August 9th

August 9th is the tentative date for Brogan's surgery. It should be confirmed within the next couple of weeks. I was quite shocked by the date because the last time I had spoken with them they were looking into July dates. My first reaction was frustration and tears because I wasn't sure how this would impact my chances of getting a teaching job. Fortunately some wonderful women at my school reminded me that God has a plan and His timing is perfect. It appears that teachers report around August 18th in North Carolina, so that should give me enough time to go to Dallas, have Brogan's surgery, and return in time to start the year (if I have a job). The benefit to surgery in August is that it gives us a solid month in Charlotte as a family to enjoy the summer and each other. Of course I am not sure what it is about my boys and surgeries, but August 9th is 2 days after Brogan's 1st birthday! Again, I am going to trust God's timing even though I don't always understand it.

Once I had digested this information, I was able to call Dallas back to discuss a few more things. My heart sunk when they shared that there is a deposit for Dr. Fearon's services, half of it due when we confirm the date and the other half due 7 days prior to surgery. I have to do some more checking into it because it may be that they have not checked with the insurance company. We have never had to pay anything upfront for a surgery, and never had any issues going to CHOP despite the fact that there are several cardiothoracic surgeons in the area. We are going to need some prayers on this one! We are putting it all into God's hands.

Today we had a wonderful message at church focused on Hebrews Chapter 10. We need to keep getting UP (draw near to God), keep talking UP (speak words of hope), and keep showing UP (gathering with our brothers and sisters in Christ). But especially we need to stay strong and know that THE BEST IS YET TO COME. My goal this week is to focus on the Word from this message. I hope you will join me!

Heart Hugs!
Rachael

The Weeks Family Update

As of Friday, May 14, Bobby was 8 weeks post-Fontan. I can't believe that it has already been 8 weeks. Today we visited the cardiologist. It has been 1 month since our last check-up. Where does the time go? The appointment went really well. I was pleasantly surprised when they put the pulse ox monitor on Bobby and he immediately came up as 96. Not only was his blood oxygen 96%, but it stayed there without budging. I kept waiting for it to get lower, but at one point it even went up to 97%. That is almost normal! This will be about as high as Bobby will get, but it a true miracle considering he has lived in the upper 70s to lower 80s for most of his life. He wouldn't let them check his blood pressure...surprise! He has grown a bit and is now 36 inches tall, but his weight is still down 3-4 lbs. He is sitting at 27lbs, although the doctor promises that his eating will pick up. They did a quick echo to check Bobby's heart and make sure there was no fluid or inflammation. He was NOT happy about this at all. Thankfully it was quick and everything looked clear. This allowed him to come off of the Motrin. For now his diuretics and the rest of his medicine will remain the same. We will have another check-up in 6 weeks when they may start to begin weaning some of the diuretics. I am anxious for him to be weaned from these things although it is important not to move too fast and cause another pleural effusion to develop (fluid in lungs). Bobby is about ready to be potty trained, but I don't think it can happen until he is off of some of these meds. He is definitely back to his old tricks-refusing naps again which says a lot!
We have decided to use a doctor in Dallas for Brogan's surgery for sagittal synostosis. He is a wonderful doctor. We have spoken through email and over the phone and he is the best surgeon for Brogan. The surgery he performs is less invasive and more successful (meaning that a second surgery would not be needed). It appears that this surgery will occur in July, but we are still waiting for a date. So much of our summer revolves around this and we are anxious for a date. John is enjoying his new job in Charlotte, but it is terribly hard to be apart. The end of the school year can’t get here fast enough!
That is all of the news from the Weeks household for now. We have some very special prayer requests tonight: Harrison, who is having his Fontan tomorrow; Jillian, who is having stomach complications; Rhyer and Noah, who are having surgery complications; all of our friends waiting for new hearts; and Bobby to eat better.
Heart Hugs!
Rachael