Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Complications with Grace's surgery

Here is the update from Anneke:

Some complications.... Tried to come off bypass, but pressures were too high. Narrowing of arteries, required patching to thicken up. Putting a hole back in heart to even out pressures, if it doesn't work, they'll take out the conduit and try a shunt. Could be several more hours... Please pray, pray, pray!! We're having a difficult time.


I am scared for them, and for sweet little Grace...please be praying my friends!

Prayers, well wishes, and supporting thoughts welcome!






Our friends Anneke and Felix will be doing much waiting today as little Grace is having her open heart surgery today. This is her second open heart surgery, but this one is a bit more complex than her first. It will start at 1230 and this one will be six hours long and consists of the surgeon opening her heart, and restructuring the inside of it. Her mom, Anneke, put this post up yesterday on facebook:

Grace will have the hole in heart closed, the collateral artery branches snipped, and a cadaver "conduit" placed as her pulmonary artery. She'll be on bypass for the entire procedure. Thanks for the prayers!


I know their family will appreciate any prayers, well wishes and/or supporting thoughts. They have also asked that if you are able to, to please light a candle for Grace today. Here is Grace's 'website' that Anneke tries to keep as updated as time allows: http://graceloren.aboutmybaby.com/

I know that all Bree's prayer warriors will be praying away! :)

P.S. The pictures above were from Grace's baptism in February!

We're BAACCKKKK!

We got back into town on Sunday and have been trying to scramble and get life back in order. Getting back into routine and life is harder than you think! Riley is of course testing all the boundaries again to find out what she can and can't do here at home, and she is learning that sitting in timeout is really not that fun. We are up to three timeouts already today!

Bree is adjusting well and will be starting physical therapy on Thursday with Phoenix Children's. She will be having it every Thursday at ten from now on. I am slowly working on getting all of her other appts in order, which I need to call a few of them back today. You'd think that they would answer their phones, but the two times I have called and left a message I have not gotten a call back. SO...I will continue to bug them and leave messages. :)

During our vacation we were able to get a LOT of work done for Adam's parents. We washed, primed and painted the walls in the living room, hallway and their bedroom. Adam and his brother Jason laid wood floors throughout those areas and then they put new electrical sockets, switches and lights in. Adam even crawled up into the attic and rewired some areas so Mama could have a fan in her living room and lights down her hallway. My sister in law Jenn helped Mama to put up some new curtains in the living room and bedroom. We did a lot more little stuff but too many to name!

Even with all of this we tried to fit in one day with all of my other family members (which worked out not as well as I had hoped, but I had explained to everyone that this trip was for Adam's parents ahead of time) We made it out to my Grandma's house on the farm, and I got some really good pictures. (me and my camera!) Overall, I learned a lot during this trip...about how to remodel a house and many new things about family.

Here's some pictures that I have edited so far:

The tiniest daisy of all


Nicholas (our nephew)

Ya-ya (my stepmom) and Riley!

Grandpa's horse Mercedes


Nana crawling down the hallway with Nicholas and Riley



Nicholas peeking through


Cutie Riley