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!