Looking Good

R.J. has spent the last few days watching TV/movies and resting. Yesterday his big sister Tiera flew in from New Mexico and surprised him, it was so much fun to keep it a secret from him. She is staying until Saturday and will help entertain him. :) he's kind of bored. Since the surgery R.J. has had to rest a lot but he seems to have a lot more energy today. We have taken two walks up the street and so far he hasn't taken a nap. Right now he isn't supposed to lift anything over 5 lbs. and only allowed limited activity, but walks are encouraged. He will visit the Dr. on July 6th and see what they say. Hopefully they will have great news. Thanks to everyone who has come by to visit, it makes R.J. feel good.

Home

R.J.'s home! He's very tired and sleeping right now, we think all the excitement wore him out. We are happy to be home and hope that R.J. will continue to improve. We will keep you posted.

Today may be our last day in the hospital! R.J. has made amazing progress in the last two days. A few people have asked for specifics on his surgery so here's some specifics. R.J. had a growth of tissue removed from the aortic chamber. His Aortic valve was not closing properly because of the growth and they were concerned that the tissue might be attached to one of the valve leaflets. The surgical plan was to remove the growth and repair the valve. Fortunately the valve did not need repaired. There is still a slight regurgitation of the valve, but it's so slight the surgeon chose not to mess with it and take the risk of additional surgery in the future. R.J.'s surgery was scheduled for 4 and a half hours, it only took 3 and a half from the time he left us to the time we coud see him in the ICU. We are extremely grateful for the family that came and helped distract us during that time, it was the most difficult. I will post again when we actually get home and let everyone know we are there!

Superstar!

They are calling R.J. a superstar and talking about sending him home on Saturday! Four days from open heart surgery to being released, (to be perfectly honest has us a little scared) but R.J. is doing everything they tell him too and the staff here at Primary Children's have been amazing. We will see how tonight goes and let you know what they decide tomorrow. Thank you for all the visits, phone calls, and thoughts sent our way, we do appreciate it.

We are ready for visitors!

R.J. has now moved to a new room all his own. There's a playstation, TV, DVD player, and his own bathroom with a shower. Plus a lot more room for more visitors and an extra bed so one of his parents can stay with him. He's still a little sleepy but will be taken off the morphine this afternoon. R.J. is making wonderful progress!

R.J. loves his little monkey his sister Jess gave him. He's doing so good this morning. Sitting up straight, eating watermelon. He tried french toast but said his mouth was numb and he couldn't chew it. R.J.'s asked if he could get up and walk around, I think he knows once he can do that he can move from the ICU to his own room and get a better nights sleep. Right now there's too many people and beepers and stuff going on to sleep really well.

So Good!!!

R.J.'s doing sooo good! No nausea, he's holding down liquids, he wakes up and talks even though it doesn't always make sense. Hopefully R.J will be released from ICU tomorrow, and moved to a regular room. He has said some of the cutest things on the meds they have him on. We will keep everyone posted, and comments are great, Thanks!

RJ is out of surgery and resting!

Big Day

Well today's the big day. After a very long day at the hospital yesterday, doing pre-op stuff, and a surgical class/tour that we would highly, highly recommend, we were exhausted. We all got to bed around 10:30 last night because we had to check in for R.J.'s surgery this morning at 6:30 am. So up at 4:30 am, on the road at 5:30 and now waiting for the surgeon to take R.J. to the operating room. They gave him a "go to sleep drug" and will be starting surgery at 8:00. We will keep you updated as things progress. Thanks for the fasting, prayers, and well wishes.

RJ - ready for surgery

This has been RJ's summer attire. He had a big hole in his pajama pants and ripped one leg off. His mom handed him a pair of scissors and told him to make them match. He didn't and he likes it that way.

FINALLY!!

We finally have a date for R.J.'s surgery, but it has happened so fast we have no time to breathe. He is having surgery on June 22nd at Primary Childrens Hospital. He will be in ICU for 3 to 4 days after surgery and will then continue his stay in the hospital for another 3 to 4 days. When R.J. returns home will be up to the surgeon but we are hoping to have him home by the 29th or 30th of June. If you would like to visit him at any time please call (Carol) 1-435-841-4901. For those who are interested we will hold a special fast for R.J and his medical team on Sunday June 19th. Any that are able to participate with us are greatly appreciated.

Waiting Some More

Spoke with the hospital today. Still no surgery date scheduled. The surgeons scheduler has assured us that RJ has not been forgotten. She will speak with the surgeon tomorrow morning and call us. If she hasn't called me... I will call her :)