Tuesday

Graysen can hear! Not that there was any concern on our part. He had his appointment today with an ENT specialist to have his hearing evaluated. He is at risk for delayed or progressive hearing loss because he was on the heart-lung bypass machine which is a form of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). So, his hearing had to be tested three months post surgery. His hearing is fine and did not show any signs of damage.



This is a picture of Caleb waiting for Kaydee tonight. She is coming at 6 PM to babysit while Lee and I go see Iron Man. Caleb is very excited. He keeps saying "Kaydee" and can't wait to play with her.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit this weekend. We had a lot of fun with them. We celebrated Mother's Day today since my mom was in town. It was a great day. We started the day at IHOP, and then went to downtown Greenville. Greenville has a very nice park downtown. We enjoyed the day and ended it by going out to dinner. I didn't have to cook all day! Lee asked if this gets him out of cooking dinner next Sunday, but I don't think so...!

We really enjoyed their visit and are glad that we could spend time with them.

Graysen's New Shoes

Welcome Graysen Party

My friend Alisha threw a welcome party for Graysen. It was a very nice shower. It was at Ruby Tuesdays and everything was wonderful. He received lots of cute clothes for the summer, much needed diapers and wipes, an engraved frame, and a basket of necessities. It was very kind of Alisha to host it. Thank you everyone for the great gifts. It was a special day and it was fun to celebrate Graysen's life and what a miracle he is.

Fun Day at the Park

Lisa, Emily, Alisha, Katelin, Caleb, Graysen, and I all had a really fun time at Cleveland Park on Friday. There were a lot of great pictures from the day. Here is a description of the day in pictures. All three kids had a great time and played together really nicely. The odd thing was that Caleb was scared to death of the train. He is obsessed with trains, but this one freaked him out. He would not get on it. Emily and Lisa rode it once while Caleb stayed at the station saying, "no, no, ..." I thought that he would get on the second ride after he saw that Emily made it back safely. He still didn't want to get on, so I picked him up and put him on the train. I thought that he would be okay once it started running and he saw that it was safe. He quieted down but was scared to death. He said, "off" as soon as it came back into the station and he went back to the playground. Then, Emily became sad because she wanted to ride the train with Caleb. She did not understand why Caleb wouldn't ride it. He has been on trains just like this one before. I am not sure why he has decided that this one is danger, but I will let it be until he is ready.

Caleb enjoying his cookie at our picnic.
Miss Katelin.
Katelin going down the slide.
Caleb giving Katelin a hug to say good-bye.
Caleb didn't want to leave out Emily, so he then went and gave Emily a hug.
Emily and Lisa riding the train, while Caleb and I waited at the station because he was too scared to get on.
Caleb watching the train leave without him, holding his ticket.
Caleb on the train.
Graysen on the train.
Emily with her hair blowing in the wind as she rode the train.
We ended the day by feeding ducks, geese, and fish.

Pediatric Cardiologist Visit

Graysen went to the pediatric cardiologist today. The doctor was so impressed with Graysen's growth that he printed this chart for us. Graysen weighs 13 pounds and is in the 37th percentile. He is 23 inches long. He continues to amaze doctors with how strong he is.

His blood oxygen level averaged 85. This is exactly where the pediatric cardiologist wants it to be. It means that the ratio of blood going to the lungs versus the body is 50/50. The doctor is not concerned about his lungs being flooded anymore. The reason that the blood flow is more even now is because Graysen has grown a lot in the past 2.5 months, while his shunt to the lungs does not grow. Thus, the ratio of the size of his aorta to the size of his shunt is now 50/50, while before the shunt was much larger than the aorta. As he grows more, the aorta will become much larger than the shunt, which means that the lungs will get less blood flow, causing his oxygen levels to drop. They will allow his levels to go into the 70's before they become concerned. His next surgery should happen about the time that his levels start becoming too low, at which time he will receive a larger shunt along with the Rastelli procedure.

Special Visitors

Aunt Dolores and Uncle Bob came over for dinner last night. They stopped in Spartanburg on their way home from Florida to Illinois. It was great to see them again. Caleb was excited all day long. I kept telling him that Aunt Dolores and Uncle Bob were coming. He repeatedly sat at the computer waiting for the web cam call. Around dinner time he realized that they were coming in person and pranced to the door when they arrived. They brought him 10 new Matchbox cars and trucks for his collection. One of which is similar to a water truck that he saw at a horse show with them in Florida. The first thing that he did this morning was to go to his closet and retrieve the 10 new trucks. They are now in window and he is playing his "parking lot" game. Graysen was social also. He loves to smile and interact with people. He fell asleep in Aunt Dolores' arms at bedtime.

We really enjoyed our time with Aunt Dolores and Uncle Bob and look forward to the next time that we see them.