Sean had open-heart surgery on
April 21, 2006. His recovery is going very well as evidenced by the
timeline and pictures below:April 21, 2006 @ 2:30pm:
Sean & Donel in the ICU just after surgery. The surgery started
around 8:00am and completed around 1:00pm. We were amazed at how good
he looked and that he was opening his eyes.
April 22, 2006 @ 9:00am:
By the next morning, Sean was drinking from a straw and saying "cheese" for
the camera. In the afternoon, we took him out for a wagon ride around
the 7th floor and he took a few steps on his own.
April 23, 2006 @ 11:30am:
We took Sean for a wagon ride up to the 8th floor garden. He's
throwing a coin into the water and making a wish to be home soon.
April 23, 2006 @ 5:30pm:
We took Sean for another wagon ride up to the 8th floor garden (a really
nice place). He's having a talk with Dad and wondering why we keep
taking his picture.
April 23, 2006 @ 7:30pm:
He's back in bed watching a video with Mom. Note that he's no longer
on oxygen. He's still not happy about being in the hospital but he's
making great progress. He walked 3 separate times today for a total of
about 40 feet -- amazing!
April 24, 2006 @ 12:30pm:
The goal for today was to get Sean to smile. Grandpa's visit this
morning sure helped and we got a few smiles throughout the day. Sean
has started eating better and talking more, even though we had to put the
oxygen back on for a while.
April 24, 2006 @ 7:30pm:
Sean has been spending a lot of time in the playroom at the hospital.
In the picture below, he kept asking Dad to pull the basket closer until he
could dunk it -- then asked Mom to take his picture doing it!
April 25, 2006 @ 4:00pm:
The doctors removed one of Sean's 3 drainage tubes this morning. He'll
be able to come home when the other two are removed -- most likely by the
end of the week.
He's pretty much back to normal, though he still doesn't have all his
strength back yet. In the picture below, he's getting exercise walking
down the hall to his room.
April 25, 2006 @ 7:30pm:
Sean has become a regular at the playroom... and he's starting to ham it up
for the camera. I guess that's a sure sign he's getting better!
April 26, 2006 @ 6:00pm:
Grammy and Grandpa brings
Sean's sisters for a visit! They took him for a wagon ride and then explored
the garden and the playroom. We all had a good time.
April 27, 2006 @ 10:00am:
Sean is back in the playroom and is getting his funny bone examined by Doc
ICU. We had fun playing in the morning before our checkout tests.
April 27, 2006 @ 3:30pm:
Sean is home! We checked out early this afternoon and he's now hanging
out on the living room couch. It's been quite a week... but it's had a
very happy ending.
Many thanks to Dr. Gandhi and the wonderful staff at Children's Hospital -- and to
everyone who's been lifting Sean in prayer!
