Update on Taryn

Taryn had a sedated echo cardiogram and all those other fun tests with Cardiology two weeks ago (yep, I'm behind). She did really well once they finally got her under, it's the WAITING that's the hard part! I know the drill, that's what you do at the hospital...wait. I just wish they could put the kids who are fasting (especially those who are too young to know what that is and why their mom won't give them food) on a "fast track" and knock them out in less than two hours from the time they arrive. She was done being distracted by bubbles and sprawled out on the floor begging to "EAT" when the IV team finally arrived...they thought that was so cute! Yea, right! During her last sedated echo she woke up before the test was over so the NP's decided to give her the maximum dose of Nembutal for her size, which worked so well that she was "phase one" (out cold) for more than an hour and a half after the test was done! I was really wishing I could have a nap myself, no medication needed here, but got to hang out and visit with the NP's in recovery instead since they had to monitor her closely until she woke up. She was a bit groggy acted like a drunk the rest of the day, which her older siblings got a big kick out of! I have to admit that she's pretty goofy when she's sober so it was rather entertaining. We were out of PCMC in just under five hours, not too bad.

As for the important stuff...
Dr. Saarel, her Cardiologist, said that all of her tests look good. The only concern is a narrowing in her pulmonary artery. The narrowing occurs where the temporary band was placed during her first surgery and removed during the second. They were hoping it would stretch back out but it hasn't and likely won't. For now it is not a big concern as her oxygen saturation levels look good. They'll continue to monitor that as she grows. Speaking of growing, most everyone at the hospital comments on how big she is and how good she looks. Dr. Saarel says that Taryn sure didn't get the memo on how kids with heart defects are suppose to look and act! She continues to defy the odds, and for that we feel very blessed and are so very grateful!

Kingsford Family

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Birthday Girl

Bridget was so excited to celebrate her 8th birthday last week! She started counting down the days soon after Christmas. She was thrilled with all of her presents, especially her very own set of scriptures. The Ricord's came over to celebrate and have cake and ice cream with us. We are now gearing up (at least I am) for a party with friends this week and the baptism next week.

End of the Season

Basketball season has finally come to an end, well for us anyway.
I know the "Madness" is just beginning for some.

This season of basketball didn't go as well as Parker hoped. He chose to trade teams and played competitive league. I was proud of him for sticking it out, even when he was frustrated. He worked really hard to improve his shooting over the last year and took third place in the "Fun Shot" competition last week!

This was Michaela's second year playing basketball. She became more confident in her ball handling and often scored half the points for her team. She learned how to have a good attitude when you play against girls that are a lot bigger than you! Her team didn't win any games but they always had a good time. I am so proud of her for staying positive all season.

"Mom, the ceiling is dripping..."

Yep, that may be my least favorite thing to hear! Oh yes, I've heard it way too many times! You see PLUMBING PROBLEMS are our nemesis, our "issue", whatever you want to call it. My personal belief is that everyone has something that they are cursed to deal with time and time again...car problems...health problems...ours is water. We have had FIVE plumbing/water disasters with damage (I'm not talking flooded toilets here) since we moved less than two years ago. I know what you're thinking...but it's not the house...it's us! This is actually an improvement from our old house. Our basement at the old house flooded nine times...one of those the city sewer backed up over five inches of lovely sewer water into our basement! Ah...memories! When we moved we had high hopes that the plumbing problems were behind us, nope, now they're ABOVE us, literally. The last four issues have all involved water raining down from above. A few weeks ago the main water line in our house got a leak. The plumber tried to assure me that this was a rare occurrence...yep, that would be par for the course for us. Needless to say the wall suffered a bit of damage and a huge section of the hall ceiling has to be replaced. Yes, this would be in the basement that I was DONE painting. Guess how excited I am to patch, re texture and repaint? Fun times!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Did you know...

This week is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week.
A few interesting facts...
**A Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) means a child is born with an abnormally structured heart and/or large vessels. Such hearts may have incomplete or missing parts, may be put together the wrong way, may have holes between chamber partitions or may have narrow or leaky valves or narrow vessels. There are approximately 35 different types of congenital heart defects.
**CHDs are the #1 birth defect in America, affecting approximately one in one hundred or 40,000 newborns every year.Each day 10,830 babies are born in the U.S.; 411 of them have a birth defect -- of those, 87 will be born with a congenital heart defect -- that's more than cerebral palsy (27), sickle cell disease (27), Down Syndrome (12), and oral/facial clefts (11) combined (total of 77). (According to the March of Dimes)
**CHDs are responsible for one third of all birth defect-related deaths, and sadly 20 percent of children who make it through birth will not survive past their first birthday. In the United States, twice as many children die from congenital heart defects each year than from all forms of childhood cancer combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHD.
**For many children a new heart is the only option, but only about 30% of the children who need a heart transplant receive one in time. In 2007 there were 327 pediatric heart transplants performed in the United States. The average heart transplant only lasts around 10 years.

Just doing our part to spread awareness...and now you're more aware!
Happy all-kinds-of-hearts week!