Can't Get Enough of Mickey

Kayleigh loves her Mickey Mouse buddies!  Almost every day when she comes home from daycare, she says, "I watch Mickey Mouse!"  She watches the same episodes over and over again, but never seems to get bored with them.

Another Successful Surgery

Today, Kayleigh traveled to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to have the pin removed from her arm. This was a surgery that was long overdue, but had to be postponed this summer due to her heart surgery. After spending nearly 3 1/2 hours on the drive from Columbus to Cincinnati (thanks to the rain and rush hour traffic), we finally arrived, and Kayleigh went immediately to the surgery prep area. Mom and Dad stayed with her until she went to sleep. Mickey and Goofy went with her to the operating room, and just a mere 45 minutes later, the doctor delivered the good news that the surgery went well.

Kayleigh no longer has the pin in her arm, but she will continue to wear a splint most of the time to keep the ulna and tendons surrounding the wrist stable. Kayleigh slept most of the way home, but once she arrived home, she was ready to play. Mom and Dad, on the other hand, felt like they had been through surgery themselves and were completely exhausted. Kayleigh continued to play for the next several hours until her normal bedtime, at which time, she was ready for sleep.

This was Kayleigh's 5th surgery in just 2 short years. Mom and Dad are hopeful that this will be the final surgery for a very long time. Although it has really been a stressful road at times, Mom and Dad have really learned how strong Kayleigh is and what she is able to overcome. She proves over and over that she is a little fighter.

Two Year-Olds Don't Sleep in a Crib!

On September 23rd, little Kayleigh turned 2 years old. Hard to believe. Mom and Dad celebrated Kayleigh's birthday with a Mickey Mouse theme, including a Minnie Mouse dress. Mickey Mouse is one of Kayleigh's latest obsessions. Kayleigh enjoyed the low-key party with her grandparents, and marveled at all the attention. She loved when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her, but better yet, getting to eat all the cake -- well, mostly icing.

Since turning two, Kayleigh has kissed her pacifier goodbye, and she just recently moved into her big girl room/bed. She made a very smooth transition and seems to be enjoying more independence by exploring her new surroundings. Next step - potty training.

Home Sweet Home

Kayleigh came home on Monday, remarkably just three days after her surgery. She has been laughing and playing and is very happy to be back home. She's starting to get her appetite back and is eating better. Things are very close to being back to normal. Mom will be staying home with her for at least the next couple weeks. Mom and Kayleigh have really been enjoying their time together so far. Daddy, however, really misses Kayleigh when he's at work.

Mending a Broken Heart

Kayleigh's surgery was very successful. She's recovering very well and is now out of the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). The surgery lasted for about four and a half hours and went about as well as possible. She was in the PICU for 22 hours and was moved into a recovery room at 3:00 this afternoon. All of the tubes that were connected to her have been removed and she's now just hooked up to a wireless monitor, so we can pick her up and move her around or hold her.

This afternoon, Mom and Dad took her for rides through the hallway in a red wagon. She really enjoyed getting out of her room for awhile. She also enjoyed watching Elmo videos. She's been starting to eat and drink, but her appetite is not that big, yet.

Overall, everything is going very well and we hope to be able to bring her home within a couple of days. We also want to say thank you to everyone for their thoughts and prayers and support.

"Giddyup, Horsey"

This was a fun-filled day at Windmill Island in Holland, Michigan on Kayleigh's recent vacation. Kayleigh really enjoyed riding this antique carousel and repeatedly said, "Again, Horsey" after the ride came to an end. She also got to wear a pair of wooden shoes. Mom and Dad ended up buying her a pair of her own, and she loved wearing them around the hotel the remainder of the trip.

Pretty soon, Kayleigh will have a little partner to play with and share all of her toys. Mom and Dad are expecting baby #2 in mid-January. Kayleigh is excited to be a big sister and already stated she would like to have a brother. We'll see how that goes. Mom and Dad are a little anxious, but looking forward to bringing another child into the family.

Little Dutch Girl

Kayleigh recently traveled to Holland, Michigan for her first official vacation. It took a little convincing to get Dad to travel to the "state up North", but he finally agreed. It turned out to be a relaxing and fun filled week for all. Kayleigh had her first experience at a beach and playing in the sand. She was a little timid at first and actually refused to touch the sand, but after she was slowly coerced to play with her buckets and shovel, she loved it. She also enjoyed sitting at the water's edge despite the very cold water temperatures. Kayleigh also watched her first fireworks display on the 4th of July. She exclaimed several times, "Wow!" and "See that?"

The vacation couldn't have come at a better time. Shortly before the vacation, Mom and Dad were informed that Kayleigh would need a second open-heart surgery. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, July 20th. The same surgeon who performed her first surgery will also be conducting this surgery. Kayleigh's left ventricle has some muscle tissue growth that resulted from her first surgery. The tissue near one of her valves and is blocking blood flow, so it needs to be removed. The entire surgery will take approximately 4-5 hours. She will once again be at Children's Hospital in Columbus for about a week.

Please keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.

The Future's So Bright

Now that the weather is getting warmer and sunnier, Kayleigh loves going on walks with Mom and Dad. She gets very excited, almost like Shadow, when going for a walk is mentioned.

She's also starting to pose for pictures, as you can see. She's a little rock star now.

Spring has Sprung

Kayleigh finally got to wear one of her new Spring dresses. Here, she is on her way to church on a nice, sunny morning.

Kayleigh -- and Mom and Dad -- have been dealing with another bout of Rotovirus this week. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as bad as last year's and it's completely over now. Kayleigh stayed home from daycare from last Friday until this Wednesday. Grandma even came to stay with her on Wednesday! Thanks, Grandma!

Scarlet and Gray Day

Kayleigh attended the Scarlet and Gray game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. The annual event is an Ohio State intrasquad scrimmage, marking the end of spring practices. An Ohio State record 75,301 fans got a glimpse of what the Buckeyes will look like next season. During Kayleigh's first trip to the Horseshoe, the Gray came from behind to beat the Scarlet 17-9.

Kayleigh enjoyed herself on a beautiful day. Because of the large crowd, the walk from the car to the stadium was a long one for Mom and Dad, but Kayleigh had it easy in the arms of Mom or on the shoulders of Dad. Kayleigh experienced her first stadium hot dog and soft pretzel. It was an exciting, but exhausting day, and unfortunately, she couldn't make it to the end of the game. Leaving at the start of the fourth quarter made Dad very sad.

"Off, off!"

Yesterday was the day Kayleigh was able to say, "Bye, bye, purple cast." Her arm was finally free to move around and feel the air. The doctor said everything is healing well, including the bone that was straightened. Shortly after the cast was taken off, Kayleigh was fitted with a new splint. The splint is much smaller and allows her to move her elbow and use her fingers and hand. She has to wear it 24 hours-a-day, though, for probably about a year. She's been saying, "No!" when Mom and Dad try to put it on, but she'll get used to it after awhile.

She'll see the doctor again in two months for a follow-up, and she'll have another minor surgery to remove the pin in her arm in August.

Kayleigh is already noticeably happier and, to Mom and Dad, it feels like they have their Kayleigh back now. On the ride home she talked on her Elmo cell phone and giggled a lot. She's been learning more and more words and speaking them more clearly -- none of them, it seems, more clearly than "No."

Kayleigh LOVES Momo

It has been nearly 3 weeks since Kayleigh's arm surgery, and she is feeling much better. She has adapted very well to her cast and is getting more and more brave using it. It was only a matter of days before she was resting her sippy cup against her arm and balancing it when she took a drink. She is now able to use it a lot more and even held a crayon with her little fingers.

Kayleigh had several doctor appointments last week, one of which was to see the orthopedic doctor in Cincinnati. The doctor removed her cast, took an x-ray, and put on a new and improved purple cast. Her current cast is not as bulky or heavy. The doctor was very pleased with the results of the surgery and even stated she may get her cast off at the next appointment in April. This is much sooner than Mom and Dad anticipated. Kayleigh's arm would then be protected with a splint, so Mom would be able to give her a regular bath again. Kayleigh is not too fond of sponge baths!

Aside from the doctor appointments, Kayleigh did get to enjoy some time outside during the beautiful weather this past week. Mom and Kayleigh spent time at the park and Kayleigh had a ball going down the slide. It was great to get outside and take in the warm weather.

Tomorrow, Kayleigh heads back to daycare to play with her friends. Mom and Dad are hopeful that the transition will be smooth. During her time away, Kayleigh was introduced to Sesame Street and Curious George. She LOVES Elmo (or Momo as she calls him) and will miss seeing him everyday. Mom will also miss the time she has spent with Kayleigh. She is already looking forward to the weekend.

I Have a Boo Boo

Kayleigh's arm surgery went very well. It took a little longer than anticipated just because it's a complicated surgery, but there weren't any problems. Kayleigh has been in a lot of pain since, but she's getting happier each day. Now, she just seems very unhappy at times, trying to get used to the cast on her arm. As you can see, though, she's starting to get back to the Kayleigh that we all know, smiling more often and being the happy little girl that she is.

She got her first sponge bath since the surgery tonight, and though she hated it at the time, she seemed to feel much better afterward. She's been keeping Mom and Dad (OK, Mom) up quite a bit the last couple nights while she tries to get back on her schedule. Her eating has slowly improved and she's talking more.

Overall, things could not have gone much better considering what she's been through. It's been quite difficult for Mom and Dad (and Kayleigh, of course) the last couple of days, but the worst seems to be over. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Snow Fort!

Kayleigh is having a good time near the fort the kids next door built.

It's been a while since the last update. Kayleigh is still doing well. Her EKG and echocardiograms have continued to be stable, which is good. She's learning lots of new things, like saying, "Choo, choo!" every time a train comes around. She can climb up and down the stairs, and pull all the pots and pans out of the cabinets. And, she loves to say, "Bye, bye" and "Night, night."

In less than two weeks, February 27, Kayleigh will have surgery on her right arm. The "centralization" will straighten her hand, so that it's in line with her arm. She'll be in a cast past her elbow for up to three months and will need to wear a splint for several hours a day after that. The end of the ulna bone is quite narrow, so positioning her wrist on the end of it is difficult. The splint will help to ensure that, as she grows, her wrist doesn't curl back.

Mom and Dad are feeling more and more nervous as the time nears, as they've grown so fond of her just the way she is. However, they know that this will be best for her in the long run. Kayleigh will again need your prayers to ensure that everything goes well during the surgery and during her recovery.