Thursday, June 9, 2011
Feeling Better!!
We are feeling much better!Here is my day nurse. His name is Mike! He makes me take walks:( I get a sticker every time I go for a walk.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Recovery
We have kind of left everyone hanging. Sorry. This is the first time Ashton has been awake for an extended period of time. When he was sleeping, it kind of all hit us at once and we realized how exhausted we were. We have been sleeping almost as much as he has. They let me go back with him as he fell asleep, but not without making me look like a goon.
Surgery went without a hitch. They found a mitral valve that had been damaged due to the existing anatomy of the heart. They fixed that, too.
He slept after surgery, clear through the night, and well into most of the day. This morning they removed the tube going into his femoral artery. This afternoon he got to lose the line into his carotid artery; he hated having both of these pulled.
He still has a chest tube which is draining fluids. He won't lose that until tomorrow. He has to carry a box around with him until they get this removed.
This box is acting as a vacuum to drain all the fluids from his chest.
Now he has a zipper running down his chest. Maybe when he wakes up he will want to see if it works
Surgery went without a hitch. They found a mitral valve that had been damaged due to the existing anatomy of the heart. They fixed that, too.
He slept after surgery, clear through the night, and well into most of the day. This morning they removed the tube going into his femoral artery. This afternoon he got to lose the line into his carotid artery; he hated having both of these pulled.
He still has a chest tube which is draining fluids. He won't lose that until tomorrow. He has to carry a box around with him until they get this removed.
This box is acting as a vacuum to drain all the fluids from his chest.
Now he has a zipper running down his chest. Maybe when he wakes up he will want to see if it works
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
In Surgery
They took Ashton back to surgery about 2 hours ago. They Have him hooked up to the bypass machine, which is now pumping his blood for him. They have him opened up, things look just fine. that is all we have for now.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Funny things Ashton Said today!!
After getting his blood taken, Ashton said, "When am I going to get my blood back?"
A few minutes after that he said, "Blood is made from water and a few other ingredients!"
Ashton is our rock here!! The strong one! Everyone he has met here will ALWAYS remember him.
*Sorry if the grammar, spelling etc. is wrong. I am tired.
A few minutes after that he said, "Blood is made from water and a few other ingredients!"
Ashton is our rock here!! The strong one! Everyone he has met here will ALWAYS remember him.
*Sorry if the grammar, spelling etc. is wrong. I am tired.
Reasons we are truly Blessed!!
1. Grandpa Ron and Grandma Karen showed up today!
2. They caught Ashton's heart problem at birth,diagnosed him at age 3.
3. Dr. Susan Ethridge Pediatric cardiologist from Primary Children's Medical center kept close watch over Ashton for 4 years.
4. When the problem became severe. Dr. Ethridge referred Ashton to, AND WAS ACCEPTED, by one the very best heart surgeons in the country.
5. Ashton is receiving a Septal Myectomy. Which is considered to be the "GOLD STANDARD" treatment for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
6. Our entire ward, families and community came together to raise the funds for us to be here!
7. We are now #1 on the Ronald McDonald house waiting list. We were #16 when we arrived here. Which hopefully means we can move there tomorrow.(Grandma and Grandpa Karen too).
8. We have met some amazing people while here and learned from them.
example: A group of about 10 Amish people visiting a beloved one. Many Muslim people, with their headdresses. Ashton played with one little Muslim girl at a park.
9. We have seen beautiful chapels, etc. from other faiths.( See photos)
10. My mom and dad Peterson who are with my special boys; Tyson, Wesley and Wyatt. Whom we miss so Much!!
2. They caught Ashton's heart problem at birth,diagnosed him at age 3.
3. Dr. Susan Ethridge Pediatric cardiologist from Primary Children's Medical center kept close watch over Ashton for 4 years.
4. When the problem became severe. Dr. Ethridge referred Ashton to, AND WAS ACCEPTED, by one the very best heart surgeons in the country.
5. Ashton is receiving a Septal Myectomy. Which is considered to be the "GOLD STANDARD" treatment for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
6. Our entire ward, families and community came together to raise the funds for us to be here!
7. We are now #1 on the Ronald McDonald house waiting list. We were #16 when we arrived here. Which hopefully means we can move there tomorrow.(Grandma and Grandpa Karen too).
8. We have met some amazing people while here and learned from them.
example: A group of about 10 Amish people visiting a beloved one. Many Muslim people, with their headdresses. Ashton played with one little Muslim girl at a park.
9. We have seen beautiful chapels, etc. from other faiths.( See photos)
10. My mom and dad Peterson who are with my special boys; Tyson, Wesley and Wyatt. Whom we miss so Much!!
Shauna's Thoughts
Okay tomorrow at 6:15 is the big day!!! We had to scrub Ashton's chest for 10 minutes tonight, with special soap and 10 minutes tomorrow before we leave for the surgery. He hated it and made us set a timer.
I have been fairly proud of myself for holding it pretty much together but today I didn't. They were taking blood from Ashton(both arms) and he was screaming bloody murder!!!! Part of the problem was that he was STARVING!!! He could not have anything to eat before this test and it wasn't until 11:00. Well, anyway after we got out of there I was MAD!!! VERY MAD!! Why is this happening to my little boy? Why him? He has always been such a kind hearted little one. Why am I not blogging the perfect life like many other blogs? Why am I blogging about my son's life saving heart surgery? And not bragging about vacations, new homes, the thread count of my new sheets(people honestly take the time to count the threads)!!!!
Then I saw many others going through so many heart breaking situations. Right before my own eyes!! It was like our father in heaven heard me, unimportant/trivial me,and felt my pain. And right then and there, I remembered.....
" My son/daughter, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.
Thou art not yet as Job; thy
friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.
I have been fairly proud of myself for holding it pretty much together but today I didn't. They were taking blood from Ashton(both arms) and he was screaming bloody murder!!!! Part of the problem was that he was STARVING!!! He could not have anything to eat before this test and it wasn't until 11:00. Well, anyway after we got out of there I was MAD!!! VERY MAD!! Why is this happening to my little boy? Why him? He has always been such a kind hearted little one. Why am I not blogging the perfect life like many other blogs? Why am I blogging about my son's life saving heart surgery? And not bragging about vacations, new homes, the thread count of my new sheets(people honestly take the time to count the threads)!!!!
Then I saw many others going through so many heart breaking situations. Right before my own eyes!! It was like our father in heaven heard me, unimportant/trivial me,and felt my pain. And right then and there, I remembered.....
" My son/daughter, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.
Thou art not yet as Job; thy
friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.
Meeting Dr. Dearaini Ashton's heart surgeon
Today we met Dr. Dearaini Ashton's heart surgeon. We were so impressed!! He was so confident and talked to us about everything!! They will be going through the aorta and cutting the troublesome part of his heart out. Dr. Dearaini and the Mayo team has performed 2000 adult septal myectomies and 150 pediatric septal myectomies. So, he was very confident which made us very confident, that Ashton is in the very best hands!!! Here is a picture of Ashton and his surgeon. This is a before shot. We will be posting an after shot too!
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