Malachi is on the Mend...

Malachi went in for surgery February 22, 2008, at 7:45 am. The surgery was supposed to take about three and a half hours. At about four hours we started to pace the floor waiting for Dr. Wearden to arrive to tell us how it went. We went through all kind of thoughts: Is Malachi alright? Did he have any complications? Is Dr. Wearden going to walk around the corner and tell us the worst? I thought about one of the songs that Ikiru sings: "Only Spare His Life." There is a line that they quote from Job Chapter Two that states: "Can we take the good from the hand of God, and not except the bad?" I kept thinking are we going to have to accept the bad? Philip and I sat there together just praying and choosing over and over to trust God's plan and accept whatever was coming. Sure enough about five hours of waiting, Dr. Wearden came around the corner. He saw us and said right away, "he is doing fine." I collapsed into Philip so relieved, and we went in to talk in a consult room. Dr. Wearden told us that Malachi had a lot of scar tissue and that his sternum hadn't completely healed very well. This added time onto the surgery. He said that the Glenn part of the surgery went great. The issue they had before they even got started was that when the anesthesiologist was putting a line in Malachi's neck the guide wire interrupted his electrical pulse and his heart started to beat out of rhythm. His heart rate dropped down to 60 bpm. He said they had to move quickly. Everything turned out well, but they were using a pace maker to help bring his heart rate up to 130 bpm instead of 70 bpm. He said the other unexpected thing was that they couldn't completely ligate (tie off) his Pulmonary Artery and it was possible that they would need to adjust the band on it, so they had left his chest open.

All I kept hearing was, "Malachi's heart rate dropped and he is on a pace maker." It was very overwhelming. We went in to see him and he looked pretty good considering. I cried when I saw him mostly because just the day before he was playing and "talking" to us. Now he was sedated and not moving around. It was really sad to see. (I keep telling myself that he is going to get better.) While in the CICU the doctor came in and told us that Malachi was doing well. He showed us the pace maker and said that it isn't uncommon for babies to come back from surgery on it. He was on the pace maker for a couple of hours and the doctor started to manipulate the pacer, just to see Malachi's rate, and his heart started to beat on its own. It was quite a miracle to see. It was so amazing to see the hand of God come down and touch Malachi's heart and make it start beating on its own. It was such a realization that the Lord truly makes our hearts beat and holds them in His hand. Malachi continued to do well and Dr. Wearden and Dr. Morrell rounded and said that they were going to close his chest up the next day, February, 23rd. He did great all through the night and recovered well.

Today Dr. Morrell closed up his chest. He didn't need to adjust the band on his Pulmonary Artery, they left it on as tight as it is. It will get tighter as Malachi grows, but it is alright, because they will completely close off the artery for the Fontan, (his last surgery.) The closing went well, and they turned off the paralytic. He started moving around and was getting a little too active, so they had to give him a little sedation. They plan is to wean him off the vent overnight and extubate him tomorrow morning.

We didn't post any pictures of him for now because he looks pretty bad. He will get better the more he heals, but right now is a little puffy. He is doing well and we are so thankful that the Lord has brought him through so much. I can't wait for him to keep getting better. He will be like himself again and feeling so much better.

Thank you all so much for praying for him yesterday and continuing to pray for him. He is such a tough little guy! We look forward to getting him well and holding him soon! We love you all!

Love,
April, Philip, and Malachi

Job 1:2:10b

Surgery Scheduled...

Malachi's next surgery, "The Glenn" is scheduled for Friday, February 22nd. The surgery will entail routing the Superior Vena Cava (the artery that brings blood to the heart from the upper portion of the body) directly to the lungs, via the Pulmonary artery. They may or may not close of the Pulmonary artery from the heart depending on whether or not it needs to grow. They will go in and remove the rest of the atrial septal wall (the portion between the top two chambers of his heart). This part of the surgery requires him to be put on the heart/lung bypass machine. This machine basically pumps blood through his body while they do the repairs to the heart. The risk of the surgery has minor ones, but they are still there. Although his last surgery was pretty serious, this one seems a little more detailed. We are confident that the Lord will continue to guide Malachi's life and bring him through once more.

Please be in prayer for the surgical team: the surgeons: Dr. Wearden and Dr. Morrell, nurse practioners: Erin, Kristin, Dana, and Joann. Also pray for all the team in the Cardiac ICU unit. Dr. Wearden told us that he would be more than willing to pray with us again before the surgery and said he would every Monday if we wanted! We really feel quite a ministry opportunity with him. He is a really neat man, and we have let him know just how many people have been praying for him and the rest of the team. It is so great to see how the Lord works.

The Surgical team stated that after he has this next operation they will only need to see Malachi once every so often. (Which shows you how stable he will be.) We have also heard that their health improves: they have more energy and seem to "feel" better. Which is so great to hear in itself.

It has been such an up and downhill journey for us. We are so thankful for a God who has always proved Himself faithful every moment of this journey.

Thank you all again and again for your prayers and support of us! May the Lord reward you greatly for your kindness and hand in so many ways!

We love you all!

Love,
Philip, April, and Malachi

Psalm 34:18

The Latest...

Malachi turned three months old yesterday, February 2nd. He is certainly growing. He is up to 7 lbs 13 oz! To let you know the latest on us...

We came down for a routine appointment for Malachi on Tuesday, January 22nd. Dr. Wearden was concerned about Malachi's cold and his saturations dropping at night and the new need for oxygen. They admitted him to the hospital that night, which we were completely unprepared for! We have been in Pittsburgh since. Malachi had a Lung Profusion scan (to measure lung pressure) on Wednesday, January 23rd. The test showed some difference in his lungs, but Dr. Wearden felt that a Catheterization would show the best pressure.

Malachi went in for the Cath on Thursday, January 24th. They found that his band has tightened. The blood flow to his lungs is getting more restricted, so that explains the need for more oxygen when he is sleeping.

After a long stay in the CICU, (because there were no beds upstairs),the Board (consisting of the Surgeons, Cardiologists, and CICU Doctors) all got together to discuss the best plan for Malachi. They decided that they wanted to monitor Malachi for the next two weeks see him gain weight and do the Glenn, which is his next surgery. (Routing the Superior Vena Cava Artery directly into his lungs.) We are staying at the Children's Home. It is a nice facility, but it is not home. Dr. Wearden would have sent us home, but he was uncomfortable with us living so far away.

Malachi has an appointment this Wednesday, February 6th, with the Surgery team. If he keeps gaining and looking good, they will schedule another appointment next week with the Cardiology team for the following week. After that appointment, they will begin to discuss the scheduling of his next surgery.

Please be praying that Malachi keeps growing and that the band will not get any tighter before the surgery is done. It is hard to not be home, but we are glad that things are moving towards getting Malachi's heart repaired. We will let you know when we hear anything new.

Thank you all for your prayers. May the Lord be glorified!

Love,
Philip, April, and Malachi

Philippians 4:4