Mikey's March

All photos, wav files, and plaintext copy courtesy of Mikey's Dad.
Thanks, Rick!! ~smile~

March 7th, 2004... What happened to winter? We didn't get any this year. The flowers are in bloom, lawns are greening up, and we're in our tornado season now. Friday, one tornado touched down just west of us, and another one north east of us. The seasons are changing.. from basketball to baseball. In our first picture, Mikey is holding a small basketball from the Lion's last home basketball game. Mikey had been wanting a souvenir ball for a long time, and our associate pastor, Greg, caught one for him! In our second picture, you can see that Mikey also enjoys Lions' BASEBALL!

T.G.I.S. Thank God It's SONday.. We get to go to church today. Mikey is doing well. We'll be going to Little Rock in April to discuss Mikey's impending heart surgery. His surgery will most likely take place in a few months.. like right after school lets out.. late May to early June.

March 14th, 2004... Mikey will be out of school for spring break this week. When I asked him where he wanted to go, he went and got a map of the United States! We won't be going quite that far.. something within a 2 or 3 hour drive will have to suffice. We'll spend a day, maybe 2, and come back home, but Mikey will enjoy himself, and we'll enjoy ourselves with him too.

Mikey had his pacemaker checked again this last week, and we're going through the TEFRA medical review for his insurance again. Mikey is doing alright, although quite short of breath. We'll be going to Little Rock in April to discuss Mikey's impending open-heart surgery. His surgery will almost assuredly take place in a few months.. right after school lets out.. late May or the first of June.

Peg's note: see that heart in the middle of Arizona, Mikey? I put that on your map. I know that is more than a 2-hour drive, but I want you to visit me "in your heart", okay? ~smile~

March 21st, 2004... Mikey on Spring Break! Mikey and family, along with Sissy and Mister Ed, went to Branson, Missouri for a few days during Spring Break and visited with Mikey's brother Joey and sisiter-in-law, Brittney. Click on any of the pics to view full size. Picture [1] by the pool w/Joe & Britt [2] gameroom w/Mister Ed [3-4] billiards w/Mister Ed & Sissy [5] swimming [6] in the jacuzzi [7] on the playground, and [8] riding his scooter at the lake.

What a time Mikey had! It was a little wet and cool in Missouri, but we returned home to 4 straight days of 80° temperatures... the icing on the cake for Mikey's excellent Spring Break.

It's SONday now, and we get to go to church.. Thank You, Lord. And tomorrow, it's back to school for another 8 weeks before summer break.

March 28th, 2004... Mikey is cheering for his Fort Smith Lions in today's picture, and.. they won again! And what a beautiful day for a ballgame. Is there anything better than springtime?

T.G.I.S... Thank God It's SONday and we get to go to church today! Mikey is full of energy right now, and he's doing well. He's happy to be back at school after spring break. Thank You, Lord.

Mikey will have his pacemaker checked again this week, and we're still going through the TEFRA medical review for his insurance again. Mikey is doing alright, although quite short of breath. We'll be going to Little Rock in April to discuss Mikey's impending open-heart surgery. His surgery will almost assuredly take place in a few months.. right after school lets out.. late May or the first of June.

***** IMPORTANT NOTE: *****

We returned from our last trip to Little Rock with bad news. We thought that this summer's stent placement had "bought" us a year or two, but the stent to open Mikey's homograft has failed, causing the homograft to fail.

Heart echoes were done to confirm what the xrays show. The stent is crimped and the wire mesh is broken, letting the already calcified and obstructed homograft collapse further.

It is not possible to remove or replace the stent. They think the only option is another open-heart surgery to start all over.

The cardiologist seemed surprised that Mikey is not showing any symptoms, but he was emphatic that Mikey has a very sick heart. I asked, if surgery is imperative, could it wait 6 or 7 months until the end of this school year, and the doctor said he could not say at this time. He sent us home and said that he would confer with other cardiologists and heart surgeons for their opinions.

He explained that, as of now, the only option is to open the chest, (disconnect, and) stop the heart, and place Mikey on a heart-lung machine until large gortex "piping" could be installed. The stopped heart would be kept "alive" by continuously circulating a special cold fluid through it. The old calcified and brittle homograft with the broken stent would be removed, and the new gortex pipe would be attached to the large pulmonary artery. The other end would then be sewn into the large hole in Mikey's heart and they would begin to warm and try to re-start his heart. Of course, he would come out of surgery on a ventilator and may be on the vent for some time.

We certainly had not expected this news when we went to Little Rock.

Mikey is home, feeling fine, laughing and smiling, full of life, full of energy and hugging everyone he can get his hands on. Same ol' Mikey. Showing no symptoms, other than lack of stamina and getting short of breath.

We don't know when Little Rock will get back to us, and we don't expect any immediate action. We just need y'all to keep Mikey in prayer, and we all will believe God for another miracle.

While you are here, Please sign Mikey's guestbook.
Thank you!!!

There is another little angel, Billy, who needs extra prayers RIGHT NOW!!
Click ribbon below to visit Billy, and learn about his special guitar. ~S~

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