Our Lil' Hero: September 2011

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A Shot in the Arm for Mason

A Shot in the Arm for Mason!!!!

Well the flu season is among us....BOO!!! While some of you might find this "overboard" or "harsh" to us it is not. To us I would explain it maybe as harsh reality. For Mason's safety we are advising that if you plan on being around him AT ALL that you will get your flu shot. There is the assumption that if you get the flu shot you will get the flu, well guess what that is false. This is straigt off of the CDC's website:

The flu shot: The viruses in the flu shot are killed (inactivated), so you cannot get the flu from a flu shot. Some minor side effects that could occur are:

•Soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given
•Fever (low grade)
•Aches
•Nausea
If these problems occur, they begin soon after the shot and usually last 1 to 2 days. Almost all people who receive influenza vaccine have no serious problems from it.

The flu would be life threatening to Mason, and it wouldn't be a question of he might be admited to the hospital if he got it, it is a guarentee that he would be admitted and it would be to the ICU, I don't think YOU would want to be the cause of that, would you?

Because of the risks if you don't have your flu shot you won't be allowed at our house this winter that may seem rude but I'd rather seem rude and avoid the hospital this winter than hold my feelings in and be at the hospital away from Ryder and Zac for weeks because Mason caught the flu. Also if we do decide to attend family events such as Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, or New Years Eve parties outside of our house and we bring Mason, if you plan on holding him or getting close to him we will be asking if you got your flu shot and if you didn't you will just have to wait until the summer to cuddle with him. The more people who get the flu shot the less people who get the flu, crazy concept right? So really it isn't only for Mason's protection but for your own family's also. I know alot of you have kids and babies in you homes so do it for them also! So come on all the cool kids are doing it and get a

SHOT IN THE ARM FOR MASON!! ♥

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Crazy Summer!

So it has been awhile since I last updated so where to even start?!! We obviously got to come home and the first blood culture was contaminated so he was good there. After that we have had a fun and busy last of summer. We attended heart camp which was a blast! We are apart of a support group called Intermountain Healing Hearts and they have some fun events and that was one of them. If you want to know more about them or donate to them in Mason's name go to www.intermountainhealinghearts.org Then there was another hospital visit. Mason had a small seizure so we had to go back to primarys and stay the night in the Rapid Treatment Unit but they said everyone gets a free pass with those and if it happens again then they will want to do CT scans and EEG's. He is going to be having eye surgery on October 7 with antoher sedated echo. I can't believe Mason is going to be one in less than a month! I'm so excited to hit that milestone and for him to beat the odds that they gave him! He proves to be a fighter every single day and we couldn't be more proud! ♥

He pulls himself up to everything!

Ryder and Mason at Heart Camp

My little Hawaiian Baby

Mason's first campout! (In grandmas backyard)

The boys

My favorite picture from our family pictures done by Stephanie Tueller!

A little about Mason

This is a journey through Hypoplasic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). Mason was born on October 1, 2010 as what we thought was a healthy normal baby boy. At 3 weeks old we found out when he was life flighted to Primary Children's Medical Center that he was born with an Unbalanced AV Canal Defect that caused him to have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. He also was diagnosed with 2 Large ASD's a VSD, a CoArch of the Aorta, and a small leaky Mitral Valve. He had his first open heart surgery, the Norwood, in the end of October 2010. After surgery his chest was left open and they surgically closed it a few days later after the swelling went down. He had his second open heart surgery, the Glenn, in January 2011. He did great with recovery and got discharged 1 week later. We had him home for 1 day then he was rushed back to the hospital where they found he had a sternal infection and had to open him back up and wash out all the infection and he had a picc line placed for 6 weeks for antibiotics. He had a couple of heart caths during that time, and echo every 3-6 months, and eye surgery.
In February 2013 we sent his records to Boston to explore different surgical options for him. We found out he was a candidate for a surgery called the Staged Left Ventricle Recruitment to the BiVent. With this surgery it would grow his left ventricle to normal size and then give him normal circulation to hopefully avoid him having to have a heart transplant. (if we didn't go this route we have been told with his anatomy he would need a transplant in his teens). With the help of friends, family, and strangers we went to Boston where he had the first of hopefully only 2 surgeries. He had his 3rd open heart surgery in June and right now his heart is growing and conditioning to be able to handle the load of the work that a normal heart does. He is due to have his 4th open heart surgery in the first of 2014.