Biopsy 3

Owen had his 3rd weekly biopsy yesterday and everything went great.  He was out of there within an hour and it was the first time Dr Peng accessed him through the neck.  His pressures were Fantastic and I just got word his rejection score was 1A, which is as great as zero.  Last night we celebrated with a great dinner and RMH Bingo night!   Owen's buddy, Gage, got the call for his heart and Owen has been so excited for him!  The first thing he asked this morning was "any updates on Gage?"  They just posted he is finishing up and everything went great!  So happy for them.  To all the donor families out there... THANK YOU!!!

The CT Surgery team removed his staples in the cath lab and his incision looks gnarly, but great.  He had quite a bit of oozing those first few hours post op due to all his anticoagulant therapies.  The scabs are healing up and falling off and it looks like Dr Maeda stayed right on course from his previous sternal incision.  It's going to look fantastic in about six months.  His chest tube sites are healing well and are finally closing up.

Owen used to love biopsies and now he tolerates them.  He is ready to be done with the weekly visits, but he has one more, followed up with a 12 hour IVIG infusion.  Then we'll get a little break!  

We are trying to have fun and be cautious at the same time.  Owen is still on sternal precautions for another three weeks until his sternal bones heal.  We can't wait to get to the beach, discover local parks and have fun exploring the bay area.  We are being patient and letting him heal a little more first.  School starts back up on Monday, PT kicks in 2-3 days a week, and we'll have Logi here soon too.

Feeling Blessed.

RMH Fun

We had a fantastic weekend and I am still amazed that we are just three weeks post transplant!  Owen looks better than ever and feels incredible.  He keeps commenting on how much better he feels and that he feels stronger everyday.  We are so blessed.  I've had our donor families on my mind a lot this week... we love you and are so grateful!

Saturday night was the formal dance party at the RMH house.  Everyone dressed up and we had a great time.  Virginia (the Family Album Project) was here talking amazing photos, there was a delicious catered dinner and who doesn't love a chocolate fountain for dessert?!  The DJ had the kids dancing and Owen had some super sweet moves.  It was so much fun!

Owen and I read about the process involved in making this Butterfly art work in the Family kitchen.  It's all made of paper and very cool!

This was the first Monday where we had nothing going on.  For everyone at the RMH, you know that Owen has been begging for a big juicy steak.  We headed to Costco today for some amazing Ribeye and had a little cookout on the RMH patio tonight with our friends.  The weather was gorgeous and the company was even better.  Thanks Patrick for doing the grilling.  Owen tried steak for the first time ever (he would never try it before) and he said "it's pretty good".  He ate a few bites but tore into the corn and Debbie gave him a giant rib.  He's more of a rib kid I think.  Now I have enough steak for a steak salad tomorrow and a steak burrito on Wednesday.. win win.

This last photo made me laugh.  Clearly Owen has missed being outdoors this year.  He kept collecting "treasures".. dead leaves and sticks.. and called them "nature."  We need to get this boy out more.  These "treasures" are now in my nightstand drawer in our room.  Sigh.  

Tomorrow is biopsy day bright and early!!

Back home...
Missing these loves like crazy!!  Logi's speech is just exploding.  When he says "Love YOU mama!" .. my heart explodes!  I am going to have them and my husband in my arms in 11 days.  I can't wait.  :)

Blessings from Palo Alto.

Hello April.

How is it already April?  I wish I had some great April Fools trick, but I am not a good trickster.  Owen got another ZERO rejection score on his biopsy this week.  His IVIG infusion went great and we were discharged about 4am on Wednesday morning.  We celebrated with spicy chicken wings at KFC and Owen was thrilled.  During his biopsy, the anesthesiologist pulled his four wiggly teeth.  I was so thrilled and the tooth fairy paid up.  This money is burning a hole in Owen's pocket!  

Owen's clinic visit and echo on Friday went well.  His echo look totally normal, which is incredible!  We started to wean his steroids but it's a slow wean over several months.  I planted the seed about a date that we can head home, but no promises yet.  I'm crossing my fingers it'll be the end of the month.  We have a busy April full of appointments.

Owen has another biopsy on Tuesday and they will do some work on his SVC as well.  Other than that, we have a quiet week ahead of us since it's Spring Break around here.  For tonight.. we will party.. fancy style.

Owen has gained about 3lbs in the past three weeks and those cheeks are adorable from the steroids.  I can't wait to see him grow and gain in the upcoming months.  We couldn't be happier!  

Back home...

The kids went to the Zoo with Tate, Larissa and Rustyn.  Logan loved all the attention and I'm pretty sure it took all four of them to keep up with his energy.  He loved the carousel so much and kept saying 'up and down" and would be sad when it ended.  I am missing out on so much, but I am grateful he is so loved at home.

We are counting down the days until Easter weekend when the family comes up to visit!  We miss them all so much!