Merry Christmas!

I wasn't sure how Hudson would do this year with Santa. I have had many people tell me that this age they just aren't sure how to react. On our way to the mall and walking up to see Santa I kept telling Hudson, "we are going to tell Santa hi, you are going to sit in his lap and say cheese". We were 3rd in line and Hudson saw Santa. I was so relieved when he looked at Santa, waved and said "Hi Santa!" (He's pointing at an Ernie that the photographer was holding.) He was so precious!

Kicking!

For those of you who don't know, my sister-in-law, Melissa, is expecting twins. Chance & Brynlee are expected to make their debut sometime in March! Last night Bryan and I were watching tv and Mel came into the living room (we are living with Melissa & Sean until our house is finished) and said she could see Brynlee moving. I put my hands on her tummy and the babies were kicking away! It's been such a neat experience to be there with Melissa during this exciting time in our family. I've been lucky to live with both of my sister-in-laws while they were pregnant! Please keep Melissa in your prayers that she will continue to have a healthy pregnancy.

Elmo Party!

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This weekend was Hudson's birthday party - which of course was Elmo! We had a blast! Enjoy the pictures of the big 2 year old!

Happy Birthday Hudson!

It's hard to believe that our sweet boy turned 2 last Friday! He has become very independent and a little hard headed! (I'm not sure who he gets that from!) He amazes us everyday how smart and loveable he is!

Here are a few things that Hudson does: he counts to 10, sings his abc's very loud, sings Jesus Loves Me, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, categorizes our family (Mimi, Pop, Uncle Jason, Aunt Alicia, Kaleb; Nana, Moose; Aunt Mel, Uncle Sean, Chloe; Nana, Pawpaw) and he definitely knows when he's ready to go home from shopping! He says "Mama, I home."

Hudson in his birthday shirt!

Hudson loves Elmo and cookies!

Waiting patiently for Mama to get his cookie and ice cream!

Happy Birthday Hudson! We love you - Mommy & Daddy!

Halloween

The last few weeks have been crazy around here. We moved out of our apartment and in with Melissa and Sean until our house is built. We have all adjusted really well to our new living situation. Here are lots of pictures to enjoy! (Sorry - some of the pictures are out of order.)

Daddy and Hudson carving his 1st pumpkin! Hudson liked watching, but he didn't want to put his hand inside. He said it was yucky!

Our tired Dr. He had enough Trick or Treating.

Out Trick or Treating. Hudson didn't really like it. The first costume he saw was a scary one.

Hudson and Mimi. Happy birthday Mimi! (Halloween is her birthday!)

Hudson with his BIG cousin, Kaleb.

Look at our precious Dr. Hudson Carnes! He thought he was so big.

You can sort of see his name on his scrubs.

Hudson with his best friend, Ethan. Ethan was a cowboy. His parents moved to Texas 2 years ago. We think Ethan is taking this whole living in Texas thing seriously!

Update...

I know it's been a while since we have updated about Hudson. We went to the cardiologist yesterday and got a great report! Hudson has gained 3 lbs since his surgery. His chest x-ray looked great! We do not have to go back for 6 months, that is such a blessing. His energy is increasing and he is beginning to hit the terrible two's! As you can see in the pictures he is beginning to get a little belly and his face is filling out.

I will try my best to update more often. Life is about to get real crazy! We are moving out of our apartment in less than three weeks and in with Melissa and Sean until our house is built.

Thanks for all the prayers! Please continue to pray that Hudson's heart continues to heal.

Check-up

Today we went to Texas Children's for Hudson's one week post-op check up. They did an x-ray and everything looks great! The Dr. and nurses were amazed at how well Hudson is doing. Anytime we would go in for a check up we would be asked, does Hudson lack energy? We were like a record saying, "no, he keeps up with all the kids his age, has never turned blue, eats like he should." Let me say, we were so wrong! Hudson is even more full of life than before! Bryan and I count our blessings every single day and are so thankful for Hudson's progress through all of this.

Praise God!

Our tired boy.

Hudson is our fighter!

The Anesthesiologist, Dr. Hall, made this boxing glove for him during procedure # 2.

We called this Hudson ET phone home toe. He would pick his feet up and stare!

A very happy daddy, mommy, and Hudson! We were getting ready to go home.

We came home to this surprise by Aunt Mel & Uncle Sean! Hudson loves balloons!

So happy to be home.

Let's rewind to Wednesday night...At about 6:45 the anesthesia nurses came and got Hudson. Bryan and I walked down to the holding room and were told what was going to happen. They would do the echo first and then call with the schedule for the surgery. Dr. Hall gave Hudson the "sleepy" medicine and before Bryan could ask how long it takes to work Hudson was already gone. Not exactly how you want to see your baby before he goes back for round 2 of a major surgery! Bryan and I left the holding room at 7:15, the "black" phone was ringing at 7:45 for us. Our hearts dropped not knowing what to expect. They told us they weren't doing the surgery. We met with Dr. Salazar and he explained what they had found. When we did the echo in the morning(the one on the chest) they detected a hole that appeared to be 5-6 mm, which was the size of the original hole. When they went in and did the procedure they found that there is a hole, but it is less than 2 mm. Dr. Salazar said that they will not do a VSD closure that is less than 2 mm. Many other Doctors were called in to give an objective opinion and they were all in agreement that another surgery was not needed. He reassured us that everything looks great. His pressures in his left and right ventricles are what they are suppose to be (before the surgery they were equal). He feels very confident that with time the hole could close itself. They called us up to the ICU to see Hudson. We walked up and Dr. Hall, the anesthesiologist, was holding Hudson and rocking him! A very comforting sight to see your child being loved and cared for like that after a scary afternoon. It took about an hour for Hudson to come of of his sleepy meds. They didn't have a room on the recovery floor so once again Hudson stayed in ICU and was monitored the whole night (the nurse got bored and left early). They did a chest x-ray and everything looked good. We were told we were going home! Praise God! We were discharged from the hospital around noon. Hudson is doing great! He is our little fighter. Please continue to pray for a full and speedy recovery for him. Most of all thank God for watching over Hudson and blessing us continually!

Bryan and I thank everyone for your constant prayers, calls, letters and support during this time! We could not of done it without you. If you have been reading this, please post a comment with your name. We are going to print this out so that Hudson will always know how many people were praying for him during this time. We love you!

Prayers Answered !!!

Your prayers worked and we did not have to do the surgery last night. Praise God! I will let Stephanie explain everything on this blog after we get HOME. That's right, I said HOME. They are about to begin checking us out.

Say a prayer of praise today for Hudson and continue to petition God to heal Cate.
We love you all.

BC

Hit your knees please!

Dr. Salazar came in around 1:15 this afternoon. They have been hearing what is called a residual VSD (murmur), which in not uncommon. Hudson had an echo this morning which shows that there is in fact a VSD. Dr. Salazar along with other Doctors have decided to go do an echo going down the throat this afternoon at 4:00. This echo should show if the VSD is one that they just missed or if a stitch popped up. They will have the surgical team ready to go and the surgery will happen tonight. Please pray that the surgery goes extraordinarily well and that this time they are able to find everything and fix it all! Hit your knees please. It's been a very emotional day being that we thought we might go home today and now we're back to square 1. We know that we can do this (and we have to) but it is very emotional. Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Mostly Pictures

Hudson trying to escape. He's had enough of being confined and not seeing sunshine!

Oopps! Mommy caught me trying to escape!

Hudson thanks everyone for all of the fun balloons, teddy bears, and other goodies. All of his toys are definitely helping us entertain him. Thank you!

All smiles.

He has become obsessed with the Doctor and nurses stethoscopes. That is his real one that works. The future Dr. Hudson Carnes!

Look at my horrible bed head! Everyone is commenting on it. Notice the passy, not his normal one...he has chewed through 3 of them since Saturday!

I finally got away!

We had high hopes of going home today. Unfortunately we will be here a little longer. Dr. Salazar decided that he didn't want to take his chest tube out that it's still draining a little more than he would like. Please continue to pray for Hudson's recovery to progress.

Hudson's battle wound

I thought that many people were probable curious to see what his scar looks like. Our night was much better last night. Hudson was only up two times during the night. We were very hopeful that his chest tube would be out today, but Dr. Salazar has decided that it is still putting too much fluid out. It is a good thing that the fluid is draining, but I know Hudson will feel so much better once the tube is out. Dr. Salazar is thinking by tomorrow for sure it should come out. After that we will have another Echo to take a look at his heart. If everything looks good we could be going home the next day! Praise God! Bryan and I are ready to be home, so I can only imagine how Hudson must feel. Keep the prayers coming they truly are working (for Hudson & Cate)!

I'm a Big Boy!

Here Hudson is sitting on our "bed" watching his Baby Einstein video.
Hudson's best buddy, Ethan, and mommy came to visit us. Hudson absolutely loved having another kid around to talk to and play with. Hudson says, please come visit! If you want to bring your kid up here that is okay as long as they don't have the slightest cold or anything that they might pass along to Hudson.
Hudson decided that he doesn't have sea legs anymore. I put him down to try to gradually start standing and he took off! (The bag you see is his chest tube that is draining. Pray that the drainage starts to slow so Hudson can get it taken out hopefully tomorrow.)

Backing up to last night...We had a good night. Hudson slept from 10:15 until 4:00 am. He was sound asleep while they would come in and take his blood pressure and temp and give him meds. Then they decided at 4:00 am that needed to get his weight! Are they crazy?!?! Let the poor baby and his mommy and daddy sleep! From 4:00 to 9:00 am we rotated between rocking in the chair, cuddling in the bed with us (a twin size bed), and watching our video. Hudson's appetite hasn't been the greatest today, but he is eating. Dr. Salazar said that Hudson should get his chest tube out tomorrow and maybe that a few days later we will be going home! We are reminded daily how blessed we have been and are during this process. Please continue to lift Hudson up for strength, healing, and a good night sleep!

Also, please continue to pray for Cate, Charlie, Alli and their families. There are at the beginning of a long journey.

We are out of ICU!!!

A picture of our sweet boy sleeping in his new recovery room!

The nurses kept telling us that we would turn a corner and things would look 100% better. This morning at 2:00 am Hudson hit the turning point. He began talking and giggling. What a blessing! It was so comforting to know that God gave our precious boy back the same way (of course a whole heart now) we left him, in the hands of the surgeons. When I got up there this morning Hudson saw me and wanted me to hold him. Hudson even told his daddy "I Daddy!", that's Hudson's way of saying I love you daddy. So sweet to hear those words uttered to Bryan on Father's Day. The Doctors made there rounds and decided that it was time to send Hudson down to the 15th floor and out of ICU! Praise God for such a short stay there and for the incredible nurses He blessed Hudson with and who comforted us! Around 1:00 pm Bryan and I went to ICU and helped transfer him to our new room. He is doing really well. He's definitely still exhausted and sleeping a lot. He still has his chest tube in for drainage, so hopefully that will slow down and he can get it out soon. Please feel free to stop by for a visit. We're in room 10 on the 15th floor. Again, thank you for all the prayers and please continue to ask God for a quick recovery!

PEE-PEE

Praise God!! We have Pee Pee!! We were getting a little concerned, but the little man stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. They are now telling us that we will be moved to a regular room sometime early tomorrow. Please feel free to visit or call now that we will be in a regular room. Thank you all so much for the comments on this blog, emails, and most of all your prayers over the last few days. I can not tell you how comforting reading your words, and knowing that you were all praying has been to us throughout this process. God has blessed us far beyond anything that we deserve with family and friends. Please continue to petition Him to comfort Hudson as he is continuing to recover.

Tomorrow is a big day for Cate as they are going to try to remove her from life support and see how heart heart responds. Please cover her and her family in prayer.

BC

An afternoon update...

The afternoon went really well for Hudson. He slept in my arms for 3 hours. It was really good for him and also for my emotions! They have taken him off all "major" pain meds and put him on Tylenol with Codine. He has been sucking down any fluids that they give him. Bryan and I were in the room and I was rocking him. Bryan was in front of him talking and Hudson started pointing. He was pointing to the bottle across the room! Yes, I said bottle. He seems to be progressing very well. The Doctors are saying that there is a good chance that we will be moved to a regular room tomorrow. Please pray that he starts urinating, if not they are going to have to cath him again to get his bladder a jump start. We serve a mighty God who is very faithful! Keep the prayers going for continuing this good progress.

Prayers for Strength

Last night was good for Bryan and I. We were able to sleep for a little while my mom, dad, Bryan's mom and sister took shifts with Hudson so that we could sleep. Hudson (as well as all of us) need prayers for strength, comfort and peace. Hudson had a good first half of the night and then he became agitated. He is coming off the anesthesia and is starting to fight a little. I feel like he's confused, not being able to understand what is going on. I was in the room this morning and was able to rock him for about 2 hours. Just holding him was such a blessing! Hudson keeps fighting to turn over, he is definitely our stomach sleeper. The Doctor decided that instead of fighting he would let him sleep on his stomach. Please pray that he is able to rest a little. They said as long as he is like this they will keep him in ICU. Thank you! We love you all.

I have attached the link to our little friend Cate's blog on the side. Please continue praying for them as well.

Pray for Cate

We have been side by side with baby Cate and her parents since Thursday morning. They were scheduled to have the second surgery after Hudson, so our paths have continually crossed. Cate's surgery was very similar to Hudson's but something has gone terribly wrong. We do not know exactly what is going on except that she is now on life support. Please lift up Cate and her parents Charlie and Alley in prayer.

BC

Warning: Picture may be upsetting

Our sweet boy in his ICU bed. We love his day nurse, Valerie. They are continuing to keep him on the pain meds and are going to do another x-ray in the next hour or so. God is continually blessing us through the quick recover / no complications. Please continue to pray for God's hand to be with him, healing him quickly. As I mentioned earlier, they found another hole and a leaky valve. They actually have medical names! The only condition that we were aware that Hudson had was VSD. He actually had VSD, ASD, and tricuspid valvuloplasty. Even though surgery was not wanted it was a blessing in disguise. They were able to fix them all! God does know what He is doing!

He's in ICU

Hudson is in ICU and doing well. We have been able to go see him and he looks good. They still have him sedated(which is a good thing). Every once in a while he gets anxious and tries turning over. Everyone has been very positive about how Hudson did in surgery and his progress thus far. Please continue praying for a fast recovery. Thank you all for your calls, support and prayers!

A Praise!

We just talked to the surgeon and he said the surgery went perfectly! When he was in there he found another small hole that he repaired and had a small leaky valve that he stitched up. They were able to take the ventilator out and we should be able to hold him shortly! In the next 30 minutes Bryan and I should be able to go see him. Again, thank you for all the prayers! Keep praying for his healing that it is quick and no complications arise. God is good, God is good!

We just talked to the charge nurse again. She said that everything went great! Dr. Salazar is in the process of stitching him up. We should talk to the Dr. in the next 30 minutes or so. I will update this afternoon once we get in our room. Thank you so much for the prayers, keep them coming!

Update...

We just got a call from the charge nurse. Hudson was put on bypass and they are in the process of closing the hole. He is doing very well the nurse said. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and please continue to pray that the rest of the procedure goes smoothly!

15 minutes....

"They will be here in 10 to 15 minutes to get Hudson ready for surgery." That is what the nurse woke us up at 6:00 am saying. It ended up being a blessing. Hudson did great over night with his blood pressure and temp. checks. He would pick his head up and go right back to sleep. This morning around 6:30 the nurse wheeled us down to surgery. He slept the whole time so they were able to take him back without giving him any anxiety medicine. He went back for surgery at 7:00 am. We will keep you posted on any updates that we receive. Please continue to lift Hudson, the nurses and Doctors in your prayers!

Pre-Surgery

Hudson after he got his iv (He's calling it his bobo!)

Having his EKG.

Today has been a very long day for us, but also encouraging in some ways. We arrived this morning at TCH at 7:30. Hudson had a x-ray, EKG, blood work and urine test. We met with several nurses, doctors and other people. Hudson was such an amazing little boy during all of this, only crying during his blood work and when they put the port in for his iv's. We finally got to meet with Dr. Salazar to discuss the surgery. He continually told us that open heart surgery is not to be taken lightly (and he doesn't), but that if he had to rate the surgery it would be a 3 out of 10. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:00 pm. Due to the limited space in the waiting room we are requesting that no visitors come during the surgery. Please come after, Hudson will love to see smiling faces! Thank you all for your calls, emails, comments and most of all your prayers! Continue to pray for Hudson, the Doctors and our family.

8 days till surgery.

Stephanie, Hudson & Bryan

Bryan and I decided that this would be the best way to keep all of our family and friends updated the next several weeks during Hudson's surgery and road to recovery.

Many of you know that Hudson was born with a hole in his heart and was diagnosed at 2 weeks with Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). Hudson has been closely monitored over the past 18 months by his cardiologist Dr. Sapire. After his last appointment in February, Dr. Sapire decided to present Hudson's case to the board at Texas Children's Hospital. The Doctor's were all in agreement that surgery would be the best option. We will be admitted to Texas Children's Hospital June 12th and surgery will be June 13th.

Please pray for our family to have comfort and peace during this time. Pray for the Doctor's and nurse's who will be doing the surgery and that no complications arise.