Update...

During Lincoln's surgery, the surgeon tried inserting a catheter up the artery in the right leg. After several tries, he still wasn't successful so he went up the vein in his left leg. Lincoln was on a lot of blood thinner so his right leg took forever to stop bleeding. It was a tricky balance between getting his leg to stop bleeding and at the same time try not to get any clots in his leg. The bleeding did stop but his leg was swollen. You can see in the picture in the last post, when he was wheeled out of surgery, how purple his leg was. The next day they did an echo on his leg. He has some clots in the femural artery in his right leg. They can find a pulse in his leg but have yet to find a pulse in his foot. He is on blood thinner and they will keep him on that until the clots go away. The doctors believe that with the help of the blood thinner, it shouldn't travel to his heart and should be resolved.

Yesterday, they took Lincoln off Prostoglandin (the medicine that has been keeping the PDA open). An echo (ultrasound) was done today and they found that his PDA is slightly smaller but hasn't closed all the way. Once his PDA closes, they will be able to see if the surgery was successful and if his heart can work on it's own without the PDA open. (FYI: The PDA allows a different route of blood flow in newborns but closes shortly after birth. With the PDA open, Lincoln has been getting sufficient oxygen. Once the PDA closes, his heart has to take a new route (that's the same as all of us). This route goes through the Pulmonary Valve which was just operated on). The doctors say that it will take a few days for the PDA to close completely which will give us a better idea of his condition and if he requires further surgeries. We're watching his oxygen saturation closely to monitor his progress.

Thank you again for all of your love, support, and especially your prayers. We truly believe in the power of prayer and in the priesthood. We are so grateful for the gospel in our lives and especially for the Temple and the knowledge we have that families are forever.

Thank you!!