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.