"This Is Dedicated to the One(s) I Love"

My real motivation for creating this blog is Joseph, our fourth child. Of course, all of the family will be included, but I want to dedicate this site to my little Joe.
People often ask how Joseph is and this provides a great reference tool as well as an opportunity to share my son's life and his defect with those who care the most.

Monday, June 22, 2009

BACK TO CHAOS


AND THEN SOME!!!!
I have been trying to find the time to create another post on Joseph's blog for weeks now. It's been three weeks tomorrow since he was released from the hospital. I opened one of the billing statements today- now brace yourselves! - and mind the fact that this statement only includes the hospital (ie. room and board, use of equipment, medicine, etc.) It does not include any
professional charges(surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses, cardiologists, pediatricians, ICU specialists, and so on and on and on...) The statement charges were over $88,000- YIKES!!
Though this is nothing in comparison to the overall figure. After Joseph's 2nd surgery, I stopped adding up the billing statement figures once I passed $1,000,000.00. By the time Joseph is grown, He will literally be the "Two Million Dollar Man".

So, here's an update... Joseph's X-ray looked good. No fluid around his heart and lungs. The professionals attribute that success to diuretics- and... it does deserve some credit- but, for me, I'd like to thank the Lord - he's the one that keeps our Joseph going. He's the one that blesses those that work on him to be so gifted. At any time, if it was his will, all could change. We know this, but we also know that we must have faith and ask for the Lord to bless his heart that it will continue forever. So... we ask for the greatest blessings possible knowing that the Lord will grant our petitions if it is the plan for Joseph and our family.

At Joseph's last cardiology visit, he was able to remove daytime oxygen. So, we went to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate. It was the highlight of Joseph's week- he talked about it for days.-you'd think we went to Disneyland or something- oh, the pleasures of a young heart.

Also, here's some pictures of us with my brother, Elder Jordan Wood. He returned home from his mission for a short time because of a back injury. Please pray for him. As soon as his back is in better sorts, he can go back to serving the Lord as an LDS missionary in Chihuahua, Mexico. These pics were taken at Carl's Jr. He had a layover in Salt Lake, before heading to St. George.





One more thing... I'd like to thank everyone who's shared their love and kindness with us. The meals, phone calls, notes, and occasional gifts have been so appreciated- truly. Thank you so much for thinking of us- we love you all.
Recently, Brad's sister's husband's grandmother- whom we have never met- sent some gifts for Joseph and our family. The bag of surprises came from Travis's grandmother, Marian Heinz, who lives in Ogden, and her sister, Jean, from England. First of all, the kids loved the presents, especially the SpongeBob Connect 4 game, it was Joseph's favorite. But mostly, I just think it's amazing that people we have never met are sending us gifts to let us know they are thinking of Joseph- it touches me so much. Thank you, Marian and Jean. for your kindness and love. And thank you to everyone- neighbors, ward members, and family who have been calling to check on us, bring us meals, and taking care of our other children. We could never manage through such an event without you. And... I know that the Lord will bless you because of your unselfish service.

I couldn't end without showing you a picture of the cutest baby ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Another X-ray

We made a return visit to PCMC today for more lab work and another chest x-ray. Joseph has some fluid around his heart. His surgeon wanted to give him an additional diuretic to see if that will do the trick before admitting him back into the hospital and putting another chest tube in.
We have another appointment on Tuesday to see if the diuretic works. Please pray for him on fast Sunday. We love you all - thanks

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

We Did It! We Did It! Ya,Ya, Ya- no eating here tonight, no eating here tonight




That's Joe's favorite ditty from Finding Nemo. I felt it was appropriate for today's post. On Monday morning, the cardiology team came in and said that all looked good on Joe's chest X-ray, but they wanted to watch him for one more day just to be safe. Joe had a hard time staying in bed on Monday and was more than ready to leave on Tuesday morning.


It is good to be home:) We feel so blessed.