Update #5 November 24 2010

Emerson is HOME.  Unbelievable.  After anticipating he would be on the ventilator for 1-3 days after surgery, he was off the breathing machine in less than a day.  Nobody thought he would be out of ICU in less than 3-7 days, and he was discharged from the hospital in 5 days after open heart surgery.  Amazing.  Emerson is such a brave and incredible kid!!  I want to share a few stories about his bravery in the hospital, as well as have Emerson share more of his experiences, but for today and tomorrow we are concentrating on making sure he heals, continues to recover, and enjoying our time at home. I will add more comments this weekend!

Emerson had tests yesterday prior to discharge, which showed ekg is normal (normal for him), xray of chest shows a mildly enlarged heart (normal for him) with mild pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs) and mild pleural effusion (fluid outside of the lungs in the chest cavity).  Echocardiogram shows similar post-op findings that his mitral valve gradient is improved from what is was pre-op.  Echocardiogram also showed a small amount of pericardial effusion (fluid within the sac around the heart).  Normally there should be no fluid there.  As long as his fluid effusions continue to improve and not get worse, he should be able to recover on bed rest at home. He was on lasix in the hospital to help remove some fluid from the lungs, but is on no medications at this time except for pain medications.  Keep prayers coming for continued healing, no infections, and that his fluid effusions improve.  We will be following up with his regular cardiologist in about a week for a recheck exam and tests.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!  We have much to be thankful for, including the huge and widespread and powerful prayer chains that have literally come from all over the world for Emerson.  We have FELT the thoughts and prayers, and I can't explain how happy my heart is for Emerson that he had such an unbelievably wonderful outcome. He worked hard to get to this point so we're doing everything possible to make sure he continues to heal!  Thanks you, big hugs and love to you all!

Jen