Benjamin's Results

Hello All,
On Wednesday Benjamin had a MRI and Eco. It went pretty well. Ben had to be NPO, which means no food or drink beforehand. Which usually means a ton of crying before the procedure. But on Wednesday Ben did well until a half hour before it. After they finished and Ben woke up he cried until the sedation wore off and then he seemed to be himself. We got home at about 2:30. I do not have the results of the Eco yet. My pediatrician did call with the MRI results. The good news is that Ben has not had any strokes or tumors. The bad news is he does have a small spot on his right hemisphere that is brain damage, due to low oxygen caused from the heart defect and all he has gone through. This is what affecting the use of his left arm. He may never have good fine motor skills with it. There is a lot of unknowns at this time that only time can answer. Please keep us in your prayers.

Benjamin Daniel

Benjamin is doing well. We are going to have a sedated Eco and possibly a MRI in October to check him over. Our physical therapist and Pediatrician are concerned with his left arm function. Also the cardiologist wants to send Ann Arbor a update on how his heart is functioning. He is a happy boy. Below is a photo of Ben and his friend Caleb. We met Caleb in Ann Arbor and his mom, Jen, and I are developing packets of information for new heart moms. This way they can have more information/support as they go through complex heart problems. Caleb has HRHS and Ben has the opposite side HLHS. Both are serious and entail three surgeries, maybe more? Keep these boys in your prayers. Have a wonderful Labor Day.

WOW! Benjamin is One Today!

It is hard to believe one year ago was the most heart wrenching time of our life. Today we are thanking God for giving us our little boy and getting him through all the hard times he has faced. He is such a joy. Please enjoy some pictures from his first b-day party. As you can see he loved the frosting!

Benjamin is going to have a sedated echo at the beginning of Nov to check everything over and share with Ann Arbor. He is weaning off the lasix and is very happy guy. He still is not sitting, but he rolls and is starting to try to army crawl. Starting in September he will have therapy every Wednesday to help with this development. Thanks for checking in!

Benjamin Daniel

Benjamin and Allison had their cardiologist apt on Monday. Ben is doing pretty well. We get to ween back his lasix to none in the next few weeks. He looks good and we are scheduling a sedated echo for October to give Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor doctors a close up look at his heart. Allison has still has a murmur they are going to keep an eye on. We had family photos last week which turned out beautiful. Here is just a few our photographer posted of the kids.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=192398274151635&set=a.192398254151637.47654.124293957628734&type=1&theater

Talk to you soon!

Benny!

Benjamin is doing well. Although he is still having some unhappy moments due to constipation. We took him in Friday to see the pediatrician. We are trying prune juice now and if that does not work we are going to go to Miralax. Today he is meeting with Early On for therapy. I think he has improved physically, but he still has long way to go. He still cannot sit up on his own and his locomotion is limited. He rolls over and does tummy and uses he feet to try and move across the floor. His arms seem like they are not as strong as his legs. It seems like he has a little bit more time before he will be really crawling.

Ben is happy otherwise and is very talkative. He had some baby conversation with Myra over the weekend. He says Momma and Dadda perfect and calls us when he wants us. In a about a week and a half Ben goes to the cardiologist for testing. Allison is going too because they wanted to do a ekg on her as well since she had a heart murmur when she was 1.5. Which is probably nothing, but I think it is best to check it out and make sure she is fine.

We are looking forward to the weekend. I am hosting a shower for my nephew, Ryan, and his soon to be wife, Stef. They will be married in September and Ally will be the flower girl!

Have a good week!

Benjamin Daniel

Our little guy is hanging in there. He is happy and is enjoying life. We are planning to take him for a visit on the lake. He loves eating baby food and now has two bottom front teeth. The one is bigger than the other and looks kinda werid. lol Allison is going to be three Sunday. I cannot believe it. All the storms we are having is bringing back memories of her birth into the world.

Lindsay Baskets gave us a wonderful basket when we were in Ann Arbor to cheer us up, and it worked a little. At least it put a smile on my face while Ben was recovering from surgery. Lindsay had a heart problem like Ben and her mom gives these baskets to people like us. I just found out today that Lindsay passed away, so please keep her family in her prayers.

Enjoy your Fourth!

Benjamin Daniel McCarthy is almost 10 months old!

It is hard to believe how fast time has flown by. Ann Arbor seems like a bad dream until you look at Ben's scar. We have been to reduce his medications. His constipation is better too with the additions of all the fruits and veggies. His acid reflex has been worse, so we did have to up the Zantac. He is doing very well. His therapists are working on this motor skills and teaching us exercises to help him because he is behind - BUT he is improving. :) Allison is going to be three soon and Dan and I are doing good. I will try to update the blog more because the good is worth hearing!