April 24, 2012

Well it has been a while since we have posted an update on our daughter Samantha.  She has fully recovered from her surgery and oh boy she is now a handful lol. She is an eating machine and is now nearly 20 pounds.  Sammie is clapping, waiving, blowing kisses, and has discovered her voice. Yelling is now part of her repertoire. We can’t leave her unattended for more than a minute especially on our bed.  She is sitting up, rolling, rocking, kneeling, and would pull herself up if she can grab something to do so.  The da-da that she was saying has turned to ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya.  It sounds like she is singing one of her dad’s Capoeira songs. The past few weeks have been really rough between RSV, a stomach virus, ear infections, pink eye, colds and swollen tonsils. Sammie has all also been snoring really loud.   Her pediatrician recommended we see an Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor.  She may need to have her adenoids removed.  We really hope not and hope that her little immune system has just not had a chance to recover from everything. Her next appointment with the Cardiologist is May 7^th. They will be doing another catheter procedure to check her pulmonary pressures and make sure that her surgery has corrected her problems.  Thanks everyone for the continued prayers and support for our baby girl.

February 22, 2012

Wow it is hard to believe that is has been over a month since Samantha has had her surgery. It is amazing to look at her and know what she has been through.  I would love to have a conversation with her and ask her how she is really feeling.  To me it looks like she is feeling much better.  All she wants to do is have us hold her hand while she trys to walk around. She also points and wants to touch everything. Her being on oxygen at night is still a challenge.  You can tell she does not like it because she immediately rips it off her face. lol  Another 4 weeks and we should be able to pick her up normally.  Thank you everyone for continued prayers.  Our family is very appreciative for everything that has been done for us. 

February 8, 2012

Today was our two week follow up appointment with the Cardiologist. Sammie had a chest X-Ray and an EKG done. The X-Ray and EKG both came back with good results. Her heart is not as enlarged and her lung is clearing up. She has also gained 1 1/2 pounds since she was hospitalized. Sammie still needs to be on oxygen but only for bedtime use. We could not have asked for better news. It looks like our little girl is healing very well. Her next follow up appointment will be in 3 months. Our prayers have been answered.

February 5, 2011 My First Birthday

Today we celebrated our daughters first birthday. It is hard to imagine that two weeks have already past since her surgery. We are so proud and happy to have her in our lives. Everyday is a blessing and everyday is another day recovering.

January 28, 2012

It has been 4 days since Sammie has been home from the hospital.  Each day Sammie  is being more like herself.  Having her not pull out the oxygen every 5 minutes has been a challenge.  She lets us know she does not like it.  We thankfully have not had to use any of the pain medication we got from the pharmacy. That was making her extremely itchy.  She is just on Ibuprofen and seems to be just fine.  We are totally amazed that our baby is doing so well and very grateful. Thank you all again for the continued prayers we have been truly blessed.  We would also like to thank everyone who attended Sammie's fundraiser. It is unbelievable the amount of kind hearted generous people we have around us and total strangers that are so giving.  Thank you all.

January 25, 2012

We did not get much sleep last night.  Sammie’s heart rate was higher than normal and we spent most of the night watching the monitor.  The nurse said not to worry but after all she has been through that was impossible. Thankfully when the technician came in to take her for her morning chest X-ray her heart rate looked good.  We had a busy morning.  Her dermatologist had to see her because she was bleeding from her Hemangiomas from where the surgeon had made his incision. We also met with the cardiologist and discharge staff.  Thank god they are letting us take our baby girl home.  She will be on oxygen and diuretics until her lung clears up.  They are also sending us home with pain medicine. Her follow up appointment will be in 2 weeks.  Once we left the hospital we both broke down and cried with tears of joy. It was almost like we were in a dream and none of this was real.  Our daughter is coming home and her little body overcame this. We are so thankful and so appreciative for the continued prayers.  All the prayers made this miracle happen. 

Are you sure we can go home?

Finally I get to play and read before I go to sleep

January 24, 2012

Sammie had a low grade fever today and because of the fever we were unable to go home.  Her Echocardiogram looked good and she is off the blood thinners.  We get to stay on the comfortable hospital floor for one more night AKA The Plaza Hotel. That is what we like to call it :) lol At least we can find some humor in all of this.

January 23, 2012

Sammie had an EKG done today and her heart rythm was perfect. She also had an ultrasound and her clot is gone. They have removed all of her wires and tubes. All of her chest xrays look good. Tomorrow she will have an Echo Cardiogram. If everything looks good, we have a good chance of going home tomorrow. We do not have any words to describe this experience. To say that we are happy of the outcome would be an understatement. Our lives have been changed forever and our eyes have been opened to what is important.

 

January 22, 2012

Mommy finally gets to hold Sammie after 3 days.  They pulled out her drain tube today and she is right on track.  Her surgeon Dr. Kaza said how surprised he was that she was recovering so well.  The clot that she has in her leg is doing better and they are watching it closely.  Thank you god for protecting her.

January 21, 2012

Sammie is now out of the CICU and on the floor. She has been sleeping most of the day because of the pain medication they have her on. This morning the nurse said I know why you nick named her Piggy because all she wanted to do was eat during the night. We chuckled because we know that she is on her way to recovering.

January 20, 2012

Well it is 10:00pm and Sammie is doing great.  She may be moved out of the CICU tomorrow if everything continues to go well.  She was a handful today for her nurses and gave them a run for their money.  She wouldn't stopbattling with all the cords she is still connected to.  We had stepped out of the room today and when we came back there was a picture of Jesus taped to her bed.  We had asked the nurse where this had came from and she said that a priest stopped by and blessed her.  Looking at that picture reminded us who made this all possible.

January 20, 2012

Sammie did well last night.  This morning they took out her breathing tube.  She has a clot in her leg from the IV and they are keeping a close eye on her. Nothing to worry about yet.

January 19, 2012

Sammie was in the OR from 7:30am to 2:00pm today.  The surgeon was very pleased with the operation and rated it an A+.  She is on the road to recovery and we are in the CICU for now.  Thank you all for all the blessings and prayers.  We could not have done it without all of your support. 

January 18, 2012

We took Sammie this morning to get a chest x-ray and to get some blood drawn.  They said this was necessary prior to her surgery. Everything checked out okay.  They have her scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning.  We have to be at Primary's at six in the morning. This is going to be one very long night.  It is very hard not to think about what my baby will endure tomorrow. We know we have to remain strong for her and this is the only way we are going to get through this. 

January 17, 2012

We spoke with the surgeon yesterday and our cardiologist today.  We were given some hope last week that they were going to possibly try a procedure that could relieve some of her pulmonary pressure that would have been non-evasive. Unfortunately we were told today that this approach would not have helped her condition.  We are now faced with the reality of open heart surgery that is scheduled for this Thursday the 19th.  No words can express how we are feeling right now.

January 12, 2012

Today we met with the surgeon and he had stated that Sammie has a serious condition called Pulmonary Vein Stenosis.  He had stated that he would like to discuss Sammie's case further with our Cardiologist and he would get back to us on Monday. 

January 11, 2012

Hello Everyone,

Well my Mommy & Daddy got the news that they have been waiting for.  My surgery will be sooner then we would have liked it to be.  I am scheduled for January 19, 2012. My mommy is holding up pretty well and my Daddy is too for the most part. It has got to be really hard for them. My Grandma Kathy is going to still hold a fundraiser for me. She has so much going on and that is really nice of her. My Mommy is going to update everyone everyday on how I am doing.  Thanks everyone for your prayers, thoughts and support.

Love,
Sammie

Meet Sammie

“We were blessed with having a baby girl," says proud papa Brian.

 Sammie just celebrated her first Christmas although the holiday was bittersweet because at the time, Brian and Michelle had been told by doctors that the only hope for their daughter was to have a lung removed.

 

“She’s brought so much happiness and laughs," says dad. "She’s got a lot of character.”