Tough cookie - 8 days post surgery

Luke wanted you all to see his "war wound". His incision is looking great. The small incision above his belly button is where his chest tube was. You can see he's still on a tiny amount of oxygen and a few monitors. He still also has an I.V. in his foot, although they aren't using that right now. They just like to have it just in case.

This morning's chest x-ray showed a bit more fluid than yesterday, so they have put Luke back on this formula called Portagen. It's basically a non-fat solution, all protein and carbs, which helps reduce any accumulation of fluid from the lymph system. It supposedly tastes horrible and most kids won't take it, but Luke is eating it like a champ.

Please pray that Luke doesn't need another drainage tube put back in (he would if there's not improvement after switching to the portegen). Please also pray that he would come off the oxygen in the next couple days. Rog and I are doing pretty good, we have our ups and downs, but God is so faithful to comfort us and give us strength. As great as it would be to be home, I've come to realize it doesn't really matter where I am because I'm with Luke! I'm sure he's anxious to get home and have the nurses stop bugging him! =)

Hallelujah!

God is SO good and SO faithful. We had a true miracle today. Last night, the surgeon came in to talk to us about the procedure today. He thought that after looking at the latest echocardiogram that Luke would actually need a more complicated and risky surgery, called the Norwood, instead of the D.K.S. we originally thought he would have. They are very similar, but the Norwood just is a bit more difficult to recover from. Well, Luke went in to surgery about 7:30 this morning and they give you a pager for updates. At around 10:30, we got a page that Dr. Cohen wanted to talk to us. That was an incredibly scary walk downstairs! We had no idea what he needed to talk to us about. It's so incredible ... once Dr. Cohen actually was able to see Luke's heart, he didn't think Luke needed the Norwood or the DKS, but a much simpler procedure called the pulmonary artery band. Basically, he put a gortex band around Luke's pulmonary artery, to restrict the blood flow to Luke's lungs. He said he'd be done within an hour, and Luke would now only need to be on the heart-lung bypass machine for 5 minutes. Plus the recovery time is much shorter. He thought we'd be home within a few days to a week. We are praising the Lord. There were about 8 of us last night praying in Luke's room, around his hospital crib, for a miracle and God answered.

Luke will still need his other surgeries, but this is such a good good thing. I am so thankful today for everyone who has been praying for us and loving us through this. I will keep you posted on any Luke updates. He is so amazing. Here is Luke in a nutshell: Almost as soon as they got him to the I.C.U. post-surgery, he started fighting his way out of anesthesia. They actually had to up his medication so he wouldn't wiggle so much! He is a true fighter with a strong will that we absolutely love!

Thank you again everyone. Please continue to pray for his quick recovery. They are thinking they'll be able to take the chest tube and breathing tube out tomorrow. He's already breathing again on his own, but they are regulating his breath with the breathing tube. His incision also looks really good. He will never have a boring show-and-tell, that's for sure!

First Photos!

Very intellectual from the start, as you can see ...

My first good nap since being born!

Proud Daddy if I ever saw one ...

Hangin' out with Dad in the NICU

Luke's here!

Email sent from Jesse's sister announcing the arrival of Luke:

I wanted to let you know that the unbearably gorgeous Luke Scott Smith joined our family today at 12:14pm. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measured 20 1/2 inches - a big boy for my tiny little sis! This, coupled with the fact that the medical personnel were being extra careful because of Luke's heart condition, he required some suction to make his way out a bit faster. Jesse handled every moment with grace and determination.

Right after birth, Luke was able to spend a few minutes with his mommy and daddy, then he was taken down to the neo-natal ICU for tests and monitoring. Every piece of news that came out was encouraging: strong heart rate, steady breathing, good coloring, and when it came time to feed, he took to the breast like a champ!

Jes will be recovering in the hospital for the next day or so, and Luke will have to stay for two or three days before any determination is made about the timing of his first surgery. If all continues to go well, he'll be able to come home for a few weeks (or more!) before any major procedure is done. We're hoping...

In all the excitement, my mom left the camera with all the great pictures on it at the hospital. I'll send a few along as soon as I can. Y'all have to see Luke. He's gonna be a heartbreaker.

Lots of love,
Aunt Jenny

Any day now ...

Well, I'm dilated to a 3 already an 80% effaced. I like this part of labor ... my body's doing the work but I'm not in any pain yet =) My OB this morning said it's a good sign to be dilating and effacing before true labor sets in ... it supposedly can mean a shorter/easier labor. Wouldn't that be great? She also said she didn't expect to see me at my appointment next wednesday. Unreal. I'm feeling a lot of emotions right now, fear of the unknown, excitement, anxiety that we have everything ready .... Plus I'm not sleeping very well, so I think I'm all-around just low-energy. I'm planning on working through this week and if the baby hasn't come next week, working from home. They say you go into your "nesting" mode and it's true. I just want to be at home with Rog.

I thought I may be going into labor on Christmas eve ... was feeling crampy and a little nauseous, but Luke decided to hang out a while longer. Which is good! I want him to be as big as possible. Rog has been amazing. He is so attentive and available for me. I'm so thankful for a partner like him in this.

I have to share with you the coolest blessing we got on Christmas eve. We left my mom's to go home for a few hours and both of us were just feeling so unsettled. Part of it was that Dr. Stefanelli was out of town until the 26th and we really want him to be there when I go into labor. Anyway, we just prayed on the way home for peace and strength and that Luke would wait until Stefanelli was back in town. We got home and within 30 minutes, Dr. Stefanelli's number came across our caller id. I talked with him for about 15 minutes, he said he was back in town and not going anywhere and we got some last minute questions answered. He is just so calm and reassuring. God knew we needed that. What doctor calls to check in on Christmas Eve?? It was awesome.