The Journey of Malachi's Life... Warning Some Pictures Might be Hard to Look at...

November 2, 2007, 3:04 p.m., 5 lbs 2 oz, 19 3/4 inches long:

Life in the CICU:

First Surgery to Remove Tracheal Webbing from Throat, November 9, 2007:

First Heart Surgery, November 13, 2007:
Life on 7th South:

Back in CICU after Cath Lab Atrial Septostomy, December 17, 2007:

Home for a Month, December 22, 2007 - January 22, 2008:

Waiting for the Next Surgery in Pittsburgh, January 22, 2008 - February 22, 2008:

Second Heart Surgery, February 22, 2008:

Home for a Week and a Half, March 1, 2008 - March 12, 2008:

Back to Pittsburgh March 12, 2008:

Transfer to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, March 19, 2008:

After G-Tube Surgery, March 31, 2008:

Going Home, April 4, 2008:

We Are HOME!!!!

Malachi was ready to get of the hospital. He cracks me up with his "talking." We are now home and so thankful to be. Philip is liking his new job and we are settling in here in Ohio. We miss friends and family in Erie, but it is nice for me to be here close to my family. We love you and appreciate all your faithful prayers for Malachi. When we left this afternoon it was the first time we left the hospital feeling like Malachi was doing really well. He is so content and happy. It is so great!

The New Malachi!!!

Look at ME! NO TUBE!!!!!

Thanks for the Prayers...

Thank you to all for your faithful prayers for our son. He is doing well other than some hunger and surgery pains. We will take some better photos once he is feeling a lot better. I wanted to show everyone what he actually looks like without a feeding tube in his nose! He was cute before but now WOW! Cutie pie! The surgery went very well. Malachi was extubated immediately after surgery. He was in post-op for just 30 minutes and they brought him back to the room promptly. He is in some pain from the surgery, but they are treating it with pain meds. We hope to have him eating again tomorrow evening. Hopefully fully recovered and home by Friday! Thanks again and again for all the prayers and support! We love you all.

Love,
April (for all three)

2 Cor. 12:10

Quick Update...

Malachi is scheduled for his G-Tube surgery on Monday, March 31st. It should be a pretty simple surgery, but always nothing to take lightly. He should be all recovered and out of the hospital by the end of next week, unless something unforeseen happens. (Which we pray doesn't!)

His CT Scan went okay. He stopped breathing during it and the anesthesiologist had to quickly getting him some oxygen, but he was fine once he gave him some. The results showed that Malachi's Pulmonary branch is starting to narrow and separate. The decision was made to have Malachi go in for a Cath to put a balloon in and inflate the artery, or put in a stent (similar to tubing) in the artery. He is not needing the Cath right away. They feel he is fine to go home for a couple of months after his G-Tube and come back in May for the Cath. It was a little sad to hear that this portion of the journey is not quite finished, but glad that there is a solution to help him out.

Thank you all for your prayers, visits, and phone calls. It means so much to us! We love you all!

Love,
April (for all three!)

I read this the other day when we had the unexpected news come up. It was perfect for what I needed! God is so good and so personal! Paul wrote this after asking the Lord THREE TIMES to take away his "thorn in the flesh," his "trial." May the Lord be glorified through our lives:

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Moving...

So after much prayer and consideration we have decided to move to Columbus, Ohio. Philip had applied to several jobs in Ohio and Erie. His interview went very well in Columbus, but we left everything up to the Lord. We had prayed that if the Lord allowed Philip to get the job in Columbus, we would make the decision to move there. Philip received a phone call just as Malachi was being admitted to the hospital offering him a position at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus. We realized (on our long drive home on the previous Monday) that moving to Columbus would be the best decision for our family. We liked the idea of a Children's Hospital being only 20 minutes away, as opposed to two hours! So he accepted the position as an Operating Room Support Assistant. He will be working second shift and plans to further his EMT certification to a nursing degree.

It was a VERY hard decision to leave family and friends in Erie, but we had such a peace knowing it was what God had laid out for us. After a LONG week stay in Pittsburgh, we felt that we may as well make the move to Columbus in transferring Malachi to Nationwide Children's. Walking into a private room with its own shower was enough to make me cry! It was like staying at the Hilton compared to our stay in Pittsburgh!

We will always be grateful for the staff in Pittsburgh, but we are thankful that there is just as great a hospital in Columbus much closer to family.

Malalchi is still in the hospital. He is doing great! If he wasn't needing his stomach surgery we would have gone home a long time ago. He is currently undergoing a reflux study. They are trying to determine if he really needs to have his stomach muscle tightened. Dr. Teske (Malachi's new Cardiologist) told us that they will discuss with the GI doctor to come up with some type of plan for Malachi. We hope to know something in the next day or so. Malachi will also have a CT Scan done to look at his vessels in his lungs to make sure there aren't any post-op clots. They have decided to not put him through a Cath, since his saturations have improved and he is no longer requiring any oxygen.

More waiting, but we are thankful that Malachi is doing so well. He babbles and smiles and kicks his chubby little legs! We celebrated Easter and he didn't let his Grandpa Langdon get a word in while he prayed! We hope we can get home soon. We love you all and look forward to seeing you soon! Please come and see us! Malachi LOVES visitors!

Thankful,
April for all three!
Philippians 4:11

Back in Pittsburgh...

On Monday, March 10th we had brought Malachi into the Emergency Room because he still was fussy and had spit up. He had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday, March 12th. He was desaturating in the office, so they decided to keep him in the hospital to determine what could be going on. He had a chest x-ray, an echo, and flouro to look at his lungs. Nothing appears to show anything is wrong with his heart. The doctor seems to think that Malachi might have aspirated something into his lungs when he spit up, that could have caused his lungs to be irritated, and caused the desaturations. They are going to schedule his G-tube and Stomach tightening since we are here. Before they can do the surgery they need to wait until he is "holding his own" with his sats. Malachi is doing well considering. He seems to be more content and is resting comfortably. Thank you all for your prayers and we'll try to keep you posted as much as possible.

Love you all!
April (for all three)

Romans 8:28