Thursday
Aug072008
Jake Update
Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 03:04PM Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for Jake this past week. I've had limited internet access while I've been here with Jake, and the hospital computers are all still running old software that isn't compatible with Squarespace's new interface, so I've been updating his condition in the comments of the post "Please Pray for Jake."
Today, Tom brought his handy dandy laptop with him, so I am able to write a new post today. I'll put all further updates in the comments of THIS post until we get home.
Here's where we are today:
Jake got through his cath with flying colors. It was a long procedure; he went in around 7:40 and came out around 12:45--that's a long time! He's out of recovery and back in his room. He's a little nauseous, but otherwise doing pretty good.
They were able to isolate and identify the leaky area without having to do the trans-esophageal echo. The leak is very small; too small to do a repair with any of the tools they have in the cath lab. They COULD have tried to do it using some kind of thing that was not made for that specific purpose, but that would have been experimental and since it is nearly insignificant at this point, the doc thought it would be best to leave well enough alone.
He is still set for the pacemaker/defibrillator implantation tomorrow afternoon, God willing. He probably won't be released until Sunday.
Again, we are very thankful for all of your prayers! This has been quite an ordeal, but we are all doing well, and Jake is getting the help he needs. No one knows how long he has been like this, so we are so grateful that it was discovered before something terrible happened. We know this is according to God's gracious mercy.
I'll be back to let you know how tomorrow's procedure goes and when we can start thinking about coming home,
Until then,
Kim, Tom,Jake and Sam
Reader Comments (14)
That's good news, Kim!! Will continue to pray for Jake and the doctors as they work on him!! :) (BTW - I've seen a couple of heart caths in my day - I got nauseous, too, and I was just watching, so tell Jake it's probably normal!)
I'm so happy to hear that he is doing so well right now. Hang in there Kim! We're praying for you.
Very good news.
Thanks for the update. So pleased to hear that you are continuing to rejoice in God's sweet intervention on Jake's behalf.
Thanks so much for the update, Kim. (I hadn't thought to check that comment thread). So glad to hear that everything went well. I'll still keep praying!
So happy to read this update from you Kim. Will continue to uphold all of you and lift you up to His throne!!
We can be thankful for God's providential hand in this!
Still praying...
Thank you all for your continuing prayers!
Jake's Pacemaker surgery is scheduled for 5 pm this afternoon. Should take about 4 hours, so it'll be a long night. Hopefully, he can come home Sunday morning.
If Tom brings his laptop to the hospital this afternoon, I may be able to update you further, but unless I can get a hospital laptop tonight, it'll probably be tomorrow morning.
Jake is doing fine; he's really looking forward to getting this last piece of the puzzle out of the way so he can go home! We are too!
Again, thanks for your ongoing prayers. The comfort we experience through the prayers of God's people is a unique blessing and a glimpse into what it will be like some day when we are all gathered together in Him.
I had trouble sleeping last night, so I prayed through the night watches. Glad to hear all is going well!
Jake is in his room and feeling pretty good, all things considered.
Everything went well; it took the doc a little extra time to place one of the leads—it kept pacing his diaphragm and causing a hiccough-like response. They put his heart into a “bad rhythm” to test the defibrillator and both times it worked flawlessly.
He is not experiencing much pain or discomfort of any kind. They have his low rate set at 80 and his high at 150 for now. It is very strange for us to look at his ECG—a solid 80 bpm with no arrhythmia. It reminds both of us of the amazement we experienced when he came out of his first reconstructive surgery—the little blue feet and lips were pink for the first time. Well, now he’s got a normal looking ECG for the first time.
You can see a rectangular bulge on the left side by his collar bone where the ICD is implanted. It’s really pretty small. He will have to have his arm in a sling for about a month to 6 weeks to immobilize it while the leads are “growing” into the heart tissue and becoming affixed. He will have some limitations for a while, (lifting, pushing, pulling, driving) but eventually he will be able to almost anything he wants (no contact sports or trips to the electrical power plant for him!)
The plans are still in place for him to come home late tomorrow night or Sunday morning. Jake and I are BOTH anxious to come home.
Everyone has been wonderful here at Children’s—great docs, great nurses, great support staff. Cafeteria? Not so much. I’m looking forward to anything homemade—except a sandwich! Jake will be happy with anything that doesn’t appear on a children’s menu! : D
I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but we are all very grateful for your prayers. We have seen God's goodness in this in so many ways.
Now, we're going to get some sleep--there shouldn't be as many "alarms" going off tonight!
Kim,
Glad to see that the procedure went well and Jake is doing fine! Praise God!
Kim, I work with your sister and she has been updating us about Jake. I decided to check your blog today and am glad to know he may come home Saturday night or Sunday morning. I didn't really know much about your family except that you are a great sister, a wonderful calligrapher and have a knack for home decor. You have a pretty special sister, too. :) I have been praying for Jake and will continue. Thanks for the online updates. Hope you can get home to your own bed, your sweet pups and some home-cooked yummies! God Bless you!
OH my, KIm! This is the first I have read of this today! What a hard time you've been through! I'm glad to hear of the happy ending! God is good! I love and miss you and am so sorry not ot have checked in earlier. My prayers are with you. x