God is Sooooooo Good!

The 'lil man is finished with his procedure and the results are excellent! What they saw on the echo that they initially thought was an aneurism was just a shadow. During the cath procedure they were able to take some measurements of the aorta and the results were better than what he measured back in May right after his angioplasty. That means that as Will is growing, his aorta is growing with him. There is still a gradient difference, but the doctors said he could have that the rest of his life and is not a cause for any concern at this point. They did not do an angioplasty during the procedure since they saw no reason to. We are so very grateful for doctors that are thorough and caring! Will will be in recovery for a few more hours so they can monitor the entry sites on his leg and then he will be staying with Connie and Al overnight in Ann Arbor before they head home in the morning.

Thank you so much for all your prayers! We are in complete awe of God's goodness and love and so very thankful for all the love and support from each of you.

Heading back to Ann Arbor

The 'lil man packs up today and heads back to Ann Arbor. Will checks in to the cath lab tomorrow morning at 9am for his procedure. Please pray for protection over Will during the procedure. Pray for wisdom for the new doctors who will be working with Will. Pray for Connie and Al that they will have peace during the procedure and also discernment in the decisions that lie ahead.

Thanking God for each one of you! There are only one set of footprints in the sand.

A Few More Details

Will's echo showed that blood is pooling in an area of the aorta. The doctor's initial thoughts are that it appears to be an aneurysm. However, further testing is needed to determine this. The procedure on Thursday will be a heart catheterization to confirm the presence of an aortic aneurysm. Based on the outcome of that test, decisions will be made as to what is the next step. If an aneurysm is present, they may elect to monitor it or it may be determined that treatment is needed in the near term. Treatment would likely involve placing a stint in the aorta. Will is also showing other signs of decreased blood flow. So, there is definitely something going on. Right now, the doctors need to determine exactly what that is. We really will not know much more than this until after the procedure on Thursday. Will is scheduled to report to the cath lab at U of M at 9am on Thursday. Will will be working with a new team of doctors. His regular cardiologist at U of M is moving to San Diego. The cardiologist that did Will's angioplasty in May, 2011, is on a 2 week rotation in the ICU so she is not available to do the procedure on Thursday. While we were hoping to work with Will's "regular" cardiology team, we are viewing this as an opportunity to get 2nd opinions from highly skilled pediatric cardiologists and surgeons.
Please pray with us for Will's health, wisdom for the new doctors that will be taking over Will's case and peace for Connie, Al and the girls. It is going to be a long week for all of them.

Did not get good news today

Today was a tough day at U of M. The cardiologist at U of M thinks that Will has an aneurysm on his aorta. Right now, they are planning to do surgery on Thursday, Jan 19. I am not sure of all the details and exactly what will be done during this surgery. We also think a second surgery will be needed to fully correct the aneurysm. Needless to say, Connie and Al were completely shocked by this news and are just now getting their thoughts collected so they can ask clarifying questions to better understand the situation and the treatment course the doctors are planning to pursue. We will be sure to update with more detailed information as soon as we better know what is going on.

Time for a Check-up

On Monday, Will has his one year check-up at U of M in Ann Arbor. It is so hard to believe it has been a year already! Will is doing really well. He is eating solid foods by mouth and he is continuing to get physical therapy and occupational therapy to help with some of the delays that are a result of his heart surgery. We'll have a more complete update for you after his appointments at U of M.