One thing I can say about this process is we have been able to experience how truly blessed we are with family and friends we couldn't make it without you!!!
Mike
Friday, November 5, 2010
On to recovery.
Hi to all from my wife who is now recovering from her surgery. The doctor said taking the old plate out was a problem and it extended the surgery more than expected. All other aspects of the surgery went as expected. We are hopefull for a positive outcome. Nana has called and asked for directions on how to work the DVD at home, so I can only guess that the kids are getting everything they want. I saw Christy for a few minutes about an hour after the surgery and she was in a lot of pain. I'm guessing on a scale of 1 to 10 about an 11.5. It hurts to see someone you love in pain and not being able to do anything. It's a guy thing we always want to fix it. For now pain management in the hospital.
One thing I can say about this process is we have been able to experience how truly blessed we are with family and friends we couldn't make it without you!!!
Mike
Oh how I don't like IV's
One thing I can say about this process is we have been able to experience how truly blessed we are with family and friends we couldn't make it without you!!!
Mike
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Help?!?
Hi! I know it must seem like the drama here never ends, and for now there is a bit more...
I have to have another spinal surgery. And it's going to be Friday the 5th of Nov. I need help. The Dr said I will need help for two weeks and Mike can not take anymore time off of work. We will need people to help take care of the kiddos, and some help with the other stuff, like grocery shopping & normal house stuff. I will be home by either Sunday or Monday, so I will be here too, I just won't be able to do much. Mike works "second shift" so he goes to work at about 11am and is not home until late, so I need the most help in the afternoon and evening time. My dear friend Carrie is helping me with the coordination of volunteers, so if you would like to help in any way please email Carrie at beezerm1@netscape.net, anything is very appreciated! Thank you so very much!!
Much love,
Christy, Mike
& the Brothers Buckley xoxo
I have to have another spinal surgery. And it's going to be Friday the 5th of Nov. I need help. The Dr said I will need help for two weeks and Mike can not take anymore time off of work. We will need people to help take care of the kiddos, and some help with the other stuff, like grocery shopping & normal house stuff. I will be home by either Sunday or Monday, so I will be here too, I just won't be able to do much. Mike works "second shift" so he goes to work at about 11am and is not home until late, so I need the most help in the afternoon and evening time. My dear friend Carrie is helping me with the coordination of volunteers, so if you would like to help in any way please email Carrie at beezerm1@netscape.net, anything is very appreciated! Thank you so very much!!
Much love,
Christy, Mike
& the Brothers Buckley xoxo
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Found it!
Zeke found his smile again! And... ALL of us are home!!!! Zeke came home Thursday afternoon! He is on 3/4 liter oxygen and is still battling pneumonia, but growing stronger little by little. We have follow up appointments with several Dr's, the most important one being the pulmonary doc. In a few weeks after Zeke is recovered from the surgery he has to have a procedure they call a "lung wash". They put him under general anesthesia and through his mouth go into his lungs and get a sample of what is in there to try to figure out if he is aspirating into his lungs, or what is causing the trouble. This is an outpatient procedure, thank goodness. Then he also has to have a test (overnight in the hospital) where a scope is put down his throat into his lower esophagus that stays there for 24 hours to measure the amount of reflux, pressure, and how high it is going. The GI & lung Dr's work very closely because a lot of the time gastric and lung problems are intertwined, one problem causes another or one problem aggravates another. Anyway... we have a lot ahead of us!
The other brothers are thrilled to have Zeke home! We are all very tired and trying to catch up on life!
I will post again soon about other upcoming events... stay tuned! (No, I'm not pregnant, in case you thought that was the event.)
Until then, lots of love to you from,
The Brothers Buckley!!
The other brothers are thrilled to have Zeke home! We are all very tired and trying to catch up on life!
I will post again soon about other upcoming events... stay tuned! (No, I'm not pregnant, in case you thought that was the event.)
Until then, lots of love to you from,
The Brothers Buckley!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Oh, how I wish he could be better!
So sorry for not updating during this time about Zeke. Here is the "nutshell" version of how this roller coaster got to be such a scary & bumpy.
- Wednesday 7am- we check into Presbyterian St. Luke's children's hospital for a simple catheter procedure to close the large hole in Ezekiel's heart. (Keep in mind he is on the mend from pneumonia)
-Wednesday 9:30ish all went well & we go to the recovery area.
- Wednesday 11am- We go to a room on the pediatric floor for observation
- Wednesday 4:30 Dr. Miller comes in to do an x-ray & an Echo to make sure the device that was used to close the hole is still in place, then we should be able to go home!
-Wednesday 4:35 "I have bad news" Dr. Miller says "it seems the device has moved and is now lodged in a different part if the heart"...uhhh what???? So, I call Mike & have the Dr ax plain everything to him over the phone. "I'm going to go talk to the surgeons now and see what time we can get him into the OR". "Okay" I said. At this point I am thinking I'm going to wake up any second,
this can't be real.
I start frantically making phone calls to try and make sure the 3 other boys have someone to be there. I don't know what to say, or how to act or what to feel. Meanwhile the nurse comes in and starts to get Zeke ready to go to the Pediatric ICU.
-Wednesday 6:30pm we were checked into PICU #7
-Wednesday 8:30pm we are told the surgeons are still working on another case and as soon as they are done they will start Zeke's open heart surgery. The PA came in and explained to us exactly what the surgery would entail, most of which I did not want to know.
-Wednesday 11:30pm My baby boy is wheeled away...
-Thursday 1am- The PA comes to give me an update and continues to do so about every hour. All is going well.
-Thursday 3:30am Here comes my sweet Zeke, hooked up to so many things and on a ventilator. We get to say hello, and give him a kiss. Then we have to go to the waiting room while they stabilize him and get him settled in.
-Thursday 3:30pm Zeke is extubated and doing okay.
-Thursday evening we try feeding him and he takes a little.
-Friday morning Zeke is very fussy and uncomfortable. He is coughing a lot which really hurts his little chest.
-Friday all day he is fussy restless and throwing up.
-Saturday- same status, except now he is throwing up blood! The Dr said this can happen and it's from a number of things like being intubated 3 times (the 1st one he knocked out) having the NG tube and being on the heart & lung bypass machine. He assures me this is nothing to be alarmed about.
At this point I know something is wrong. He should be getting better and he's getting worse. He is on 2 liters of oxygen, which is really odd considering he was on nothing prior to this and he is still very unhappy.
-Sunday Zeke is slightly less fussy and is transferred to the ped's floor.
We have had a pulmonologist and gasto Dr's looking at him to try and figure out what's going on. Maybe he is aspirating into his lungs, we don't know at this point. I am getting very frustrated and just want to have him be better.
-Monday - Things are exactly the same except there was a "swallow" test done to see if he was aspirating while eating. No, he's not, the test was totally normal.
There are several things on the "bright" side. His heart is fixed and there are no more complications from a heart standpoint. He has gained a whole pound since we have been here which is amazing! The room and area we are in is extremely nice and the staff could not be better, we love them!
So, that's where things stand now, 2 liters of oxygen and quite fussy. C'mon lungs, don't fail us now!!
It's so frustrating that we came in here to fix his heart and now he is so much sicker than before.
The plan at this point is to see if tonight his oxygen needs go down, and if not a tube will be put in his nose past the stomach into the intestine & he will be fed that way for a few days & see if that helps. If not, a whole battery of tests will have to be done.
For now we are again just waiting & trying to soothe the little angel.
The Brothers Buckley
- Wednesday 7am- we check into Presbyterian St. Luke's children's hospital for a simple catheter procedure to close the large hole in Ezekiel's heart. (Keep in mind he is on the mend from pneumonia)
-Wednesday 9:30ish all went well & we go to the recovery area.
- Wednesday 11am- We go to a room on the pediatric floor for observation
- Wednesday 4:30 Dr. Miller comes in to do an x-ray & an Echo to make sure the device that was used to close the hole is still in place, then we should be able to go home!
-Wednesday 4:35 "I have bad news" Dr. Miller says "it seems the device has moved and is now lodged in a different part if the heart"...uhhh what???? So, I call Mike & have the Dr ax plain everything to him over the phone. "I'm going to go talk to the surgeons now and see what time we can get him into the OR". "Okay" I said. At this point I am thinking I'm going to wake up any second,
this can't be real.
I start frantically making phone calls to try and make sure the 3 other boys have someone to be there. I don't know what to say, or how to act or what to feel. Meanwhile the nurse comes in and starts to get Zeke ready to go to the Pediatric ICU.
-Wednesday 6:30pm we were checked into PICU #7
-Wednesday 8:30pm we are told the surgeons are still working on another case and as soon as they are done they will start Zeke's open heart surgery. The PA came in and explained to us exactly what the surgery would entail, most of which I did not want to know.
-Wednesday 11:30pm My baby boy is wheeled away...
-Thursday 1am- The PA comes to give me an update and continues to do so about every hour. All is going well.
-Thursday 3:30am Here comes my sweet Zeke, hooked up to so many things and on a ventilator. We get to say hello, and give him a kiss. Then we have to go to the waiting room while they stabilize him and get him settled in.
-Thursday 3:30pm Zeke is extubated and doing okay.
-Thursday evening we try feeding him and he takes a little.
-Friday morning Zeke is very fussy and uncomfortable. He is coughing a lot which really hurts his little chest.
-Friday all day he is fussy restless and throwing up.
-Saturday- same status, except now he is throwing up blood! The Dr said this can happen and it's from a number of things like being intubated 3 times (the 1st one he knocked out) having the NG tube and being on the heart & lung bypass machine. He assures me this is nothing to be alarmed about.
At this point I know something is wrong. He should be getting better and he's getting worse. He is on 2 liters of oxygen, which is really odd considering he was on nothing prior to this and he is still very unhappy.
-Sunday Zeke is slightly less fussy and is transferred to the ped's floor.
We have had a pulmonologist and gasto Dr's looking at him to try and figure out what's going on. Maybe he is aspirating into his lungs, we don't know at this point. I am getting very frustrated and just want to have him be better.
-Monday - Things are exactly the same except there was a "swallow" test done to see if he was aspirating while eating. No, he's not, the test was totally normal.
There are several things on the "bright" side. His heart is fixed and there are no more complications from a heart standpoint. He has gained a whole pound since we have been here which is amazing! The room and area we are in is extremely nice and the staff could not be better, we love them!
So, that's where things stand now, 2 liters of oxygen and quite fussy. C'mon lungs, don't fail us now!!
It's so frustrating that we came in here to fix his heart and now he is so much sicker than before.
The plan at this point is to see if tonight his oxygen needs go down, and if not a tube will be put in his nose past the stomach into the intestine & he will be fed that way for a few days & see if that helps. If not, a whole battery of tests will have to be done.
For now we are again just waiting & trying to soothe the little angel.
EKG before surgery
Dr's looking at the echo just before surgery
All the tubes & stuff
My tiny boy
When he just came back from surgery
No one should have to see their baby like this...
Incesion is looking good, but Zeke is not happy
Zeke in his new bed on the peds floor
Much love to you from,
The Brothers Buckley
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Mr. Fix-it
Today is the day! The tiny heart of my tiny baby is fixed!!! Dr. Miller is our Mr. Fix-it and to him we are so very grateful!! Zeke did well and will be recovering comfortably soon. We hope to be able to go home today & be in the comfort of home for him to rest (and me too)! I'll post again when I know more. Thanks for checking in on the MIGHTY ZEKE!!
xoxo
xoxo
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
"Patch" Buckley - the heart of Ezekiel!
First we have to say...
WELCOME MEAGAN ELIZABETH!!! The Brothers are officially BIG cousins. We love you Meagan, Aunt Mary & Uncle Mike, congratulations!!!
The Brothers are looking very forward to Halloween & can't wait to beg our neighbors for some good "loot"! Before that happens however, we are going to get the littlest Buckley heart patched! Ezekiel will be having a catheter procedure on the 20th of October to patch the large hole in his heart. Hopefully this will solve a number of issues for him. He is currently on the heels of his second bout with pneumonia. This one thankfully did not result in any hospital stays. Zeke has "wet" lungs as a result of the heart defect so these infections happen easily, this should be resolved with the surgery. His growth is also affected by his heart and hopefully he will start to catch up to his "big" brother! Recently dubbed "two ton Tony", Matthew weighed in at 11 lb 8 oz and the mighty Zeke weighed in at 8 lb 14 oz at their 5 month weight check (Oct. 5th).
Matthew is doing sooooo well! Now cooing, squealing, and babbling to anyone & everyone (hummmm, I wonder where he gets that????) even if no one is listening! He has also discovered that he can grab! WOW, what an awesome discovery!
Danny is...well...he's three. So he is either super cute or super cranky. I guess we should call him super Danny! When Nana told him "you have a temper" his response was "where?" always saying something funny! He and Gabe and daddy arrived home from the store and I asked him "were you a gentleman in the store?" he gave a very matter of fact answer "nope, a bwat"! (Brat) Well at least he is honest!
Gabe is also either very good or very much in trouble. His latest is whispering to Danny what to do & getting him in trouble. The one I overheard yesterday was "hey Danny...throw your carrots across the table!" of course the little brother does what the leader says! I have realized that I am raising a barrel of monkeys!!
They are in fact very awesome & amazing boys & I could not be more grateful to have the honor of raising such beautiful boys, along side of the most beautiful man I have ever known! Not a day goes by (no matter how hard) that I don't realize just how wonderful this life is!
Much love to you & your families,
The Brothers Buckley! xoxo
Tio Beto baptizing Matthew! God-mama Rachel & Godfather Mark!
bouncy time
WELCOME MEAGAN ELIZABETH!!! The Brothers are officially BIG cousins. We love you Meagan, Aunt Mary & Uncle Mike, congratulations!!!
The Brothers are looking very forward to Halloween & can't wait to beg our neighbors for some good "loot"! Before that happens however, we are going to get the littlest Buckley heart patched! Ezekiel will be having a catheter procedure on the 20th of October to patch the large hole in his heart. Hopefully this will solve a number of issues for him. He is currently on the heels of his second bout with pneumonia. This one thankfully did not result in any hospital stays. Zeke has "wet" lungs as a result of the heart defect so these infections happen easily, this should be resolved with the surgery. His growth is also affected by his heart and hopefully he will start to catch up to his "big" brother! Recently dubbed "two ton Tony", Matthew weighed in at 11 lb 8 oz and the mighty Zeke weighed in at 8 lb 14 oz at their 5 month weight check (Oct. 5th).
Matthew is doing sooooo well! Now cooing, squealing, and babbling to anyone & everyone (hummmm, I wonder where he gets that????) even if no one is listening! He has also discovered that he can grab! WOW, what an awesome discovery!
Danny is...well...he's three. So he is either super cute or super cranky. I guess we should call him super Danny! When Nana told him "you have a temper" his response was "where?" always saying something funny! He and Gabe and daddy arrived home from the store and I asked him "were you a gentleman in the store?" he gave a very matter of fact answer "nope, a bwat"! (Brat) Well at least he is honest!
Gabe is also either very good or very much in trouble. His latest is whispering to Danny what to do & getting him in trouble. The one I overheard yesterday was "hey Danny...throw your carrots across the table!" of course the little brother does what the leader says! I have realized that I am raising a barrel of monkeys!!
They are in fact very awesome & amazing boys & I could not be more grateful to have the honor of raising such beautiful boys, along side of the most beautiful man I have ever known! Not a day goes by (no matter how hard) that I don't realize just how wonderful this life is!
Much love to you & your families,
The Brothers Buckley! xoxo
Boxer Zeke
Danny feeding "two ton"
Tio Beto baptizing Ezekiel! God-mama Val & Godfather Scott
Yeay!
Tio, Mama & Matthew
the big beautiful cake!! (from Nana!)
God-mama Rachel &Matthew
shirtless Matthew showin' a little shoulder
ZEKE!!!!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Pictures!
Nothing very new to report.
Matthew is growing & thriving! He started to laugh the other day... toooo cute! Zeke followed the very next day with the debut of his laugh! I'm sure that I am hearing a piece of heaven when I hear them laugh!
Zeke is finally off of oxygen!! (hold for applause...)
we have another cardiology appointment for Ezekiel on Friday, so I will update about his heart then.
Danny had his 3rd birthday the beginning of August.
Gabe had his 5th birthday mid-September.
Here are some pictures of the Brothers!
Lots of love to you from,
The Brothers Buckley
Matthew is growing & thriving! He started to laugh the other day... toooo cute! Zeke followed the very next day with the debut of his laugh! I'm sure that I am hearing a piece of heaven when I hear them laugh!
Zeke is finally off of oxygen!! (hold for applause...)
we have another cardiology appointment for Ezekiel on Friday, so I will update about his heart then.
Danny had his 3rd birthday the beginning of August.
Gabe had his 5th birthday mid-September.
Here are some pictures of the Brothers!
Lots of love to you from,
The Brothers Buckley
Nap time!
Zeke when he was in the hospital for the lung infection.
Matthew & Auntie Kathleen!
Zeke & cousin Eliza
Zeke & Grandmother
Matthew LOVES his cousins (Allison, Grace, & Eliza)
bouncy seat snooze! (Matthew)
the happy Zeke!
Danny's Parasaurolophus cake!
Gabriel's construction cake!
This is how happy Gabriel was about his cake!!!
the destruction of the construction cake!
Until next time, take care, God bless & enjoy all the little moments that are this journey of life!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Mea culpa, mea culpa...
I am so very sorry for not posting for soooo long. The tiny two are both home and things here are just a bit crazy! Matthew is healing well from his two surgeries in July, with the exception of a recent infection in one of his incisions. That too is healing. Other than that Matthew is growing & learning and doing so well weighing in at 8lb 14 1/2 oz (as of Aug. 20th). Ezekiel is growing and learning as well, now at 7lb 10 1/2 oz (also as of Aug. 20th). Zeke has had a couple of little bumps in the road. Last weekend he was once again at Sky Ridge. Admitted Friday the 13th...uh...yea. Anyway, he had a little lung infection that was causing him to have hypoxia (oxygen levels too low) and is therefore now back on oxygen. He was only there for 3 days, thankfully! In the process of trying to figure out what was wrong we found that he has a hole in his heart called an ASD. We have been to the pediatric cardiologist and we think that this will have to be closed. Hopefully later when he is bigger so the surgery can be just a catheter procedure and not open heart surgery. We are looking for the "symptoms" that come with this and we are hoping not to see them for a long time!
The big brothers are doing pretty well, of course we do have the typical behavior problems...uh-hum...slightly aggregated by two tiny babies in the house and not the attention they are use to from mommy & daddy. This, like everything else shall pass.
I will TRY so much to keep this updated more often. So far this post has taken me a day and a half! Frequently (like every 2 minutes or so) being interrupted by crying big boys, fighting big boys, screaming babies, phones ringing and hunger, alas I have almost achieved my goal!!
So, enjoy your day, love the quiet moments, revel in the noise, smile in the face of the mess, and look around so you can be in the moment!
Lots & lots of love to you and your family from,
The Brothers Buckley xoxo!!
The big brothers are doing pretty well, of course we do have the typical behavior problems...uh-hum...slightly aggregated by two tiny babies in the house and not the attention they are use to from mommy & daddy. This, like everything else shall pass.
I will TRY so much to keep this updated more often. So far this post has taken me a day and a half! Frequently (like every 2 minutes or so) being interrupted by crying big boys, fighting big boys, screaming babies, phones ringing and hunger, alas I have almost achieved my goal!!
So, enjoy your day, love the quiet moments, revel in the noise, smile in the face of the mess, and look around so you can be in the moment!
Lots & lots of love to you and your family from,
The Brothers Buckley xoxo!!
Bath time for Matthew!
Bath time for dinosaurs!
the line for "dino bath"!
Dr. Gabe!
Bath time for Zeke!
Ahhh, this is the life!! (Zeke)
Sweet dreams lovies!!xoxoxo
Friday, July 9, 2010
The results are in...
It is pyloric stenosis. Surgery is scheduled for 11am tomorrow (Saturday) lots of prayers please. It is a simple & short surgery & hopefully he will thrive after recovery. It would be nice to have him be a happy baby again!
One step forward, two steps back
Well, here is what's goin' on. Matthew did come home last week, when he was here he was very fussy & not eating well & projectile vomiting. Sunday afternoon we noticed that the small hernia he had was much bigger, much bigger. So on Monday morning I brought him with me to visit Ezekiel & get the opinion of the NP in the NICU as to if we should go to the ER. When they saw how big it was they called the urologist & by 2pm Matthew was in surgery. He had a double hernia repair They admitted him back into the NICU & he is still there. He has lost more weight & is still vomiting (all the way across the room). There will be another ultrasound of his abdomen sometime today. It could be pyloric stenosis, and if that's the case he will have to have another surgery. We just have to wait and see.
Ezekiel is home and doing okay. He's a lot more fussy than usual, but the change in surroundings & having had his shots 2 days ago could be the reason for that.
It's been a bumpy ride this year so far & we are holding on tight!
Hope all is well & healthy for you & your family!
Lots of love from,
The Brothers Buckley
Ezekiel is home and doing okay. He's a lot more fussy than usual, but the change in surroundings & having had his shots 2 days ago could be the reason for that.
It's been a bumpy ride this year so far & we are holding on tight!
Hope all is well & healthy for you & your family!
Lots of love from,
The Brothers Buckley
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
This is the week!!!!
This is the week!!! I will have a house full with all 4 boys HOME!!! Matthew came home this morning & Ezekiel is coming home on Thursday! Hooray for the "tiny two"! So far (all 3 hours) have been going okay, just trying to figure out where everything is going to go. Matthew had his first bottle at home, ate 50ml's, then proceeded to throw up 30 of it. Oh well, I hope it goes better later! The big brothers are excited and out of sorts, but they will eventually adjust.
Zeke will miss you until he comes home too Matthew!
Gettin' ready to go!
Look at Danny's face, ya think he knows his life is going to change?
Home sweet home!
Welcome home Matthew, we are so happy you are here!
Nap time!
Lots of love to you from,
The Brothers Buckley xoxo
Thursday, June 24, 2010
What Daniel createth, Mr. Clean magic eraser taketh away!
Daniel decided he wanted the bathroom door to not be so plain & ordinary, so with BALLPOINT PEN he jazzed it up a bit!
pretty!
Mr. Clean magic eraser to the rescue...
Abra-ca-zam!!!
WOW!!
Here are the pictures of the Brothers that I couldn't get to work yesterday.
Enjoy!
Mr. T-ball! the Gabe at bat for "the Rockies"!
Gabriel the firefighter! At the fire muster, so much fun!!
Fight that fire Danny Boy!!
Oh Danny boy
the Gabe!!
The big Brothers!
Look at the almost double chin on Ezekiel!
Matthew dreaming of the jungle!
Lots of love to you from,
The Brothers Buckley!
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