We're out!

Koal was discharged from the hospital earlier today! Waaahhhhooooooo! He's doing great and everything looked good after his chest x-ray this morning, so they sent us on our way! We are so thankful to be out, and Koal is excited to be headed home soon. It's still so amazing that his surgery was less than a week ago, and here he is feeling great and stable enough to be released from the hospital and fly thousands of miles home in the next day or two!

Yesterday, July 3rd, this little nugget turned 6 months old!  Half a stinkin' year!! And what a JOY she is to us!

She's been AMAZING on this trip and most days completely upstaged the patient Koal at the hospital! Haha! Those doctors and nurses love little monkeys like her and she ate up all that attention!!  At one point in the hospital after Koal had his vitals taken and had to take some medicine, he was pretty sad, and in a quiet, sweet little voice, he said to me, "I just want Auvy to come and make me smile."  Awwwwwww...it was adorable...and she REALLY did make him so happy SO many times on this trip. Thank God for little sisters who make us smile.

Your continued prayers are so very appreciated! We will follow up with both Koal's pediatrician and cardiologist in the next couple of weeks once we are back in Kansas City.  His recovery has gone so well thus far and we continue to pray that his scar will heal well will no infections, his chest bone will heal completely with little pain and that he continues to regain energy back as he heals. We will continue to update as he recovers!

Day 5 Post-Op

I don't even have a picture for today but rest assured there was lots of bike riding through the hospital and multiple trips to the garden! Koal is still doing fantastic (good lab values and fluid on chest almost completely gone), and we are still on track for discharge tomorrow! He will have another chest x-ray in the morning and possibly more blood work, and hopefully we'll be cleared to blow this pop stand! No word on follow up yet, but it is INCREDIBLE to think Koal had open heart surgery less than a week ago and we may be out of the hospital tomorrow!!

Thank you for your continued prayers through all of this. God has blessed us in incredible ways!

Day 4 Post-Op

So thankful to say it was another GREAT day for Koal today! This morning he got his pacing wires out, had a IV removed and had an echo. All of his chest bandages were removed when they took out the wires, and his incision site and sutures from the chest tubes all look great.

Koalton was such a trooper for all the procedures, and he earned himself a mini Rubik's Cube and another afternoon of riding the bike around the hospital halls and out in the garden. His appetite continues to increase and he's even becoming better and better at taking all those pain meds they give him.  He and the nurses have quite a system down to get a quick drink of water between every little sip of the meds.

Tomorrow will be another chest x-ray to check the fluid around his lungs, and probably more blood work to make sure all levels are stable there. Our nurse practitioner actually talked about possible discharge for us Monday!!! YAAAAAHOOOOOO!! It just doesn't seem possible that less than a week after open heart surgery out little guy could be ready to go home!! We know any little tiny single thing could throw us off, and we trust that God's timing is perfect for Koal's discharge (and EVERYTHING through this journey), but we are hopeful and excited that the time could be near!

THANK YOU, again, for your continued thoughts and prayers. Pray that Koalton has another great day tomorrow, feeling better and better as the time passes, and that all tests would show great results so that nothing would slow us down from bidding farewell to this lovely medical establishment!

Throwing pennies in the fountain!

Day 3 Post-Op

Another great day for sweet Koal today!  We played in the playroom, rode a bike around the hall and even went outside for a bit. He's also had a big increase in appetite and used the restroom A LOT! The Miralax finally paid off! Haha!

Koal had a morning x-ray that showed a small amount of fluid around his lungs that is thankfully slowly decreasing. He also had a lung scan that showed blood flow is back to being equal to both the right and left lung. What a praise! Because of the fluid, Koalton has been on a large dose of diuretic, causing him to need to use the bathroom ALL THE TIME.  It will help decrease the fluid around his lungs, but sadly keeps us up at night with so many bathroom breaks. Koal's potassium was also a bit low after labs today, so he's been put on a supplement dose of that as well. By the afternoon labs, things looked better with that level, so tomorrow the plan is to take out the pacing wires and do another echo if all levels remain normal.

X-ray time!

Our little buddy seems to be feeling better and better every day. While still sore and sometimes apprehensive of getting on and off his bed, his transitions have become easier and less painful, and we know that will continue. THANK YOU for your continued prayers for his recovery.  God has wrapped his arms around us and we feel and see his work in Koal's recovery every day.