Team Travis: Looking Good

Monday, December 28, 2009

Looking Good

We ventured out today to drop off some food to some friends at the Ronald McDonald house and brought Travis to another cardiology check up. The nurse weighed him and he is up MORE (he's gained 5.6 oz since Friday). Now he weighs 8lbs 14.6oz. I told Roger I want to have a "ten-pound party" when he hits that milestone. Weight gain is great for him right now because he needs to get bigger and stronger before his next surgery. Travis' oxygen saturation levels and pulses are also looking really good. Dr. Levy said he can hear the sano shunt working well with the stethoscope. We were really pleased with Travis' appointment. The Dr. didn't even really say he needed to see him prior to his heart cath (see below) but we said we'd like to see him again just to check up. So, we go back to him on the 8th.

Travis' next scary hurdle is a procedure called a Heart Catheterization which is scheduled for January 13th. They will take a catheter and thread it through passageways of the heart looking for thinning or narrowing. If need be, they may need to place a balloon to open up any partially blocked paths. The findings in this procedure will tell the doctors about when he will need his second surgery (between 4-6 months of age) and if any of his medications need adjustment. We will be in the hospital just one night. We are not looking forward to this but we understand it is an important evaluative tool for the doctors to gauge the effectiveness of the shunt put in during his Norwood operation.

We also have an appointment with the High Risk Infant Doctor on Jan 12th. She will be the one to assess Travis and his developmental progress. If need be she can order occupational or physical therapy treatments to help him along with his milestones. Sometimes heart babies are slower to hit milestones due to everything they go through. Although Travis seems great to us we really have no idea as he is our first child. So, we are thankful they will start tracking him and his development early on.

That's it for now....Happy New Year!

1 comment:

Wodzisz FamilyDecember 29, 2009 at 8:23 AM
I know how you feel about a 10 pound party. I think it is a great idea. Hope should reach 9 pounds this week and that will be a HUGE achievement for her because she started out so small.

I am so happy that Travis' appointment went so well and everything looks so good for him. I know you are enjoying having him home and I am sure it is easier than being at the hospital.
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Travis Gary DiCarlo

Travis Gary DiCarlo, first son of Roger and Nicole DiCarlo, was born at San Diego Kaiser Hospital, October 23, 2009 with a Congenital Heart Defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, or HLHS. The short explanation is that Travis was born with only half of a heart. In order for him to live, a series of three operations were planned.

Due to an infection, Travis had to have an additional open heart surgery to insert pulmonary artery bands on October 29, 2009. He had his Norwood Surgery on November 21, 2009. He was sent home on December 14, 2009 from Rady's Children Hospital of San Diego after spending his first 52 nights of life in the hospital.

After being home for several months, Travis was due to for his next surgery in the plan, the Glenn procedure. But the life of a cardiac kid can change in an instant and life doesn't always go as planned. Due to the anatomy of his heart and some rhythm issues, Travis had what the surgeons called Norwood part 2. They replaced his Sano Shunt with a bigger one, enlarged his pulmonary arteries and installed a pacemaker. This surgery was performed on May 3, 2010. Travis went home on May 17th, 2010.

Around Travis' first birthday in October his cardiologist detected some narrowing in his pulmonary artery and ordered a heart cath. The heart cath showed extensive narrowing in his aorta and his pulmonary artery. On February 17, 2011 Travis had his 4th open heart surgery. He was doing well with recovery until he suddenly went into cardiac arrest on Friday (2/18). After two hours of CPR Travis was placed on ECMO (a heart/lung bypass). Although his heart did begin to beat again on its own, his brain was damaged during the whole ordeal and he lost all brain function. We had to say goodbye to our beautiful boy on Saturday, February 19th. We miss our boy terribly.....