We're home...and I'm a slacker

My DEEPEST apologies for totally SLACKING on the blog this past week!!

We arrived home safely (and fairly uneventfully) last Tuesday afternoon and have had a good 10 days settling in, celebrating Christmas and enjoying time with the kiddos, my parents and all of Adam’s family. Our adjustment home has been quite easy – Kade and Adry continually remind us how much they missed us, but with lots of hugs and kisses, we’re all well on our way to forgetting how long we’ve been apart.  Grammy Katie and Tampa John headed back to South Dakota yesterday after a LONG 27 days in Kansas City! We were sad to see them go, but they’re glad to be back in their own beds, I’m sure, and Kade asks me every few hours when we get to go to Yankton to see them again! HA! Soon, Kade…soon J We had a follow up appointment with Koal’s cardiologist last Friday, and he was happy with Koal’s progress after surgery and so pleased with how everything went in Boston as well. It was great to see him and have him reassure us that Koal is healing well and that he’ll watch everything closely over the next weeks, months and years so we can prepare for whatever the next steps may be in Koal’s care. We head to the pediatrician tomorrow for another follow up, and will let you know any news from her also.

One thing we ask you to continue praying for is SLEEP.  We’ve had little…and it’s taking its toll J Adam is fighting a cold/sinus infection and the bags under my eyes are big and ugly, and I lack the amount of patience I know I need with the munchkins.  Adry came down with a cold a few days ago, and it turned to croup Tuesaday night.  She’s a NEW WOMAN today, and seems 100% better, so we’re praying that she only continues to improve and that Koal and Kade do NOT come down with the same thing.  Koal hasn’t been sleeping well either since we returned home, though he’s not sick…just fussy and often inconsolable.  He has napped TONS better the past two days, however, which is a huge blessing when it comes to being able to spend time with Kade and Adry, as well as make dinner, do dishes and fold an occasional load of laundry (or at least a shirt or two!).  We’re hoping the improving nap habits will turn into wonderful overnight sleeping habits soon as well.

Finally, even though I’m a few days late, we want to wish you all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS from our family to yours.  We are overwhelmed with JOY this season as we look back on 2011 and what an AMAZING year it has been. God has blessed us in INCREDIBLE ways, walking beside us through some very difficult as well as some unbelievably WONDERFUL times. What a mighty, awesome God we serve…and what a fantastic gift He gave us in His Son, Jesus.  May God bless  you abundantly in 2012!

Going Home: Kansas City here we come!

Our follow up appointment this morning went well and we were cleared to FLY HOME TOMORROW!!! WaaaaaHoooooo!! J We are soooooo excited and booked our flight back to KC earlier today.  We will fly out of Boston tomorrow morning and get in to KC mid-afternoon.  Please pray for safe and quiet flights back, as well as a restful last night here tonight.  Poor little Koal had another rough night last night, and I think on top of recovering from major surgery and a stomach bug, he’s teething, too (and not quietly and pain-free like his brother and sister did)! Can’t wait to get home and be with the kids and our families soon!

Discharged!

We’re out!! Waaaahoooooo!! It’s wonderful to be able to say that…and SO amazing that it’s TRUE! We were discharged from Children’s Hospital Boston around noon today and enjoyed a restful afternoon and evening. We have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Powell tomorrow morning and are praying we’re get the okay to fly home soon! Please pray that all goes well tomorrow and that Koal will continue to gain strength and recover more each day.  Pray that details to fly home would fall into place easily and that our adjustment once home, especially for Kade and Adry, would be smooth and enjoyable.  I CANNOT WAIT to hug those munchkins tight and kiss their faces over and over! Man, have we ever missed them…though we know they are still having a blast being spoiled by ALL their grandparents! Thanks Grandmas and Grandpas! And, thank YOU, again, for all your continued thoughts and prayers.  We are humbled and grateful for how our family has been blessed by those around us that continue to lift us up in prayer. 

Goodbye CHB!  Thanks for everything!!

Roomies

It’s been five nights since we’ve been out of ICU and in that time we’ve had four different roommates and one new room! We’ve seen so many come and go and last night it was actually US that “went” – but only to a private room as we were ‘quarantined’ as to not infect anyone else with whatever this bug is Koal seems to have!  As of tonight, Koal is doing alright – no puking today, but lots of icky diapers and overall just not himself. We are praying for a restful night, and of course that he’ll be well enough tomorrow for us to be discharged. Since I have very little to report, I thought I’d give you a run-down of our different roommates since we moved to the cardiac floor as it’s been quite a wide array of characters, and I just want to have the info recorded so I can look back and remember.

Night one out of ICU we moved into our room with a seven year old girl named Katrina with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  She had surgery earlier in the week to have her pacemaker replaced, and we spent only one night with her and her mom before they were discharged.  She was a sweet, cute little gal who loved Koal and enjoyed asking lots of questions about him.  Unfortunately, she cried a lot during the night, though that didn’t seem to bother Koal, as that was the best night he’s had post-surgery.

After Katrina and her mom left, we had one sweet night alone in our room.  Must have been “too quiet” for Koalton, though, because he was up a LOT.

The following morning we welcomed our second roomie, a 6 month old boy named Hunter who also has HLHS. He had a catheterization and was spending the night for observation.  He didn’t seem to have a great night either, but his mom took him in his stroller and wheeled him around the halls alot, so we heard nothing but Koal crying that night.  Again, maybe it was “too quiet” when Hunter was out?!?

Within an hour of Hunter and his mom checking out, 8 month old Phoebe and her parents joined us.  Phoebe had a small surgical procedure done by catheterization as well, and also only had to spend the one night in the hospital.  Phoebe wasn’t a great sleeper, much like Koal, but she and her family are of Chinese decent, so they played loud Chinese music all night!  Both mom and dad spent the night as well (which is totally against the rules, but no one said anything to them, and I just had to be careful using the bathroom and nursing!), and Koal was just as fussy and up a lot that night, so I was at least glad that Phoebe was as well.  Pheobe’s parents were very nice and wanted to know all about Koal and his problems and procedures, but there was a definitely language barrier, so Adam and I had a tough time understanding a lot of our conversations with them! HA!

Night 5 a young couple and their 4 month-ish old baby, Charlie, moved in.  We exchanged pleasantries, but it was nearly 9pm when they came in, so we know little about their story. Koal had a terrible night this night as well, so I spent hours walking him in the stroller (since we were finally tube-free and able to disconnect wire to get out as needed).  Night 5 was also the night of the transfer and quarantine as Koal puked over and over.  So, half of night 5 was spent in our new private room, where we are glad we’re not waking anyone else up, BUT Koal is not allowed to leave, so my “strolling” area is VERY small!

Here’s hoping night 6 is quiet and uneventful!

Too good to be true

Litlte Koal had a terrible night again – this time with lots of vomiting and diarrhea.  Poor little dude…no fun for anyone! He (and therefore, I) only slept for about ½ hour total before 6 AM, when they gave him some meds to help him sleep and FINALLY left him alone to do it. He seems much better today, but they will most likely keep us another night to make sure he’s really on the mend.  The overnight puking excitement led to a 2 AM room change and “quarantine” of sorts for the little guy.  It’s not known whether this is a reaction to some new sedation meds Koal received yesterday, or if he’s caught a stomach bug that’s been going around. Either way, please pray that the little man would recover quickly and feel better fast, and that this would not slow us down from flying back to Kansas City early next week.

Thanks for your continued prayers for our little man. We appreciate it so much!

Doing well

Koal’s echocardiogram this morning went well. He spent a good portion of the day sleeping off the sedation from the echo, but since he had another night of partying ‘til dawn LAST night, I supposed that’s expected.  Here’s hoping he didn’t sleep so much today that he repeats the partying tonight!

The echo showed that the surgery was indeed successful and that flow and function look great. There is a bit of tricuspid valve stenosis (narrowing) that Koal’s doctors will continue to monitor, as well as a small hole between the ventricles. Neither are immediate problems, and Dr. Powell did say that there’s a good chance Koalton will “grow into” both in time and they won’t ever cause complications because they are so mild in nature.  We were so thankful to get a good report concerning his heart, and all docs confirmed that we’re set to be discharged TOMORROW!!! WAAAAA HOOOOOOO!!  We will have a follow up appointment on Monday morning, and as long as things go well between now and then, we should be able to return to Kansas City by mid-week.  We are so thrilled and it is wonderful to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.   

P.s. Sorry for the lack of pictures the past few days...I've tried to upload them, but the blog host site seems to be having some issues!  When it's remedied, I'll post lots of pics on here!

5 to go!

Deuteronomy 32:3
I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

We continue to stand in awe of how God is blessing us daily and keeping His hand on sweet Koal as he recovers (so well, and quickly, too!). The little man had another good day, having his second chest tube removed this morning, along with the pacing wires to his heart.  That means we’re down to 5 tubes/wires – nothing compared to the 20 we started with – and to be fair, three of them are leads that monitor his heart rhythm and pace, and they are tiny and will probably stay on until we walk out the door! The IV in his foot remains, though it is only there in case they need it, as he’s taking all of his meds orally now.  And, #5 is his oxygen saturation wire, which he’s managed to kick off about 80% of the time anyway.  J

While medically Koal seems to be doing great, he’s still pretty fussy A LOT – nights AND days, and that’s been tough.  He seems to be having some trouble sleeping, or getting settled at least, and we had another pretty rough night last night, as well as a cranky babe a lot of today.  Please pray that all of us could get some rest tonight – that Koal could be peaceful and pain-free and all of us could get a great night’s sleep!

Little dude seems to remain pretty swollen and puffy since the surgery as well, so we ask that you pray for healing and recovery in that way if you will.  I felt like he was looking lots better this morning, but tonight he almost looks like he’s having an allergic reaction to something he’s so swollen! He’s on lots of diuretics to help flush the fluid, so pray that those continue to work so he can get back to normal size soon.

Please pray also for continued healing of his chest tube sites.  He was leaking quite a bit from the one removed this morning, and they have had to redress the area twice. Pray that the leakage would stop and the site would heal properly. Our echocardiogram is scheduled tomorrow as well, so please pray that it goes well and that the results are as everyone hopes.  We will meet with our cardiologist and surgeon after the echo to discuss the findings and set a game plan for discharge. Saturday or Sunday is still what they’re thinking and we are THRILLED!

Again, we can’t possibly thank you all enough for you continued thoughts and prayers.  We are so blessed by friends and family who support, love and pray for us. Thank you…we love you all so much.

One gone...

Another big day for our little Koal man today.  We started off the morning with a trip back down for another x-ray (they do one each morning that he has his chest tubes in), and he enjoyed the ride again. Then he was given a bit of sedation and they removed one of his tubes! We were hoping to have both gone, but the x-ray showed a bit of air around his left lung. There is always a risk of a lung collapse when removing chest tubes due to the change in pressure, and the air around the lung greatly increases that risk, so the tube stayed. With the remaining chest tube in place, more fluid can drain and the air around the lung can be suctioned off so removal can take place tomorrow morning. Our echocardiogram has been moved to Friday morning, but even with this minor setback, the doc still says discharge can still happen this weekend! Please pray for ease in tomorrow’s procedure to remove Koal’s second chest tube and for a great echo on Friday.

Last night was a rough night for the little man, and therefore me (and our poor nurse, Amy!).  We had the room to ourselves, as the young girl from Monday and Tuesday got to go home.  Good thing we were alone, too, because the little man screamed and cried for hours.  It was much like before the surgery when we were home – only Adam can’t take him in the car for a ride – we can’t even walk or stroll him around as he’s got too many tubes.  Nurse Amy is back tonight (brave girl!), and we have a new roommate,  so please pray that Koalton can stay settled and have a great night’s rest.

We did have a some fun moments with the little stinker today, too.  Adam got him to laugh a couple times and the smiles are becoming much more frequent.  We are so thankful he is starting to feel better little by little – even just enough for a smile occasionally. Thank you for your continued prayers for his recovery. We are overwhelmed by the kind messages we’ve received (thanks facebook!), and the abundant blessings of support from friends and family.

Better and better...

Koal improves more and more every day! We even got some smiles today, so we know our little guy is starting to feel better and get back to himself!

He was pretty happy to play peek-a-boo with Daddy this afternoon for a while, and he’s been resting well, both last night and today. He was taken off oxygen (though he still has his little round cheek stickers on!), and his O2 saturation numbers have been great. You can see his incision site in this picture, too – and don’t worry, it looks worse than it is.  It’s healing nicely, as are his IV poke sites and blisters under his arms.  He managed to pull so hard on BOTH his hand IVs yesterday and last night that he earned himself a foot IV, which they covered in a diaper for protection.  Only took him about 4 seconds to kick the diaper off. Little stinker!  BUT, it’s easy enough to put it back on, and at least it’s the diaper not the IV!  Adam calls it his ‘club foot’ and rightly so, as that is exactly what it look like. Koal also got to take a ride in a stroller down to get an x-ray this morning (see pic below), and loved being out of the room with so many new things to look at. Busy day for the little guy, but he’s doing well and we’re praying for another quiet, restful night (for everyone!).

Some specifics we ask you to pray for are:

*Ease and no pain with the removal of Koal’s chest drainage tubes tomorrow morning.

*For excellent results from the follow-up echocardiogram scheduled for Thursday morning.

*For God to use us to encourage those around us here and show others His love.

*For continued healing and uneventful recovery time for our little man.

Koal graduated!

We moved from ICU to the cardiac floor today! I actually think it was the best part of Koal’s day, as he LOVED being pushed through the halls seeing all the lights and doors and people along the way.  We’re down to 10 “things” on the little guys body, BUT the IV left in his left hand doesn’t even have anything hooked to it (unless a dose of medicine is being given temporarily), and Koalton manages to kick or pull off the oxygen saturation sensor nearly all of the time. HA…what a little stinker!

Dr. Powell stopped by this afternoon and is still so pleased with Koal’s recovery.  His plan is to take out the chest tubes tomorrow (let’s hope so, ‘cuz they are the most annoying and most painful for the little dude), and do a follow up echo to check his heart function and flow on Wednesday or Thursday. In fact (dare I say it…don’t want to jinx us!), we even heard him utter possible discharge this weekend! WOW!  We will see…no expectations…just sounds too good to be true, and we just want our little guy to recover well. We will then stay for a few days post discharge in order to follow up with Dr. Powell before flying back to Kansas City. We don’t want to end up disappointed if we have to stay longer than expected, but even if we can get home by LATE next week, we’ll make it for Christmas, and that would be an AMAZING blessing!

Koal continues to nurse well and had two poopy diapers today. (Not something I would normally blog about, but this is a VERY good thing when recovering from surgery! Haha) He has been awake much more today as well, and still slept peacefully for periods throughout the day. Please pray for a quiet and restful night for the little man, as last nights was NOT that way, and now that we’re on the floor, we have a roommate, who I am sure will not want to be up listening to a baby cry all night. Thank you for your continued support, thoughts and prayers as we journey through this time. We are so thankful for the blessings God continues to bestow on us and how we constantly feel Him with us daily.

Happy birthday Kade!!!

Four years ago today we welcomed out Kadem Michael into the world! Can’t believe he is four, and we are so SAD to not be with him and hug him and tell him how much we love him.  LUCKILY he will get to see 2 grandmas and 2 grandpas today to tell him all that for us!

Kade, we love you and miss you SO very much! We are so proud of the sweet, smart, funny little man you have become! You love your little brother and sister amazingly well, and you are such a good big brother – teaching them so many things and watching over them always.  We pray that you will grow to be a man after God’s heart, using all your amazing gifts and talents to bring Him glory and show His love to those around you always. We thank God every day for you and that He’s given us the chance to be your parents.  You are an incredible blessing and we love you SO MUCH! Happy birthday, buddy!

Day 3 Post-Op

We’re down 4 tubes as of tonight!  (Though, we did gain one…) That puts us at only 12, and the 4 removed today were 3 of the ‘big’ ones!  This morning around 11am Koal was extubated and taken off the ventilator! His  breathing tube (which was technically 2 tubes!) was replaced with a nasal cannula to supply oxygen to him for a while longer, but it is such an improvement! They also removed his large arterial line from his groin area and the huge CVP line from the vein in his neck! Along with the loss of lines, I was able to hold him to give him some Pedialite after the breathing tube came out and then he got to nurse again late this afternoon! He is still pretty groggy, but was awake on and off all day, and overall it has been an excellent day and they are even talking about sending us off to the floor and out of the ICU tomorrow…would that be awesome?! We won’t hold our breath for that move, but we are thrilled that he continues to improve and recover so well!

Please continue to pray for Koal’s irritated underarms. The blisters popped overnight last night, and today they applied some meds and dressed them, but they still look pretty red and sore. Poor little dude!

Pray for Koal’s continued recovery, of course, as well.  Our cardiologist said he’s so pleased with his improvements thus far, and we hope things continue forward with no setbacks.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Day 2 Post-Op

Another good day here for little Koal.  We started post-op with 20 total tubes/wires attached and we are down to 15 now! Gone are his catheter, an atrial pressure sensor, a thermometer, his oxygen and blood flow to the brain sensor (that big black sucker on his forehead in previous pictures), and the oral tube that sucked up gastric fluid from his stomach…we’ll call it the “icky-green-tummy-junk-sucker.” J  By tomorrow at least two more should be coming out, too! This morning our nurse said the breathing tube would come out today, but after shift changes and the little man still being pretty relaxed and sleepy, they told us it will be tomorrow morning now, instead.  That is, unless he wakes up feisty in the night. HA! We will see…I believe the respiratory therapist said some about taking it out during the night if Koal wakes up and decides to try to take it out himself. Haha!  He’s opened his eyes a number of times and looked around today, and moves around a lot. His numbers are great, too, and he’s been stable and doing well all day.  Praise God for another uneventful day of healing and rest!

*Please pray for a Koal to have another good night and that he could be extubated tomorrow morning without any complications.

*Please pray for continued rest and healing for his little body and for all the doctors and nurses overseeing his care.

*Pray also for healing from some blisters and a rash Koalton has developed under his arms. It’s quite weird (sensitive skin?? An allergy??), and a bit gross (DO NOT look at the pic below if you’re sqweemish!), but we definitely don’t want them to get any worse.

Eeeew, gross!

Day 1 Post-Op

Just a quick update to let you know Koal is doing very well.  He was stable all night and all his numbers have been good. Dr. del Nido and Dr. Powell both stopped by and said they were pleased with his progress and they think he’s doing well.  They began giving him morphine and a sedative and just took him off the muscle relaxer that keeps him paralyzed and we expect to see some movement in the next couple of hours. He’s still heavily sedated and will remain on the ventilator until Sunday, if not longer. We warned the nurses he might get crazy and try to pull out tubes, but they’re ready. J HOPEFULLY he’ll start to move and wake up, but be loopy enough from sedation to not care one bit about all his attachments.

Thanks you for your continued prayers for his recovery. Please pray that Koal could get rid of the fluids that have built up. It just takes time and is not an issue at all, but the sooner he does that, the sooner meds will work, he’ll begin to wake up and he’ll be on the road to the next steps of recovery! Pray also that he will start to move and wake up comfortably and peacefully.  We are excited to see him move around a bit and even open his eyes, even if he is sedated and “out of it.” Pray also for a restful night this evening as he adjusts to his new regimen of medications.

Surgery day #3

Hanging out in the Cardiac ICU…

18-ish tubes, wires and lines on this kiddo!

The goal tonight is to try to regulate his blood pressure and heart rate, as well as let him rest and recover.  Pray that all things will regulate and normalize soon.

Surgery day #2

He’s done! After about 6 ½ hours in surgery, Koalton is all sewn up and doing well!  We just spoke with Dr. del Nido and he said everything went very well. There were no surprises or complications and he was able to do the repair exactly as he had hoped and we had discussed. Doc said he had no issues with the placement of the patch to route his left ventricle to his aorta (a concern when dealing with the tricuspid valve and in the space so near the area that controls the heart’s rhythm). He was also able to place a conduit (tubing) from his right ventricle to his pulmonary artery that is quite large and should be able to sustain him for 6 to 7 years before needing replacement! Praise God!

The next 48 hours are the most critical following the surgery.  Koal will remain sedated for the next 2 to 3 days as he rests and they monitor his heart and how it is functioning post-op. Sometime on Saturday, most likely, they will let him start to wake up and take him off the ventilator so he can recover more.  Please pray for continued healing and an uneventful rest and recovery time in the next few days.

We will get to see our little man shortly and we are so excited! We will update again later with any further information.  Thank you for your all your prayers…we are so blessed!

I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

Psalm 86:12

Surgery day #1

We arrived at 6am (Eastern time) at CHB and check-in began.  By 7:30am Koal was relaxed and they took him back to prep him for surgery.  We are hanging out in a family waiting area where a liaison nurse updates every hour to hour and a half.  We’ve been told that Dr. del Nido made the incision and started surgery around 8:45am and our little Koalton is now on the heart-lung (bypass) machine while they do the repairs on his heart.  Dr. del Nido will perform an atrial (double) switch procedure along with a Rastelli repair to make the little man’s heart as normally functioning as possible. Surgery is expected to last approximately 6 hours, so it will be nearly 3pm by the time they finish the procedure, and then another 2 hours before we will get to see Koal.  Thank you for your continued prayers. We will update as we know more.

Pray hard...

Tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 6am we will be checking in to Children’s Hospital Boston for Koal to have his modified double switch open heart surgery. We will keep the blog updated throughout the day as we receive information and as he recovers.

Some specific ways we’d ask you to pray are:

*For God’s hedge of protection around Koal and his tiny body.  For His healing hand to touch our little guy and keep him safe.

*For Dr. Pedro del Nido and his surgical team.  Koal’s will be away from us for approximately 9 hours, and surgery itself will be 5-6 hours.

*For both me and Adam to feel God’s peace and presence through the day as we wait through the procedure.

We thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.  We will update here and facebook as the day progresses.

Joshua 1:9

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

MRI recovery



Koal was such a trooper today and recovered quickly following his MRI and echocardiogram.  We spent about an hour and a half hanging out while he woke up, ate and played a bit following the procedures before they let us leave the hospital. The MRI and echo both looked as expected with no new findings or complications, so we are on track to have surgery on Thursday as planned.  We will enjoy a day “off” tomorrow, with our only agenda item being a short afternoon meeting with Dr. del Nido to discuss Thursday’s procedure.

“‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing…I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

Jeremiah 33:6

MRI and Echo

Pre-op tests, blood work, x-rays and a visit with our cardiologist here (Dr. Powell) all went great yesterday.  We also got a chance to tour the cardiac ICU and cardiac floor. After our time at the hospital we took the train and walked around downtown Boston a bit, checking out some historical sites, strolling through a huge, beautiful park, and finally grabbing a nice bite to eat at a little pub. Koal had a FANTASTIC night (for him!), sleeping from 11pm til 5:30 (when we woke him to feed him one last time before his sedation) without a peep, and then back to sleep for another 2 hours! Perhaps he (and GOD) knew we needed a good night’s rest in light of the week to come.

This morning we came back to CHB and they prepped Koal for his MRI and echocardiogram.  He is currently having his MRI and we look to hear an update in a few minutes.  The MRI should take about 2 hours, and then 2 more hours for the echo. Then we will get to see him as he begins to wake up, and we will wait for him to recover fully. Later today or tomorrow we will likely meet with Koal’s surgeon, Dr. del Nido and Dr. Powell to review the results of the MRI and echo.  Please pray that all results from today’s tests are as expected and that we will be able to proceed with surgery on Thursday as planned. 

7 Months

Our sweet little man is 7 months old today! It has been both a LONG 7 months of trials and challenges, as well as a fantastically quick 7 months of milestones, laughs and joyful, rapid growth of Koalton.  Can’t believe how fast it’s gone, and yet how LONG it seems to have been.

Tomorrow morning we head over to Children’s Hospital Boston for a day full of pre-op tests, meetings with our surgeon, cardiologist and social worker, as well as tours of the cardiac ICU and floor and discussions about the next few days prior to surgery. Koal had his first subway ride today, as we took the “T” to a shopping and dining district this evening to have dinner and walk around a bit.  It was good to get out and we had a delicious seafood dinner and a nice evening to relax before our crazy week begins tomorrow.

Please pray for all our pre-op testing tomorrow. Pray that all goes well and results come back excellent so Koal can be all ready for his surgery Thursday. Pray for continued peace and strength for us as we are tired and Koal is still struggling to get and remain settled at night and we have had little sleep and long nights. We thank God so often for this opportunity to be here to have little Koal’s heart fixed and we are continually grateful for all of you and your thoughts and prayers.