INTRODUCING...

Ethan Cole Greene

7lbs. 10oz. 19 3/4in.

born on

7/28/2009 at 2:28pm

Little Ethan entered this world today by c-section. Kim and the baby are both doing GREAT!! Everyone was extremely excited. You couldn't wipe the smile off of Nick or Emma's face. It's amazing how much Ethan and Emma (as a baby) look alike! Here are just a few of the special moments that we were able to capture. Enjoy!

Emma seeing Ethan for the 1st time.

Can we keep him?!?

I'm a BIG sister!

The PROUD Mama.

My Baby Brother.

Sleepin' Away.

The PROUD Papas.

Family Portrait.

What Have I Got Myself Into?!?

PRICELESS

I couldn't resist sharing this with you. Jackson met me outside this morning wearing this (and only this!)!

Fire truck pajamas. $7. Pack of Elmo underoos. $4. Spider-Man boots. $9.

Jackson Boyd. PRICELESS.

WARNING! This is NOT for the SQUEAMISH!!

We tried to warn you!...This is what we are now dealing with. Jackson is trying to "spit a stitch". (No, we did not make that up!) The technical terminology would be a foreign body reaction. Basically, the body recognizes the stitches as "foreign" and so the body tries to get rid of them. This usually happens over the knot of the stitch which is why his is occuring at the bottom of his incision. As horrible as this looks, they say that it's not infected. We have been communicating with the doc's this week and we actually took him in to be seen yesterday because it has gradually gotten worse (and because it's the weekend). They did go ahead and start him on an antibiotic by mouth just as a precaution (which made me feel better!). They wanted us to continue to watch it like a hawk and use the antibiotic cream. All we are waiting for now is his body to "spit the stitch"(the stitch will actually come through the skin, the doc's will snip it, and it will all be over with-WE HOPE!!). Jackson did spit a stitch after his second surgery but nothing like this. SO... PLEASE pray that this does NOT turn into an infection. As you can imagine, infection would be a very bad thing because it has a path straight to the heart! Otherwise, Jackson is doing extremely well!! WIDE OPEN to be exact!! As I said before, PLEASE pray that God would wrap his arms around Jackson and continue to heal him completely.

LOVE Much, LAUGH Often, and PRAY HARD!!

Made You LOOK!!

Nuttin' New To Tell

Well, it's been a little bit since our last post but it's been a whirlwind around here. Hopefully, things will return to DULL and BORING real soon... we can't wait!! Jackson continues to do really well. We did have 2 doctor appointments last week. His cardiologist said that everything still looked and sounded good, so no changes for now. The place on his chest that we were concerned about is still there-really red and scabbed, so we're still watching it closely and putting antibiotic cream on it. We're still limiting our exposure to crowds and probably still will for a little bit longer. It's been really hard "limiting his activity". I feel like we're constantly saying "NO, you can't do that" or "Get down from there". He's been a pretty good sport about it though. He does seem to need a nap since surgery which we think is related to him lying around for so long, but we have seen a big improvement in his activity tolerance. Before surgery, if he was running for a long distance he might would have to stop and rest halfway there. Tonight we went to Darrin's softball game and Jackson was able to run to and back without resting and he was barely winded. This is a big improvement for him! I don't have any new pics, but we'll try to work on that this week. So for now our plan is to patiently wait on the arrival of our new nephew who will be arriving July 28 (if not before), and do NOTHING!!

Thank you again for all the prayers for Jackson, Papa, and our family throughout the last couple of weeks. It's been a few weeks of HI's and LO's, but we have truly been blessed to have our church, family and friends supporting us all the way.

We LOVE You, Papa!!

Today around 12:40pm my Papa passed away (David Curry). He was diagnosed over a year ago with multiple myeloma (a type of cancer that effects the cells of the bone). He's 82 and has endured chemotherapy among other things throughout this past year. The family made the decision to place him in the McCall Hospice House, which was an absolute blessing! The children tried to keep him at home as long as possible and with the help of 3 very special caregivers, they were able to until he became to weak to handle at home. Papa was the most generous, hard-working, OPTIMISTIC, fun-loving, family-loving man that I've met!!

He will be GREATLY missed but NEVER forgotten!!

WE LOVE YOU, PAPA!!

We Love You!!

Home SWEET Home!!

We never knew how GREAT it would be to be back in our own bed!! Saturday night we all crashed once we hit the door. Jackson is still doing great! He's back to his old WILD MAN ways with an attitude of course but, we're working on that! We have to remind ourselves that it has only been 11 days since surgery and he's probably been through more in 9 days than most adults will go through in a lifetime. Anyway, he continues to do really well. We do have some post-op rules to follow...1. no activities that require his feet to leave the ground, 2. no large crowds, 3. no picking him up under his arms(This is probably the hardest, try picking up an almost 40 lb child "baby style"). They sent him home with several different medicines, all but one will be for a short time only. He's now on aspirin (This is used to thin his blood. He has been on this one since the first surgery and will be for life.), enalapril (This one is used to "dry" up any fluid from around the heart and lungs), and lasix (This is what most older folks call their "fluid pill". This is used to get rid of the extra fluid via the kidneys.), and last but not least oxycodone as needed for pain. He's not too fond of taking medicine anymore since this hospitalization (he has always been an excellent medicine taker!) so, every morning and night is now a struggle when it comes medicine time. We have 2 doctor's appointment this week- the pediatrician, and cardiologist. He does have one spot on his incision that does have us slightly concerned. He has an area at the bottom of his incision that is red and has a small pus filled area. We think that he is trying to "spit a stitch" (this happened after his 2nd surgery). This basically happens when the body recognizes the stitches as "foreign" and tries to reject them. We're watching this area very closely and we'll see what the cardiologist says on Wednesday. Well, that's basically "US" in a nutshell! Thank you so much for your prayers, calls, cards, gifts, and visits! God has once again truly blessed us! We're still praying for a quick and complete recovery without any complications. We love ya'll!!! Stay tuned...

Wild Man

Makin' Stuff

Playing Baseball on a Wii

Still Smilin'

Notice Anything Missing?!?

Keller and Jackson

SEE YA!!!!

HT, Here We Come!!

The numbers for Jackson's chest tube were right on this am, but we had to wait on his surgeon's approval. Once again we played the waiting game. He finally came around about 1:30pm and said to pull it. He went ahead and pulled it while he was there. We took Jackson back to the treatment room (where they do all procedures) which he screamed the whole way! He pulled it without any pain med or sedation and Jackson was back in his room within 5min. Jackson has been WIDE OPEN ever since! After an ECHO and chest XRAY. We got word to head to the house. After getting all of his medicines, etc. we got home about 10:30pm tonight. Needless to say, but no pics for tonight. The bed is calling our name!!!

Same Ol' Story, Just a Different Day!!

Well, nothing new to say. Same ol' story just a different day. We still have one chest tube that is still draining. Today, it has barely drained much at all, so we'll see what it does tonight. Jackson took a long nap, had play time and visited with my mom while Darrin and I got out for a few hours,and once again, visiting the playroom was the highlight of our day! Here are some pics from our day, there's one in there from last night that I couldn't resist. Jackson had not had his hair washed since last Wednesday, and it's not exactly easy to do since 1. he can't get in the shower 2. he has a tube and leads right in the middle of his chest and 3. we can't pick him up under his arms, so we're kind of limited on what we can do. Anyway, the girls suggested that we use this shower cap that has soap already built in and it's NO RINSE. I'll let you decide but I think that the picture is pretty priceless (or at least good blackmail for later)! You decide!

Am I Beautiful, OR What?!?

My Jungle Mask

A Wanna-be Beach Bum

Star Tap Dancing

Can You HEAR Me Now?

Hurry, Hurry, Quick, Quick, FAST!!

Today has been a better day for Jackson. He's overall been in a better mood. Thank goodness! Our day has pretty much been the same ol' same ol' except... We do have some new news to tell. We no longer have a left chest tube or pacing wires. YYEEAA!!! We now have one foot out the front door. All we are waiting for is the right chest tube to stop draining. We are heading in the right direction, just not there yet. Probably a few more days. NOT SOON ENOUGH!!!

Horton Hears a WHAT?

VRROOOM!!

Role Reversal

Almost ANGELIC!

Another Hard Day of Work

One Down, One To Go!

Nothin' Much To Say...

Well, we're still here playing the waiting game. The drainage from his tubes has definately decreased but not enough to pull the tubes. So, nothing new and exciting to tell. We pretty much just hung out today. We went to the playroom twice, watched movies, and went outside. We were bad parents today and didn't take very many pics. Oh, Jackson did do a good bit more walking today and did I mention he took a 4 hour nap! Boy did he pay us back when he finally decided to wake up! A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E!!! (We are all better now. Nothing a little pain medicine can't fix!!). Thank you for the uplifted prayers and comments posted. That's what gets us through each day. I promise we'll do better on pics tomorrow.

Workin' On My Jungle.

Handy Manny and His Favorite Tools!

Hurry Up and Wait!

We're still playing the waiting game. Both chest tubes are still draining some the right more than the left. Jackson has had a pretty good day. He ate an ok breakfast and lunch but refused supper. We went to the playroom twice, we didn't get to go outside today(it has rained some off and on all day). Darrin's parents came down today and stayed with Jackson so we were able to get away for a few hours. We're still trying to figure out a good pain medicine schedule. Jackson will never admit when he hurts because he doesn't want to take the medicine, so instead he just gets extremely MEAN(like satan himself!!)!!!!! So, we've been trying to go by his mood swings to medicate him. Most of the time the "evil pain beast" rears its ugly head before we know it! Hopefully within the next few days we will begin to lose tubes and get the old Jackson back! So for now we just wait...

Show Me Yours and I'll Show You Mine

You Better Watch Out, I'm Running on NO PAIN MEDICINE!!!

There's the Old ME!!

Did Mama Mention That I Didn't Take a NAP Today?!?

I Like To Move It, Move It!

Well, yesterday we were able to venture outside, and for a short while we had a brand new child or should I say back to his old self. His mood is still a constant roller coaster based on his pain level. Today has been a good day for him. He has only had something for pain (other than tylenol or motrin) one time today. This morning the doctors thought that he was continuing to do well. They separated his chest tubes to where they actually empty into 2 separate chambers that way they can tell which side is draining more or less. They started him on a new drug to help "dry" things up as far as chest tubes are concerned. He did really well with that, they had to give him a test dose to see how he tolerated it(one of the side effects is for the bp to bottom out). Scary thought!! Enough of the yuck stuff...Today we went to the playroom three times in the wagon and two of the times he actually walked all the way back to the room! We were able to go outside for a little while, but it was somewhat short lived because it is sooo stinkin' hot down here. In the playroom Jackson was a different child. He wasn't scared to move. He held his monitor while we followed with the "suitcases". He was getting down on the floor, climbing, etc. He has eaten a little bit for each meal today, which is a new stepping stone for us! Here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

Crown Me!

An Artist at Work

Jabby, Jabby-Do, Where Are You?

Choo!Choo!

Jackson Boyd, MD

Livin' It Up OUTSIDE!!

Do What?!?

You Missed a Spot!

Get Me Outta' Here!

Well, we finally made it to 7c, which is one step closer to the front door! Jackson continues to do really well. The doctors are very impressed on how well he is doing. He still continues to have a fair amount of pain, because of this he is scared to move! We actually were having some urination issues. This morning he had only urinated one time since they pulled his foley catheter at approx. 1:00pm yesterday!. They scanned his bladder and found that there was approx. 300ml (approx. 10 oz) of urine in his bladder. We made him get up and go to the bathroom and...YEEAA! He was able to urinate! We did get him out of the room this afternoon. We put him in a wagon and rolled to the atrium (a HUGE playroom with everything that you could imagine in it!). Needless to say, he was NOT impressed!!

So, to sum him up...

1. He's still in a moderate amount of pain.

2. He no longer has to wear oxygen. (It was taken off this morning.)

3. He has 2 chest tubes, pacing wires (these are left in so that if his heart goes into a funky rhythm, they can connect him to an external pacemaker), and an iv in his hand.

4. He's connected to a portable heart monitor 24/7.

5. Did I mention that he is in a BAD MOOD!!(with good reason)

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support. God has truly blessed us!!

Bringin' in the 4th

"Boppin' up and down in my little red wagon!"

I don't think that we need a mood ring to figure this one out!!

Are we there yet?

Just Hanging Out!

Yesterday was a little rough for Jackson. I guess overall he had a fair day. He's in a fair amount of pain, which they are able to control with morphine or oxycodone. He's wanting to be held and GO HOME! We won't be able to hold him until they remove his LA line (a line that goes straight to his heart). It's been really hard to hear him crying that he wants to be held. We both feel like if we could just hold him we could make things all better (not really, but that's what we think anyway), but... DRUMROLL PLEASE...They are in the process as we speak of removing his IJ line(an iv in his neck that goes to his heart), femoral line (an iv in his groin), his LA line, the mediastinal chest tube (this is a LARGE, RIGID tube that drains the fluid from around the heart), and his foley catheter (this one drains urine). The cardiologist said that he is doing fantastic and that his chest xray was probably the best in PCICU. This afternoon we should be able to go to 7C. YYEEAAA! This means that we can spend the night with him.

This is the ONLY smile that we've been able to squeak out of him!

GOTCHA'!! Here he is, at it again trying to speed things up and take his oxygen off!


Peaceful at last.


07/04/2009

Sleeping away.

07/04/2009

NO comment!

07/04/2009