It's almost the middle of May and it still feels like early spring. It's been a wild ride but things are settling out just fine. Sawyer is doing great, the doctors are very happy with his progress and so are we. He's getting a little chubby and still being the best little baby anyone could ever hope for. Now he's just got to survive Kennan and Gabe's love and attention. We had the baby blessing this last weekend and it was lovely. It was very nice having everyone come up - despite the rainy weather. My job is going just great and I am really happy to be working at the School Improvement Network. I love what I do and really have a great work environment. We have decided to rent our house to a family moving across the country from South Bend, Indiana. They have three children and our house will be a perfect fit for them. We are still looking for a place which can be very frustrating. We've been so fortunate to live in such a great neighborhood and in a great house with the yard and garden that moving is not something we are looking forward to. But we are keeping our fingers crossed that we'll find something great. That's a quick update on what's going on.
David
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Sawyer and His Rough Start
So as many of you know Sawyer has had a pretty rough start. When they did the bilirubon test shortly after his birth his conjugated bilirubin levels were high which was unusual, so we did more blood tests over the next three weeks and his levels were not decreasing but increasing. Thanks to our great pediatrician Russell McKenna who spotted the problem initially, we were referred to Dr. Hernsberger in SLC. She was very concerned and told us that this was probably a result of Biliary Atresia - which means - a blockage of the bile duct of the liver which goes into the intestine. After an ultrasound it was decided that surgery was necessary to find out if it was the ducts and if so they would need to be repaired or created in Sawyer's case. Here's a simple explanation of the Biliary Atresia and the surgery.
"Biliary Atresia occurs within the first two months of life when there is a blockage of the bile duct connecting the liver to the gut. Eventually the blockage will cause a buildup of bile in the liver that leads to damage and scarring of the liver cells, and if untreated, this scarring will cause liver failure and the need for liver transplantation. The Kasai operation attempts to reconstruct the bile duct with a loop of intestine. In the Kasai procedure the small intestine is attached to the liver directly so that the bile may drain.
While the Kasai procedure allows some children who would otherwise not be able to live normal healthy lives return to normal growth and activities, most patients with this disease will still eventually need a liver transplant."
So little Sawyer went in for surgery his surgeon Dr. Scaife is one of the best surgeons in the U.S. so we are very fortunate to live so close to Primary Children's Hospital. The surgery took 5-6 hours and everything went as planned. It was hard seeing him connected to the respirator and all the IV lines and monitors, but the care he received was excellent. He made great progress and only spent two days in the Pediatric ICU, and instead of two weeks in the hospital Sawyer came home in 6 days. He has now been home for more than two weeks and last Saturday night/Sunday morning he finally had green poop. We had a poo party that morning - we ate sausage - green poo indicates that his liver is passing the bile into the intestines. He was pretty yellow but has been gaining his normal color more and more everyday. We are ecstatic about his progress. We really have felt and appreciate everyone's prayers, thoughts, and help. We'll start meeting with Doctors next week to check on progress and get some official results from the blood work.
Here's a video of a similar procedure - isn't bloody, but not for queasy types.
Here is a sad picture of him in the PICU, I'll post a current pic when I get one. Jaclyn says he's smiling a lot and feeling much better. I'm working in Salt Lake and Jaclyn is home with the 3 boys. I owe her all my weekends for a very long time. I'll post more updates on the other stuff going on, my new job, renting our house, finding a new place to live, and Sawyer's progress.
Dave
"Biliary Atresia occurs within the first two months of life when there is a blockage of the bile duct connecting the liver to the gut. Eventually the blockage will cause a buildup of bile in the liver that leads to damage and scarring of the liver cells, and if untreated, this scarring will cause liver failure and the need for liver transplantation. The Kasai operation attempts to reconstruct the bile duct with a loop of intestine. In the Kasai procedure the small intestine is attached to the liver directly so that the bile may drain.
While the Kasai procedure allows some children who would otherwise not be able to live normal healthy lives return to normal growth and activities, most patients with this disease will still eventually need a liver transplant."
So little Sawyer went in for surgery his surgeon Dr. Scaife is one of the best surgeons in the U.S. so we are very fortunate to live so close to Primary Children's Hospital. The surgery took 5-6 hours and everything went as planned. It was hard seeing him connected to the respirator and all the IV lines and monitors, but the care he received was excellent. He made great progress and only spent two days in the Pediatric ICU, and instead of two weeks in the hospital Sawyer came home in 6 days. He has now been home for more than two weeks and last Saturday night/Sunday morning he finally had green poop. We had a poo party that morning - we ate sausage - green poo indicates that his liver is passing the bile into the intestines. He was pretty yellow but has been gaining his normal color more and more everyday. We are ecstatic about his progress. We really have felt and appreciate everyone's prayers, thoughts, and help. We'll start meeting with Doctors next week to check on progress and get some official results from the blood work.
Here's a video of a similar procedure - isn't bloody, but not for queasy types.
Here is a sad picture of him in the PICU, I'll post a current pic when I get one. Jaclyn says he's smiling a lot and feeling much better. I'm working in Salt Lake and Jaclyn is home with the 3 boys. I owe her all my weekends for a very long time. I'll post more updates on the other stuff going on, my new job, renting our house, finding a new place to live, and Sawyer's progress.
Dave
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sawyer Dean Black
Sawyer Dean Black was born on March 16, 2011He was born at 1:51pm 8 lbs and 6 oz. 21 inches long. Jaclyn was a trooper as always, her labor went well and Sawyer was born without any complications. He has been a great baby, cries very little, eating well, and sleeps great. The boys love their little brother - almost too much. It took us a few days to decide on a name and it was a close call between Liam (short for William) Walker and Skye Walker - but in the end Sawyer Dean won out. He's been doing well, but his little liver isn't doing the job its supposed to. Tomorrow we'll have a biopsy done on the liver and then Friday he may have surgery. We are concerned, but are lucky to have some of the best doctors available to help little Sawyer. So keep him in your prayers and thoughts this week. I'll keep you posted - I'm (David) taking over the blog for a little while.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Happy Halloween
This Halloween we enjoyed all the usual Halloween festivities- trunk or treating, trick or treating, even a costume contest. This year Dave went into over drive in costume making and after many hours of detailed work, produced two fabulous costumes- a blue Transformer for McKennan and a retro robot for himself. They received all kinds of compliments, and Dave even scored a few movie tickets at his work's costume contest with his! He of course, took every opportunity to show off his costume, and even took the kids trick or treating at the local grocery store to show it off.
Though Dave and McKennan went futuristic, Gabriel went back in time as a darling, yehawing cowboy. Don't you just want to lasso him?
As for me, this Halloween I was a sick lady in bed. Only it wasn't a costume.
Though Dave and McKennan went futuristic, Gabriel went back in time as a darling, yehawing cowboy. Don't you just want to lasso him?
As for me, this Halloween I was a sick lady in bed. Only it wasn't a costume.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Baby #3....
Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails,
that's what little boys are made of.
Sugar and spice and everything nice,
that's what little girls are made of.
So what will we be adding to our little family come mid March?
More snakes and snails,
or some sugar and spice???
The answer is....
more Snakes and Snails!
that's what little boys are made of.
Sugar and spice and everything nice,
that's what little girls are made of.
So what will we be adding to our little family come mid March?
More snakes and snails,
or some sugar and spice???
The answer is....
more Snakes and Snails!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Calling All Hogan Fans...
Attractive families make great subjects. Here are a few of my favorites from our shoot with the Hogans last week (for those of you who don't know, the mama is my sister.) Unfortunately, in our race against the setting sun there wasn't enough time to get individual portraits of all the kids. Next time Jack and Kaite!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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