We Did It!!

Yikes, now I have to follow up to Marc's creative writing skills. I am sure you all have distinguished who has the best writing skills in our house. Oh well, hopefully I can just get the updates out clearly.

It has been 10 days since the heart catheterization and Cannon is doing well. Cannon experienced some tenderness at the site but nothing a little Tylenol wouldn't help. As of this weekend, he is back to riding his bike and performing all the activities he loves to do.

There were no surprises during the catheter. That was the best news of all. Cannon was a very brave young man. The waiting was tough for us, but the hourly updates from the nurse on Cannon's status helped break the time up. The procedure took a total of four hours, a little longer than the three we were told initially. They wanted to carefully explore every bit of Cannon's complex heart anatomy and get the best pictures they possibly could for the surgeon to review prior to surgery. Cannon was surprisingly alert when he was brought back to the recovery room. He didn't want anything to do with the oxygen mask they tried to make him wear. His pulse ox stats were in the high 80's. He battled a pretty severe headache during the six hour recovery period. We tried to comfort him as much as possible with a milkshake and fries from McDonalds. The tylenol didn't seem to help much. He tried to sleep but wasn't able to rest due to the pain. Finally, at the end of the six hour recovery time around 7PM, we were told we would be discharged. They removed Cannon's IV, and the pressure patch from the cath site. Cannon was just so happy to be able to go home. When Cannon stood up from the bed, he got sick. :( Just like the tough boy he had been all day, we got him cleaned him up and he kept on trucking. The boy was ready to get home, no matter what it took.

We stopped on the 17th floor where Colton, Nana, and Gupa were waiting. Cannon asked to use the restroom so I took him. While in the restroom we discovered that the clot that had formed at the cath site must have been dislodged when he vomitted. We took him back to the recovery room just to confirm all was well and he would be fine to continue on home. The nurses recommended we see the doctor once more to rule out any active bleeding under the skin. The doctor suggested we wait another 2 hours to watch the bleeding and make sure it would clot again. Thankfully, the additional two hour waiting period ended at 9pm and there had been no more bleeding. Cannon was able to sleep for the last two hours. Once he woke up as he was being disharged for the second time, he seemed to feel much better thanks to the rest. The headache had subsided a little and he was back to himself for the most part.

For the last two hours we were the only ones left in the cath recovery area so we had a lot of fun with the nurses on staff, Rose, Ingrid, and Latoya. They were awesome and sure kept Colton entertained (after he woke up from his nap). What a kind big brother Cannon is to share his bed with Colton.

We continue to praise The Good Lord for His great mercy and faithfulness. Cannon doesn't remember the severe headache he endured during recovery. He doesn't seem to be too fearful when we talk about hospitals now. God is Great and He has a plan! We will forever seek Him for guidance and protection against this world's sadness and pain. We know there will be pain but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) and we will overcome this trial.

Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Love,
The Kings