The week before the surgery.......

Kaleb was transported up to Primary Children's Hospital October 27, 2009 within a few hours after being born.  He was wheeled into my room in a little box where he was all strapped down and hooked up to all these tubes, wires, and a ventilator.  The moment I saw him I thought "He's my little monkey in a box!" (and from then we decorated his room with monkey's, when I buy him new clothes I'm always drawn to the monkey stuff first!!!!  It's funny!)  Anyway, so they open the box for me so I could touch him and my hand was more than half his size it was amazing how little he was (5 lbs. 9 oz. 18 inches long).  I got to touch him and pet him and stroke him, it was my first touch with my new baby.  I was overwhelmed.... and from then on I cried almost all day every day until the day he came home.

When they got to Primary Children's they took him up to the NICU where he spent the next 5 days just hanging out, surviving, doctors trying to let him and his lungs get stronger before they did the surgery.

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME HE

TRIED OPENING HIS EYES!

October 30th I finally got to hold my baby!

I was so emotional!  That day and the 5 days to follow we met with nurses and doctors to discuss what was wrong with Kaleb's heart and what they were going to do to correct it.  The death rate was only 15% but that is too high of a number when you're talking about your newborn and the possibility of death, it's insane to think about but so many I know have gone thru just that!

What Kaleb was diagnosed with was Transposition of the Great Arteries (meaning his pulmonary artery and his aorta grew in backwards so the blood was being pumped thru the wrong chambers, in turn, not allowing enough oxygenated blood to get to his entire body) and an Aortic Coarctation (where there is a narrowing in the aorta).

The charts above will really helped me understand better than putting it into words.

On November 2, 2009 Kaleb was 6 days old and wheeled in to have major open heart surgery.  The surgery would take about 6 hours.  That day is a story in itself, so much went on that day in that one little waiting room at Primary Children's Hospital.  I will never forget that day and I will tell you all about it on my next post, the K-Dub Meister is waking up from his nap!!!  :-)