diet!





The next plan is for there to be a heart cath in 3-4 weeks to get a better idea of how the vessels and heart have changed since the first surgery and see how the shunt is holding up.  From there, a plan should start to be formed on when his next surgery will happen.   I hope you'll join me in praying that the heart cath reveals very good things!

Happy Valentine's Day---New Henry photos!

Mike Hanback is a hunter I follow on tv. His show is on the VERSUS network, and he also has an outstanding blog on hunting. I sent him a photo and the story about my brothers deer last November. He gets a lot of emails and finally dug this one out of his box. I got an email today about an update on Henry, so I sent him one. A few hours later on my lunch break I go to check out his blog and sure enough, there's Dave, Dave's deer, and Henry! Pretty neat stuff! Check it out at the sight below. It will be the Feb. 10th post about a crazy-tine Kansas deer.

http://www.mikehanback.com/index.cfm

Love you Henry.

Uncle Danny

Photos from New Mexico



Henry's Big Adventure!

Henry got clearance from his doctors to take a little vacation!  They have arrived safely in New Mexico in time for David's javelina hunt.  On the drive there, the weather was nice enough that they were able to get him out of the car for a few minutes and give Henry some of his first real views of the outside world: trees, blue sky, grass!  Henry: there is excitement in this world other than your ceiling fan :)  In fact, he has already made a new friend: 

Henry and Moses

To David, Dana, and Henry:  enjoy your time away and with your other set of grandparents, aunts, and uncles (we've been selfish with you long enough, I guess it's time to learn to share).  We look forward to your safe return!