Link's Surgery

This morning Link went in for the BT Shunt. The surgeon said that his surgery went well and he is doing fine thus far. He is still intubated and has multiple IV's that they will wean off of him throughout the week. We will most likely be in the PICU for another week then on the floor (recovery) for the next week then we're headed HOME!!! Thank you for all of your prayers today. We appreciate your love and concern so much!

Here's Link after surgery today

Here's some more pictures from the last week:

Our Family

Link looking at his daddy!

Red Hair

Mommy and baby

A four week stay in the PICU: Millions of dollars
Delivering at the U of U: Way too much
A happy baby through it all: PRICELESS

The plan...

Yesterday they took Link off the Prostaglandin for the fourth and final time. He was so close and tried so hard! They took him off at 9:00 a.m. and at a little after 10:00 p.m. he dropped dramatically. His PDA had shut completely and his oxygen stats were really low for an hour. We were very grateful that we were there so that we know for certain that the BT Shunt is necessary. Even though it's been hard to wait around for two weeks, we're grateful that the doctors waited so we know we tried everything before surgery was necessary. Tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. Link is going in for surgery- the BT Shunt.

The BT shunt consists of a sternal incision through his chest. Artificial tubing about 3 millimeters in diameter is sewn between the subclavian or carotid artery and the pulmonary artery, making it easier to regulate blood flow to the lungs. This is only a temporary surgery lasting around 4-8 months. At that time, Link will most likely need the Glenn surgery which turns his heart into a 1 1/2 ventricle heart where the right side will only have to do half the work. After the Shunt, we will stay about another week in the PICU then go to recovery for a few days so we HOPEFULLY will be home in a couple weeks! He will most likely come home with oxygen for the first little while, eventually not need the oxygen, then require it again in a few months as it gets closer to his next surgery. We are so grateful for the medical care he is receiving and are counting down the days til we get to take him home!

Lots of updates!

Russ loves this picture! He said that Link's going to get a Philosophy degree just like his daddy!

They did an ultrasound on Link's leg a couple days ago and the blood clot was gone! We were so excited! If the blood clot wasn't gone he'd come home on blood thinner that we'd have to give him with a shot every 12 hours. Now we don't have to!! A special thanks goes to his cousin Miles for continuously praying for "Winklon's sore leg."

They took him off Prostaglandin for the third time a few days ago and it didn't work so he's on it again. They will take him off Prosaglandin for the last time this Saturday or Sunday. If it doesn't work then he'll go in for the BT Shunt surgery sometime after next Wednesday.

Yesterday they needed to take the IV out of his umbilical artery because they can't have an IV in there for very long. They inserted a PICC (Peripherally inserted central catheter) line into him. Russ and I were a little hesitant about it at first but they explained that regular IV's only last from one to three days and they could come out of the vein, etc. So he has a PICC line that goes from his arm to right above his heart (central location). They can leave PICC lines in for up to 6 months. But his will hopefully come out before we go home!

And finally... our biggest surprise came this morning when we showed up at the hospital and saw this! RED HAIR?! Thanks Grandpa Cap!

Prostaglandin

Link has been on and off of Prostaglandin two times thusfar. He was off it yesterday but in the middle of the night his oxygen stats got too low so they put him back on it. He's resting today then they'll take it off tomorrow, etc. throughout the week. Babies have high pressure in their lungs which usually drops the first couple weeks of life. With lower pressure it's easier for the heart to pump blood to the lungs and throughout the body, therefore, our cardiologsit told us that she wanted to wait til he was around 2 weeks old before determining whether he needs the BT shunt. So he'll go on and off Prostaglandin til this next weekend. If he keeps his oxygen high then he'll be done but if it continues to drop when he's off Prostaglandin then we'll do the shunt.

Link

Link's oxygen saturation got too low yesterday so they put him back on Prostaglandin last night. They are going to leave it on for a day or two and let him rest then they are going to try to take him off of it again. If his oxygen stats get too low again we are looking at open heart surgery- the BT shunt. For now... we wait.

Lincoln James Ferry

Lincoln and his Daddy. Russ loves his little boy SO MUCH! He is so cute with him!

Our little guy!

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!!

Baby Lincoln's Surgery

Today was Lincoln's surgery. The surgery consisted of a catheter being inserted into a vein in his leg and brought up to his heart. An electric wire then burned a hole through the pulmonary valve. A balloon was then inserted and expanded causing the valve to open and allow the correct blood flow through the pulmonary valve. After the surgery, the surgeons took us back and showed us x-ray videos of the surgery. It was incredible! The doctors were so accommodating and we are so grateful that everything went well. They will now take him off of Prostoglandin which will cause his DA to close and see how his heart does with this new flow of blood. It will take a week or two to determine whether he requires another surgery.

Here are some more pictures of our little guy...



Our family right after delivery on Saturday at the U of U NICU.



Mommy and Baby at Primary Children's PICU. We were so excited that we were able to hold him!



We love our baby!



The cutest baby ever! (We are a little biased).



This is the operating room. We were told it was only a year and a half old. How incredible it was to have such new high-tech equipment available to help our little guy.



Lincoln being wheeled out of surgery.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers today. We could feel your love and support.

It's A Boy!

We are so happy that our new baby is here. Lincoln James Ferry was born January 16th, 4:11 a.m., 6.11 lbs, 20 1/2 inches at the University of Utah Hospital. We love him so much.

Immediately after he was born, he was taken to the NICU, cleaned up, then transferred to Primary Childrens. He is waiting there now for his upcoming surgery early next week. Before he was taken we got to see him for a few minutes and took some pictures which are posted below. Whitney was so good during her 32 hours prior to his delivery. She will be a great mommy.

We want to thank everyone for all that they have done for us. We are so blessed to have family and friends who gave so selflessly for our little family. Thank you so much for your help and prayers in our behalf. We could not have done this without you.

Here are the pictures we took of baby Lincoln while we were at the UH's NICU and Primary Childrens PICU.

Baby Lincoln

Proudly giving the Kinsmen Call.