Hunter updates from Facebook

  

3 weeks until parole
Share
4:47pm Monday, Oct 8 | Edit Note | Delete
Hunter is doing great he is feeding off the bottles from home now and had his NG tube removed. There has been no blood infection for a couple of weeks now. The Cardiologist tell us they are happy with his heart function, and they are going to do a MRI before he leaves the hospital. I haven't been able to do to many updates lately because there just hasn't been time.




I am working full time now and Nicole sees Hunter during the day, we have dinner and then I get the night shift. Which is nice, Hunter and I watch all the new shows.


Thanks so much every one for your support. We can't wait to get the little guy home.


The emotional Rollercoster continues.
Share
8:55pm Thursday, Sep 20 | Edit Note | Delete
Just when we thought Hunter was out of the woods ( no pun intended, well maybe a little) He had another bad night. Yesterday he was going in to have his pic line (IV) installed in his arm and the doctor in the OR nicked his artery in the upper part of his arm so they had to move the line into his jugular. He is doing ok. We are keeping an eye on him and he went for and ultrasound today to see if there is a clot in that nick. Thankfully there was not. But he does have less blood going through that arm so now we have to hear from the vascular surgoens to see if they are going to put him on some more meds to treat it. However I was talking to the Hematologist and thinks Hunter will be ok on just ASA = aspirin.

Nicole was talking to the Cardiologist tonight and he is going to push to get Hunter home as soon as possible because he thinks there is higher chance of Hunter to get another infection in the hospital then at home..... and he doesn't even know how much Nicole cleans the house ha ha.

On the bright side He is doing very well with the feeds. Nicole got him to take a whole bottle at once . Since he has been back in Calgary he has been growing more and more. Abby can't wait to be a big sister and wants to bring him home as do we all.

We have been switching kids and making it work so far. I am going to head back to work full time next week..... Booo... I have rather liked getting a full check with half the work. I would gladly give that up to have every home together.



Back in the Cowtown
Share
10:28am Tuesday, Sep 18 | Edit Note | Delete



The little guys is doing good , he has been negitive on the blood cultures for 3 days we are just waiting for the final reports which take 4 days.

It is nice to be back in my own bed, and walking throught the door back home it is like walking into a mansion after living in a hotel. It is even better to be home with Nicole and Abby, I don't think we will be eating out until January.

I just sat in on rounds as I was typing this. The Doctors are very happy with his progress. He is going to be weened off of the seditives tomorrow. He is feeding good and they are going to put in a PIK line tomorrow for this IV. Hunter is still on a lot of meds but every one is glad to see him progressing as well has he has.
Time to hold so I got to go.

Thanks for all the support and love, we can not tell you now much we appreciate it.

Friday??? who knows at this point
Share
7:03pm Wednesday, Sep 12 | Edit Note | Delete
The boy is doing much better. After this fight with the bacteria. He is off of most of the meds now. But he will be no some antibiotics for a few weeks. The doctors are telling us that Hunter is closer to moving to Calgary but I will believe it when I see it.

Nicole and Abby went back to Cowtown today because Abby has pre-school tomorrow. I am in the chuck probably until he goes. He is looking more and more like a baby every day and less and less like a machine. Itwas a big thing for him to get off of the resporator. He loves his sawing and the little fish tank with bubbles that the nurses have for him.

But he isnt one for tickles, and he doesn't smile much. I probably wouldn't eather if I had been through what he has.

We some luck we will all be back in Calgary soon.
I don't know when we will at be at home yet.






Not going to be back as soon as we hoped
Share
9:54am Sunday, Sep 9 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
Hunter is back on the resperator, which sucks literally. They are using it to clean out his lungs. He now has a blood infection but is being treated with i v antibiotics which he is going to be on for 2 to 6 weeks. Nicole is getting tired of edmonton and really wants to go home. Her and Abi are up 4 the week end maybe until tuesday. We are pushing to have him moved to calgary but with the alone infection it will more than likely be later than sooner.


Share
12:13pm Tuesday, Sep 4 | Edit Note | Delete
After talking with the doctors today we have a better idea of when we will back in Calgary it depends on Hunter a bit. They have to ween him off of one of the cardiac meds and when he is off then he will be able to be transfered to Alberta Childrens. This could be as soon as Friday or later next week at the longest. Which would be nice because we would be back home with Abby and our Bed.... I miss my bed... and my shower. He has been doing so well since the operation. He is almost off the morphine and they are increasing his feeds everyday. Nicole is looking at going to back to Calgary tomorrow to be with Abby at home. I will stay here and am going to start back at work part time tomorrow. It will be hard to be apart. But it will be better for Abby to have Mom there with her for a while, for some normalitiy. Hunter is now in a swing for a first time and is sitting up for the first time since the first day he was born.



Mobile Note
Share
9:55am Thursday, Aug 30 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
Hunter is doing great, had his L A line taken out this morning & is going back 2 the n i c v shortly.

3 comments | Add a comment

Mobile Note
Share
10:10am Wednesday, Aug 29 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
hunter is getting his chest closed shortly, he had a good night and is doing well today. we might be back in the n i c v sooner than later

3 comments | Add a comment

Mobile Note
Share
10:31am Tuesday, Aug 28 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
Post surgery going very well so far. hunter is stable & resting. he is a strong little guy.

3 comments | Add a comment

Mobile Note
Share
12:16pm Monday, Aug 27 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
Out of surgery, doing good so far. it is still going to be up and down for hunter in the next 48 hours.


Mobile Note
Share
8:14am Monday, Aug 27 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
Hunter is in surgery now he had a good nite and is ready to start his recovery.

2 comments | Add a comment

Mobile Note
Share
4:03pm Thursday, Aug 23 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
Norwood operation on monday afternoon if all goes to plan

No comments | Add a comment

losT numbers
Share
8:18pm Monday, Aug 20 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
my cell crashed i lost all the numbers i had please mesage me your numbers if You do not have them on here already

No comments | Add a comment

Update for Aug 14th, 2007
Share
10:10am Tuesday, Aug 14 | Edit Note | Delete
Just got out of the NICU for a bit, the legion of doctors are going to have a cardiac conference on him today, But after talking with the surgeons it looks like they might just leave him be they are going to try to take him off of the prostaglandin drug today, which means a lot, that drug is an arterial dilator, but it has some nasty side effects like it makes him over heat and it can cause apena ( stop breathing). So if he gets off of that drug then he can get off of the respirator as well. Yeah.
They are going to tell us more this after noon. We don’t know at this point if that is a delay in surgery or we get to avoid that all together. For now the blood is going in the right direction and he is doing better than he was last week.

Will write more when I can.


2 comments | Add a comment

Hunter update
Share
10:04pm Saturday, Aug 11 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
He is doing better he has been stable for a couple of days now the docs are going to decide on tuesday what the next step is going to be. Abi is in the hotel with up for the next few nights, which is nice almost normal for a change. Nicole and i were in rough shape yesterday but today was much better. They up ed his food today to get his gut working again.

1 comment | Add a comment

Mini update
Share
10:40am Wednesday, Aug 8 | Edit Note | Delete
Hunter is resting for the rest of the week. He is on a ton of meds, but slowly coming off of them or at least turning them down. We are waiting to see how he reacts, before they surgeons decide if they have to go in and fix his heart.

We are holding up. It is not getting easier just more used to all of this. We are staying at the Westin downtown until the end of the week. Then?? Not sure yet, we are going to try to rent a furnished apartment, at least for a couple of weeks.

Just want to say thanks again for all the well wishes. I am trying to respond to all the messages, if I do not get to yours right away, please do not take offence.

My Mom and Dad are up here now and Nicole’s side of the family are coming up on the weekend, along with Imoan (Naomi) and Tom (I think). Cole’s Family are going to be camping up here for a few weeks. I can’t wait to see Abby again, she brings a air of normalcy to life.

We have been able to hold Hunter at night which means so much, but it is quite the ordeal. It takes 2 nurses and a RT to move him. I know he likes it, his heart rate drops a lot when Mom or Dad is holding him.

I will keep you all posted as I can.

Lots of love

Travis, Nicole, Abigail, & Hunter

1 comment | Add a comment
Updated about 3 months ago
I just want to spend a little time to catch everybody up
Share
11:51pm Monday, Aug 6 | Edit Note | Delete
I just want to spend a little time to catch everybody up on what has been happening the past few days.

On Tuesday at 8:21 in the morning after getting to the hospital at about 7:10, yep that fast, Nicole gave birth to our beautiful little boy. Hunter Riley Wiens, he was already a miracle baby then, because the umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck not once but twice. He was born with out incidents, although Nicole not call it that, She was so fast to deliver that she did not have time to have an epidural. We got to hold him and hug him after he got cleaned up a bit first.
Big sister Abby was so excited to see her baby brother now that he was finally here. She did not want to go back to Grandma & Grandpa’s with out him “ I want to keep him” she said.

About 12 hours later we were told that he had a heart murmur but it was nothing to worry about because it is pretty common for babies to have those when they are first born. The murmurs tend to dissipate on their own. I went home to catch some sleep at around 11 pm on Tuesday night, with Nicole and Hunter safely in their beds sleeping away.

In the morning I received a call from Nicole as I was on my way to the Rocky View Hospital telling me that they had moved Hunter into the special care unit. His murmur was not going away. The doctors had an echocardiogram (ultrasound of his heart). When they had the results the doctors in Calgary came to us and told us that Hunter had an Atriol Stenosis which means the valve in the left ventricle of his heart was not opening and only had a tiny whole for the blood to travel thru to the rest of his body. They were going to send him to the Stollery children’s hospital in Edmonton, because they have a pediactric cardiology department, In the mean time he had to be intibateded and central lines for both the veins and the arteries were put itto Hunters day old umbilical cord. The Doctors in Calgary started a intravenous medication called Prostin. This drug holds open the artery in his heart (ductus arterious) that is normally only open when he was inside Nicole, the ductus by passes the left side of the heart since when Hunter was inside Nicole he did not need to us his lungs. The reason they gave him this medication was to lessen the stress on the heart and keep his blood flowing.
The transport nurses came to pick him up and send Hunter on a plane to Edmonton.

My Mom and Dad drove us up and our truck after a quick stop at home to get some clothes and things we would need, and to give Abby a great big hug and kiss from here baby brother. We were both in no shape to drive and there was no room on the plane for us. Hunter had 3 transport nurses and to EMT’s on the plane with him. he got to Edmonton about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. We were only a couple of hours behind him. When we got to the NICU they told us we could stay in the parents room for the night it is inside the NICU just off to one end. It was small and had a twin bed with a pull out mattress below but that was no consolation for being only 15 feet from him for the night. As we walked in the NICU he was having an echocardiogram done again, this time by the cardiologists. They explained to Nicole and I that they wanted to insert a catheter in his legs and up to his heart, they were going to do valve dilation, Which means they use a balloon to force open the valve and allow more blood to flow through his heart. This procedure decreases the pressure on the ventricle and increase the blood to the rest of the body.

After the surgery the doctor told us that the balloon inflation worked well, the pressure on the left ventricle was now down. Now it is up to Hunters ventricle to relax to reshape it has been working so hard that it’s muscles were enlarged from working under so much pressure for so long.

On the weekend Nicole’s Mom, Dad , Abby and her uncles came for a visit. Hunter loved to hear his big sisters voice; he smiled every time he heard it.

We have had a lot of ups and downs, somedays are good some are not so good. But we appreciate all the well wishes, prayers, and just wanted to thank you so much.







Hunter up date
Share
12:03am Friday, Aug 3 | Edit Note | Delete
Uploaded via Facebook Mobile
Hunter had a balloon inserted in 2 his heart 2 open up the blocked value. Every thing went as well as can be expected. He is sedated and resting well. Little guy gave us all a good fright yesterday. Nicole is doing well. I was a wreck yesterday, but feeling better now that hunter is back in the nicu. I just want 2 say thanks to you all for your support & your best wishes. 4 right now we are staying at the hospital just down hall from the little guy & it looks like we r going 2 b in edmonton 4 a while. we will post some pics when we can. Right now it is up 2 the little guy 2 rest & get better, keep up the positive thoughts , i will keep u as updated as i can

7 comments | Add a comment

Baby watch 2007
Share
6:13am Tuesday, Jul 31 | Edit Note | Delete
6:12 Am July 31st , going to the hospital

1 comment | Add a comment

Baby watch 2007 - Mini update
Share
11:41pm Monday, Jul 30 | Edit Note | Delete

But this baby is coming out before Aug 7th if he wants to or not, according to Nicole's Doc.

Guess I shouldn't book a tee time for the 6 th. ha ha

new pictures

Hunter new pictures

strong little guy

Hunter is doing very will after his first operation, thus far. He is still fighting the meds to show Mom an eye. He is pink and warm, and he even has this pedial (foot) pulses back in both feet. If he loses some of the excess fluid over night. which he is carrying then he might even get his chest closeded tomorrow. ( For thoses of you I have not been in touch with , Hunter had his chest opened for a few days, until the heart stops swelling and it goes down, then they are going to close his chest with wires, {don't worry he has his skin closed})The veiw from our room at the Hotel.

Surgery or no surgery that is the still the question.

We are waiting until Tuesday to here from the doctors which open heart surgery on Hunter. Wednesday he got off the prostin but he did not like that very much his blood pressure dropped and his kidney’s shut down. It was a very rough day for every one, hence that is why we have not be doing many updates. They started the prostin again and Hunter is doing much better, but the fact that he did not like being off of if tells us that his left ventricle is not in as good of shape as we all had hopped. I talked to the surgeon on Monday and she told us depending on what happens with the echo on this coming up Monday they will decide which of to procedures.
They are going to consider doing, one is called the “ ross procedure Ross procedure” (click the blue word for more info) it is essentially trading his pulmonary artery with his aortic valve and then inserting an artificial pulmonary artery.
The other one is called a “Norwood” (click the blue word for more info) procedure and it is a bit more complicated. They join the pulmonary artery with the aorta the problem being this heart will now work as one pump and not two so his blue and red blood will be mixed. So the next step is to divert the blue blood to the lungs through another vessel, which they will insert in Hunters humeral (arm) vain. That is the first surgery then when Hunter is about 4 months then they take the top part of the Vena Cava ( the main vain to the heart) and divert it directly to the lungs and then later in life another surgery to move the lower part of his vena cava to the lungs. Of course the procedures are a lot more complex than that, but that is the readers digest version.
Either way if Hunter needs open heart surgery then he is going to need more than one. There are a few things that are going to be the determining factors. The direction of the blood flow through the ductus is the major one, and the other main factor is going to be the pressure difference between the atria and the ventricle of the left side of the heart. The doctors will find out from the echo cardio grams on Monday if Hunter is going to need any procedures or what information they need to decide which procedure his is going to have.
It has been very up and down emotionally for us some days you get good news some days you have set backs. We are doing our best with the present circumstances. Nicole and I thank you all for your kind hearts and warm thoughts. We have been lucky enough to have a few friends come up for a meal or a visit, it is always nice to have new faces around. We have moved out of the Ronald McDonald house, back into the Westin downtown. This way Abby can stay with us for a few nights maybe longer, it is nice to have her around. She loves to go swimming in the pool, and she quite liked the whale that she could walk inside at West Edmonton mall. It has been hard on her she knows her baby brother is sick, but at the same time all she wants to do is go home.

quick update

Just got out of the NICU for a bit, the legion of doctors are going to have a cardiac conference on him today, But after talking with the surgeons it looks like they might just leave him be, for a while. They are going to try to take him off of the prostaglandin drug today, which means a lot, that drug is an arterial dilator, but it has some nasty side effects like it makes him over heat and it can cause apena ( stop breathing). So if he gets off of that drug then he can get off of the respirator as well. Yeah.
They are going to tell us more this afternoon. We don’t know at this point if that is a delay in surgery or we get to avoid that all together. For now the blood is going in the right direction and he is doing better than he was last week.

more pictures of the little guy

Annoucing Hunter Riley Wiens Born July 31, 2007

I just want to spend a little time catching everybody up on what has been happening the past few days.

On Tuesday at 8:21 in the morning after getting to the hospital at about 7:10, yep that fast, Nicole gave birth to our beautiful little boy. Hunter Riley Wiens, he was already a miracle baby then, because the umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck not once but twice. He was born with out incidents, although Nicole not call it that, She was so fast to deliver that she did not have time to have an epidural. We got to hold him and hug him after he got cleaned up a bit first.
Big sister Abby was so excited to see her baby brother now that he was finally here. She did not want to go back to Grandma & Grandpa’s with out him “ I want to keep him” she said.

About 12 hours later we were told that he had a heart murmur but it was nothing to worry about because it is pretty common for babies to have those when they are first born. The murmurs tend to dissipate on their own. I went home to catch some sleep at around 11 pm on Tuesday night, with Nicole and Hunter safely in their beds sleeping away.

In the morning I received a call from Nicole as I was on my way to the Rocky View Hospital telling me that they had moved Hunter into the special care unit. His murmur was not going away. The doctors had an echocardiogram (ultrasound of his heart). When they had the results the doctors in Calgary came to us and told us that Hunter had an Aortic Stenosis which means the valve in the left ventricle of his heart was not opening and only had a tiny whole for the blood to travel thru to the rest of his body. They were going to send him to the Stollery children’s hospital in Edmonton, because they have a pediactric cardiology department, In the mean time he had to be intibateded and central lines for both the veins and the arteries were put itto Hunters day old umbilical cord. The Doctors in Calgary started a intravenous medication called Prostin. This drug holds open the artery in his heart (ductus arterious) that is normally only open when he was inside Nicole, the ductus by passes the left side of the heart since when Hunter was inside Nicole he did not need to us his lungs. The reason they gave him this medication was to lessen the stress on the heart and keep his blood flowing.
The transport nurses came to pick him up and send Hunter on a plane to Edmonton.

My Mom and Dad drove us up and our truck after a quick stop at home to get some clothes and things we would need, and to give Abby a great big hug and kiss from here baby brother. We were both in no shape to drive and there was no room on the plane for us. Hunter had 3 transport nurses and to EMT’s on the plane with him. he got to Edmonton about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. We were only a couple of hours behind him. When we got to the NICU they told us we could stay in the parents room for the night it is inside the NICU just off to one end. It was small and had a twin bed with a pull out mattress below but that was no consolation for being only 15 feet from him for the night. As we walked in the NICU he was having an echocardiogram done again, this time by the cardiologists. They explained to Nicole and I that they wanted to insert a catheter in his legs and up to his heart, they were going to do valve dilation, Which means they use a balloon to force open the valve and allow more blood to flow through his heart. This procedure decreases the pressure on the ventricle and increase the blood to the rest of the body.

After the surgery the doctor told us that the balloon inflation worked well, the pressure on the left ventricle was now down. Now it is up to Hunters ventricle to relax to reshape it has been working so hard that it’s muscles were enlarged from working under so much pressure for so long.

On the weekend Nicole’s Mom, Dad , Abby and her uncles came for a visit. Hunter loved to hear his big sisters voice; he smiled every time he heard it.

We have had a lot of ups and downs, somedays are good some are not so good. But we appreciate all the well wishes, prayers, and just wanted to let you all know that we have the best friends and family what any one could ask for. Thank you so much.

Three hills car show 2007

Lobster in the (bowness) park

Lobster Fest

Pics from the park

Random May pics

Baby's new room

Saturday Afternoon in Bowness Park