Sprinting

Today they are starting to "sprint" Will's vent. This means that they will begin turning down the vent and evaluating how Will is breathing on his own. This will be a bit of a practice run to see if he will be ready to come off the vent when his MRI is completed on Sunday. Otherwise, all is well and Will continues to improve every day.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Please pray for Connie, Al, CJ and Lyndsey as the girls will need to go back to school next week and Connie and Al will be staying in Ann Arbor.

Update

Will did have two more seizures during the night last night. They adjusted his anti-seizure medicine and continue to monitor him with EEG. He is scheduled for an MRI at 10:30am Sunday. They will need to leave the vent in until after the MRI. It is necessary for babies to be sedated and intubated for an MRI. Needless to say we have all learned a lot about pediatric medicine in the last few weeks! Otherwise Will's vitals are all good. The Doctors are pleased with his progress following the surgery. Thanks for your continued prayers for Will's healing and strength for his family as they journey through this together.

Seizures

Today, Will had two seizures. Understandably, this was very upsetting to the family. However, the Doctors have assured Connie and Al that this is a fairly normal side effect of the surgery. It is necessary to cool the body to almost freezing prior to the surgery. Then as the body returns to normal body temperature it can cause a little glitch (medical term!) in the brain that can cause seizures. Will had a CT scan today and it came back normal. He was also evaluated by a neurologist who sees this side effect often and is not concerned at this point. Will was put on anti-seizure medication. Further testing and consults will be done to rule out any further issues.

Will is doing great!

Will had a good night. They were able to back off the vent and his meds and he responded very well. His nurses are very pleased with his progress following surgery.

Our God Reigns!

Will is out of surgery and doing very well. The surgeons did repair two holes in Will's heart. One that we did know about and one that we did not know about. The surgeons are very happy with the procedure. Will is now in PICU. He will stay there as long as he is still on vent - at least 24 hrs. They did close the incision after the procedure. Connie and Al should be able to see Will in about an hour or so. The next 24 hours are very important. If there are any post-surgical complications, they usually appear in the first 24 hours. All in all, a good day for the Arny Family. Thanks so much for your continued prayers.

Almost Done!

The surgeons are just finishing up with Will. He is off the bypass machine and his little heart is beating on its own! The surgeons are very pleased with everything at this point. We will have more details when Connie and Al meet with the Doctor after the surgery is complete.

Update

Aorta reconstructed: check; Ventricle work: in progress; prayers: in progress

Half Time Report

Will is on the bypass machine and the surgeons are doing their thing. Keep those prayers coming!

Game Time People!

15 minutes to kick off so get your prayers on 'cause God is in the house!

So far, so good

Looks like we're still on schedule.

Thanks so much for your prayers today! We appreciate you all so much!

Surgery Time

Connie and Al met with the Doctors today regarding Will's surgery tomorrow. Surgery is still planned for tomorrow, but Will is now scheduled as the second case of the day. That means Will's surgery is likely to be somewhere around 11am. The exact time will depend on how the first case goes. Will continues to do well and the Doctors are pleased with his status.

Please pray that the surgery will take place as scheduled, that Will does well during the surgery and Connie and Al will really feel God's presence with them.

Definitely Al's Boy!

Will is rather sensitive! Sensitive skin that is. The cpap is giving him a rash and they are watching it closely as they don't want it to be a source of potential infection. If the rash gets worse, they may have to take Will off the cpap and put him back on the vent. He will need to be put on the vent prior to surgery anyways. He just may get it a little sooner than planned. Otherwise, all else is pretty good in Arny Land.

Doin' Good

Will continues to be off the vent, but is using a cpap. He is stable and enjoying time with his family. Sometimes he gets a little too excited and needs some quiet time, but we are grateful for his good health.

Thanks to family friends for making the trip to Ann Arbor to spend Christmas with the Arny family!

Small Detail

Connie and Al were able to move to a bigger room in the Ronald McDonald House. They are now in room #29.

Will is off the Vent

This evening, they took Will off the vent. He is breathing well on his own. He is happy as a clam that he can now wiggle around, kick and grab things without getting in trouble! (Since he kept trying to pull his vent tube out, they often kept his hands tied down). Connie has already been able to hold him and will also be able to help give him a bath tonight.

Today we had our Arny Christmas in Ann Arbor. It was a good day for everybody!

Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday morning. Will is the first patient on the schedule. Unfortunately, they will have to put Will back on the vent for the surgery.

Thanks for your prayers! We all wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

Another Schedule Change

Well....now the surgery may be Monday or Tuesday. We're really trying to keep a positive attitude here, but man it is getting hard!

A few technical details - further testing has revealed that Will's aorta will need to be reconstructed. Typically with coarctation of the aorta, the portion of the aorta that is too narrow is cut out and the aorta is sewn back together. But, in Will's case they now think that they will need to reconstruct the aorta. This will require a longer surgery and a longer hospital stay following surgery. Will could be in Ann Arbor anywhere from a few weeks to a month following his surgery.

The nurses keep reassuring Connie and Al that Will is very stable and actually is healthy enough to wait weeks before having his surgery. While we are grateful for his current health, we definitely don't want him to have to wait weeks for this surgery. Right now, the plan is to take Will off the vent tomorrow morning. He will have to go back on the vent prior to his surgery. He is also being fed TPN and that will continue for now. We are just so anxious for him to get this heart issue corrected so he can start to have a normal baby life - being held, cuddled, feeding through his mouth and enjoying his family.

Thanks for all your prayers, visits and messages of encouragement. We appreciate you!

Schedule Change

Will's surgery just got bumped until tomorrow. A more critical case came in so his surgery got moved. If they are unable to do the surgery tomorrow, it will not be done until Monday. Please pray that the surgery can take place tomorrow! Will was already being prepped for surgery when they received the news that it would not take place today. Additional testing has also shown that his surgery will need to be more extensive than originally thought and will likely take 4 to 6 hours. The uncertainty has been very hard on the family. You feel so torn because you want the critical babies to have a chance too, but you fear that your own may become critical while waiting. Pray for discernment for the Doctors that have to make these difficult decisions.

Bit of a Schedule Change

Will's surgery has been moved to around noon tomorrow. Connie and Al will get to spend about an hour with Will tomorrow morning holding him before the surgery then around 11am they will begin prepping him for surgery. The surgery is expected to last 3-4 hours. The surgery will be an open chest surgery. They will have to stop Will's heart and put him on a bypass machine. The part of the aorta that is too narrow will be removed and the aorta will then be sewn back together. They will also be checking the two holes that are between the ventricles and repairing them if needed. Will also has some issues with one of his valves, but they will not be repairing that at this time. He will likely need to have that repaired at a later time when he is bigger.

While Connie and Al are very anxious to have the surgery done, they are also dreading what their little baby will be going through. Please pray for them to have a peace that passes all understanding tomorrow!

If you would like to send mail to the Arny Family the mailing address for them at the Ronald McDonald House is:
Arny Family #25
c/o Ronald McDonald House
1600 Washington Heights
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
By the way - Ronald Rocks! The Ronald McDonald House is wonderful! What a gift they give the families that stay there.

Hopefully, surgery tomorrow

The Doctors have scheduled Will's surgery for tomorrow morning. He should be the first surgery in the morning unless a more critical case comes in. Will's condition is very good. He is healthy and stable, so he is always at risk of being bumped on the schedule for a more critical case. Will is still on the vent, but he is breathing on his own over the vent. In fact, he has tried to pull his tube out. But, they need to keep him on the vent for the surgery. Today will be a hard day for the family since they are not allowed to touch Will today. He is very alert and responds to his family, but the Doctors don't want him stimulated today so as to prepare him for surgery tomorrow.

Connie and Al were just notified that they were able to get a room at the Ronald McDonald House. This will be a great solution for them so they can still be near Will, but have a little bit of space to just be a family. Nana plans to stay at the hospital for now. She doesn't want to be too far away.

We'll post with any changes or updates. Thanks again for all your prayers!

Will is in Ann Arbor

The bad news - the boy missed out on his chopper ride. The good news - he was too healthy for the chopper today. It was needed for more urgent cases so Will was transported by ambulance. Will is currently undergoing a lot of testing and is being evaluated by the Doctors at U of M.

Pray for Connie. She is having some complications from her c-section and is also being evaluated.

A huge THANK YOU to Howard and Stephanie Fish for all their help today! They helped get everyone to U of M, knew just where to go and how to get there and were a tremendous source of encouragement. Love you guys!

Message from Connie and Al

Connie and Al wanted to let everyone know how grateful they are for the outpouring of prayers and support from their family, friends and community. They have been overwhelmed and are so very grateful for each individual that is praying for little Will and helping their family in so many ways.

Will is waiting for his ride to Ann Arbor. The helicopter is scheduled to pick him up sometime around noon. The cardiologist at Bronson is very pleased with Will's condition. He is stable and is doing very well considering everything that is happening. The staff at Bronson has been nothing less than spectacular! They have been very encouraging to Connie and Al and so good with their treatment of Will. They are definitely some of the best at what they do. Dear family friends will be driving Connie and Al to Ann Arbor. Nana will be going with them also to help with the girls.

Once Will is evaluated at U of M, we will have more information regarding the timing of his surgery, etc.

Today was a tough day for the little guy!

William Benjamin Allen Arny introduced himself to his family on Friday, December 17. After his birth, he was having a hard time getting the hang of the whole breathing thing. So, he was put in the nursery at Lakeland Hospital, and monitored over the next few days. Today, the Dr. noticed a heart murmur during his exam on little Will. The Dr. felt the murmur was significant enough that Will should be sent to Bronson for further evaluation. Shortly after arriving at Bronson, the pediatric cardiologist diagnosed Will with coarctation of the aorta. In normal people terms, that means that Will's aorta is too narrow. This will require surgery to correct. Will is scheduled to be airlifted to the University of Michigan tomorrow morning. Once the Doctors at U of M have a chance to evaluate Will, surgery will be scheduled - likely in the next few day. Right now, Will is stable and is being closely monitored by the staff at Bronson. He is on a vent to give his body a rest and help prepare him for the surgery. He is also receiving medication that will help to open the ductus arteriosus.

Al, Connie, CJ and Lyndsey would really appreciate your prayers. There was no indication of any complications prior to Will's birth. This has all come about very quickly and has really shaken all of them. Pray for strength, peace and discernment as they speak with Doctors and go through the next few days of uncertainty.