Mom and son reunited at last!!

It's been a good day for the Grimsleys.  Mom was released from the hospital at noon and has been reunited with her little boy.  Kelly and Cara were both able to hold him for about an hour each.  He never seemed as peaceful as he was in Mom's arms. We received some very promising news from the attending doctor but are staying cautiously optimistic.  Since he is doing so well they are going to be lowering the ventilator with the hope of getting him off of it tomorrow.  They have also just started giving him some breast milk through his feeding tube.  So he has a full belly and is sleeping soundly. The doctors have said he is doing better than they ever imagined he would.  Our attending is hoping to be sending him home instead of toward surgery.  We had been told this option was pretty much out of the question but our little man is hanging tough......not surprising......he is a Grimsley!!  The next 48 hours will be very telling, he's been traveling down the right path and pray he continues to do so.  A few bumps are okay but any detour and immediate surgery options are back on the table.  So cautious optimism is our mantra for now.  Keep our little guy in your thoughts and prayers; he needs it right now. 

Mom and son reunited at last!!

It's been a good day for the Grimsleys.  Mom was released from the hospital at noon and has been reunited with her little boy.  Kelly and Cara were both able to hold him for about an hour each.  He never seemed as peaceful as he was in Mom's arms. We received some very promising news from the attending doctor but are staying cautiously optimistic.  Since he is doing so well they are going to be lowering the ventilator with the hope of getting him off of it tomorrow.  They have also just started giving him some breast milk through his feeding tube.  So he has a full belly and is sleeping soundly. The doctors have said he is doing better than they ever imagined he would.  Our attending is hoping to be sending him home instead of toward surgery.  We had been told this option was pretty much out of the question but our little man is hanging tough......not surprising......he is a Grimsley!!  The next 48 hours will be very telling, he's been traveling down the right path and pray he continues to do so.  A few bumps are okay but any detour and immediate surgery options are back on the table.  So cautious optimism is our mantra for now.  Keep our little guy in your thoughts and prayers; he needs it right now. 

Davis Has Arrived!!

Cara went in for a scheduled check up appointment at Children's yesterday at 1:00 and the Cardiologist found an increased amount of fluid around Davis' heart, lungs and abdomen.  They said he was in distress and needed to come out that day.  Cara drove herself to St. Joe's and the family met her there.  Within two hours she was whisked into surgery for an emergency C section.  This was five weeks before his actual due date of April 11th.  Davis Victor Grimsley was born on 3/10/11 at 6:05pm at St. Joe's Hospital in Denver CO.  He weighed 6lbs 12oz and 19.5" long.   He is currently doing very well and is stable under the wonderful care of Children's Hospital.  The doctors  are monitoring his condition and will put together a plan of action in the coming days.  He is stable for now and they are trying a few things to help improve his heart and lungs for the time being.  Mom is doing well after a C section and plans to join Davis and the family at Children's on Saturday.   

Davis Has Arrived!!

Cara went in for a scheduled check up appointment at Children's yesterday at 1:00 and the Cardiologist found an increased amount of fluid around Davis' heart, lungs and abdomen.  They said he was in distress and needed to come out that day.  Cara drove herself to St. Joe's and the family met her there.  Within two hours she was whisked into surgery for an emergency C section.  This was five weeks before his actual due date of April 11th.  Davis Victor Grimsley was born on 3/10/11 at 6:05pm at St. Joe's Hospital in Denver CO.  He weighed 6lbs 12oz and 19.5" long.   He is currently doing very well and is stable under the wonderful care of Children's Hospital.  The doctors  are monitoring his condition and will put together a plan of action in the coming days.  He is stable for now and they are trying a few things to help improve his heart and lungs for the time being.  Mom is doing well after a C section and plans to join Davis and the family at Children's on Saturday.   

Thank You All!

A huge thanks to everyone who has been praying for us and sending positive thoughts our way.  We have felt your love and are sure that is why everything has gone so well.  We could have never made it this far without your love and support.

Thank You All!

A huge thanks to everyone who has been praying for us and sending positive thoughts our way.  We have felt your love and are sure that is why everything has gone so well.  We could have never made it this far without your love and support.

Davis' Background Story

 Davis was diagnosed with Ebsteins at my 20 week ultrasound.  They noticed his heart was very large and sent me to a high risk doctor. That Dr. diagnosed the anomaly and referred me to the cardiology clinic at Children’s Hospital here in Denver. There, they were able to diagnose the severity (which means everything) of his anomaly, which was moderate. A normal heart should take up 1/3 of their chest cavity, and Davis' heart was taking up about 50%. The outlook was decent but had a lot of chance for a bleak turn. It was a very long 15 weeks, but we finally entered the somewhat safe zone where he was big enough and his lungs were mature enough to where they could pull him out if necessary. So we had a lot of hope and stayed very positive.  His heart was about 60-70% of his chest cavity, and the right side of his heart was not pumping any blood out through the pulmonary artery. But the left side was working great and the right valve (the defected one) was still squeezing well.  Our goal is to give him a shunt surgery and then go for the cone surgery once he’s older so he’s left with a “fixed” 4 chamber heart. The backup plan is to give him the 3 step surgery (Norwood 1 then Norwood 2 and then the Fontan operation) which would leave him with only the left side of his heart functioning. We’re told that kids with these surgeries do really well and can still play sports and act normally, but they won’t be Olympic athletes. Oh well, I can live with that.   I’ve been told that structural defects are better than mental since structural can be fixed. I guess there is some truth to that. It’s just making it to surgery that has been so scary thus far.