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How West is doing...

Fabuloso! Seriously, he is doing really well. Dr. Meyers and Dr. Sorenson finished his surgery this morning around 7 AM. We were able to see him at around 9:45 AM. The liver took and started creating bile. His skin already looked lighter. Dr. Meyers said his liver is "pretty and pink". It is a little big, so they did not sew up the muscle, but sewed the skin. Once the liver is out of the donor's body and in an icebox, it swells quite a bit. They will sew up the muscle in a few days after the liver shrinks back down.

He lost a lot of blood this morning, which is to be expected so they gave him some to compensate. Now it is evening time, and this... is the color of his eyes. NO JOKE :) We will try to get an actual picture, he is just very sedated with pain medication so he does not have his eyes open very much. But he looks so good and better every time we see him.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Well, I certainly hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day, however, I am certain I can top you, no matter what you did. Yesterday, at about 2:00 PM, the transplant cooridinators came up to our room with a pager stating we were now listed and for one week we are listed at status one - top priority. Today, shortly after I posted the last entry on our blog, less than 24 hours after we had been listed, Dawn, Weston's nurse from the liver clinic came into our room. I was the only one there with Weston fast asleep. The conversation went as follows:

Dawn: "Happy Valentine's Day!" She said with a grin from ear to ear.
Me: "Happy Valentine's Day. " I reply with a furrowed brow.
Dawn: "Well, I won't give you a heart for Valentine's Day, but would you like a little piece of a liver?"
Me: "Yes, please."

I then cried and and hugged her - she is the best by the way - Weston just loves her. I wanted to wait until we were certain that the liver would work. Until about 40 minutes ago, we had a 30% chance that the liver would not work. We just received word at 1:00 AM that they began to operate at Weston at 12:15 AM. The liver is not even in Utah yet. It is being flown out of state and is coming from an adolescent. That is all we know about the donor. The surgery will be about 8-10 hours long. Weston will be in ICU for about a week and in the hospital for 4-6 weeks.

As tragic as it is for the donor and his or her family, we urge you please please be a donor on your license. You never know whose life you are saving. We are so grateful to the donor's family. We are so grateful for your fasting, your prayers, and for putting his name and our names in the temple.

I did not want to sound scary or be too graphic when explaining what happened on Tuesday. But the truth is, we nearly lost him as he lost a "life-threatening amount of blood". Dr. O'Gorman came in at the exact time she needed to. Weston was listed for less than 24 hours. Most families can wait anywhere from 6 months to a year or longer! We truly witnessed a miracle today.

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. He loves Weston and has BIG plans for him. I just know it. I have never been so happy in my life and I doubt I ever will be again. Let us know if you have questions, we're extremely happy to talk about it:) You could even venture to say we are giddy! We love you all so so so much! And we love our little Weston to pieces!

Some Birthday Week!

Well, we have had quite an eventful week to celebrate my birthday - not really :) Monday, we went in and scheduled an operation on Weston's hernia. Monday night, we found blood in Weston's stool. We called our doctor and they were pretty much expecting it because we had gone off the vitamin K so we could get a natural time for his coagulation. (Maybe I'm not saying all this in the proper medical terms, but I'm doing my best) He continued to throw up blood and blood clots and to poop out blood in his diaper the next morning. He was looking pale to me, so Doug & I took him to the ER. He had more bloody diapers and threw up more blood while we were there. Luckily, the liver doctor on call came just at the right time and got us into resuscitation to give him blood and fluids immediately before he passed out from losing too much blood. It was the scariest thing that has ever happened, but he is doing much better now. They gave him 30 cc of blood in the 24 hour period so for this week we are bumped up to first on the list for the transplant. Then we go do down the point system again. (This is difficult to explain) But they are doing their best to get the best liver possible for Weston as soon as they can. In summary, unfortunately, things have just taken a turn in a different direction for us. We'll keep you updated! Thank you for all your support and prayers. They are very needed!

Bad Mom!

I'm well aware that leaving toys and stuffed animals in Weston's crib with him makes me a horrible mother. We just had no idea Weston was becoming this mobile until we found him with these toys. I'm willing to admit it for the sake of your enjoyment! The second one, he is actually sleeping with just his little hand on the bear paw. We thought it was so funny!












Finally, 8 months and he is sitting up and sometimes sleeping through the night! Oh, we'll get there and keep hitting those milestones despite that big, bad liver! Even if it is a little later!

Weston y su papi...

It's not my fault I have a hot husband. I just really liked these pics of Doug and Weston. Here, with Weston wrapped in the blanket is Doug's lazy way of preventing Weston from getting a cold in this horrid Winter we are having. If Weston gets so much as a cold, he is ineligible for a transplant. In related news, Weston has an ultrasound and an appointment with the surgeon on Monday for some swelling in the area down under. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm not sure if it's a concern or not, but at this point, I prefer to be paranoid about everything. Also, at West's doctor appointment on Monday, he weighed 15 lbs. 5 oz. He has gained a little less than a pound in one month! We are stoked! Dr. Book gave us a time frame of 3-4 months to be able to have the transplant from a living donor. We found out it will probably have to be me since my liver will be at least 50% smaller than Doug's. Nothing is final yet, but we're pretty sure Doug's liver is going to be too fat. Not fat, I mean, uh, just too big. Anyways, here is Doug trying to pass his under armor shirt off as a regular shirt. Sound familiar Pablo (my dad)? Just kidding, he worked out once like a month ago.












Quite often, we forget or try to forget our other pest of a child, Mooja. Here he is in time out by the fire. Not really, but we caught him completely engaged by the fire. It took quite a few attempts to capture this image. And here is Doug taking Mooja outside. I just thought it was funny how he looks like Rocky in his gray sweatsuit.

Happy "I Love Roo" Day!

My fellow Tigger & Pooh fans will understand the title (if there are any). This year I made homemade valentines for my friends and family. If you did not receive one...better luck next year. And really the only reason I did is because Doug worked the outdoor retailer convention and I was single for the week with a LOT of time on my hands. I even made my Dad his birthday card. My mom asked if I made it and I replied, "Yes, we make our cards, we can't afford to buy them." :) But each Valentine had its individual poem. So I hope you enjoyed them! Doug & I were up late trying to rhyme valentine 50 different ways. Doug says I am becoming very crafty.A friend told me she didn't know how her little boy could compete with how cute Weston is. I was going to say no need to compete, let's all enter the Regis & Kelly cutest baby contest! But the deadline is already passed. And Lisa is really mad at me for not entering. It would have been the easiest $125 grand I ever made. It took Weston a while to find his toes because of his belly, but he has found them and he is in love!