The End of Surgery Day

Lauren and Justin have been reunited with Judah! 

They were able to meet with the surgeon, and he was very reassuring and said that he was pleased with how everything went. They are praising God that Judah is healed, and now praying fervently for his full recovery. 

They have been amazed at the care Judah [and they!] are receiving at Cardinal Glennon. 

Judah's levels are currently stable and nurses and doctors are diligently monitoring him and trying to make sure his medications are at the right amount to keep him comfortable. 

He will remain on a breathing machine until at least tomorrow, and will remain sedated until they can take it out. 

Please pray that he can keep his blood pressure and heart rate steady over the next 24 hours, and for good rest for all after this very full day. 

Surgery Day: another update

Lauren and Justin received another update from the operating room: 

They were able to do the FULL repair. Judah is now OFF of the bypass machine and his heart is beating again on its own. 

After the repair they did another echo and, from what the doctors can see, everything is working correctly. They are currently finishing some "typical" surgical procedures and then they will stitch him up. 

After everything is finished in the OR, they will transition him into the PICU and let Lauren and Justin know when they can go see him. This will be a difficult thing, Lauren says possibly one of the tougher parts of the whole process. 

Please join them in praising our God for a successful repair and continue to pray for recovery to go in Judah's favor, and for Lauren and Justin as they reunite with their son.

Surgery Day: update

The OR has given Lauren and Justin a few updates: 

They took longer than normal to start because they needed to do one more echo to make sure of a few things. This set the schedule back just a little bit. At this point, the incision has been made, Judah is on a bypass machine, and they have started the actual repair. 

He will have a few hours of surgery before they close him up. 

In the meantime, Lauren and Justin were able to tour the PICU [Pediatric Intensive Care Unit] and the room that will be Judah's [theirs] after the surgery. They have met his nurse, and were very reassured by how wonderful she was, while also giving them realistic expectations. 

At this point they are still unsure if they will have access to the Ronald McDonald house. 

Surgery Day

Judah was moved back to surgery at 7 a.m. this morning. 

There will be about two hours of prep, then three or more hours for actual surgery. 

Lauren and Justin will get to then join him in recovery, which will not be until this afternoon sometime. 

Yesterday was a very long, hard day. Today will be as well. They truly feel your prayers, and the presence of God in the midst of this. 

Please continue to pray.

Arrival

Judah [and Lauren and Justin] have arrived at Cardinal Glennon in St. Louis. The rain slowed them down a bit, but Judah slept a lot of the way and did well. Pre-operation procedures have begun.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Welcome to Baby Judah Updates!

Hello friends and family. 

As many of you know, Lauren and Justin have been at the hospital [KU Med Center] with Judah since last Friday morning when they brought him in for observation after he showed some more drastic signs of his heart condition [tetralogy of fallot]. On Saturday the medical team decided to start him on some medication to hold him off until they could schedule his surgery, and he would need to remain in their care until that time. 

Lauren and Justin have been overwhelmed by everyone's support and concerns via messages and calls and emails. After talking with them, we decided one central location where updates could be posted would be the best way to serve everyone at this time. 

Lauren and Justin deeply appreciate all the support and prayers, and it means the world to them that you are thinking of them and concerned about Judah during this time. They simply do not have the capacity to contact everyone right now, so please be patient with them and just check here for updates before contacting them if at all possible. 

As of Tuesday, June 27th, the consensus from Judah's heart doctor and the staff at KU Med is to transport him to St. Louis [SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital] Thursday morning, as Children's Mercy in KC could not get a surgery scheduled before the weekend. 

They will be expecting them at Cardinal Glennon and will begin all of the pre-operation details at the point of arrival, with the goal that surgery will take place on Friday [no specific time has been set]. 

Hopefully we can update again soon with more details. 

As of right now, please pray that Lauren and Justin would rest well and be refreshed by the Spirit in these days leading up to surgery, that the transport goes smoothly, that the hands that will be doing the surgery are steady and sure, and that little Judah will be on his way to recovery on Saturday. 

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Also, if you haven't checked out the awesome T-shirts Kyla has created as a fundraiser, please click the page at the top of this blog and follow the link there to check them out! [If you are on a mobile device and can't see the link, you may have to click "view web version" at the bottom. Once it refreshes it should be at the top]

If you are interested in helping financially or in other ways, please contact Kelsey at kelsey [dot] irwin [at] gmail [dot] com