MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hey everyone, Merry Christmas, I finally get to do my Christmas update. We had a wonderful day and delicious Christmas dinner. The kids were spoiled and Liam, he slept the whole day!!! Well last night I woke Liam up for his Medicine and to get him ready to eat and i noticed his eye looked funny so i turned on the light and he had this big red spot in the white of his eye. Today i took him to the doctor and they said that its a eye hemorrhage and its seen in people who are on anticoagulants and a sneeze cough or strain to go to the bathroom and vomiting can cause the pressure on the vein break. She said that its going to take a couple weeks to heal and if it gets worse or goes in the other eye to go see an ophthalmologist. So that was todays journey. Other than that Liam is just wonderful to be with and his eye doesn't bother he is just full of smiles. I will be posting Christmas pictures soon
We hope you had a blessed Christmas

PEDIATRICIAN APPOINTMENT

Liam went for his weight check and now we are confused because my doctors scale says that Liam weighs 9 pounds 4 oz and which is 4.2 kilos instead of 3.9 which is 8 pounds. So we still don't know who scale is right, I would pick the 9 pound 4oz one lol she says hers is correct. I don't know, but also Liam has this green thing where his chest incision is and she said it looks like a suture stitch that didn't dissolve, i am glad its not anything else. Well Liam is going to his Cardiologist a few days after Christmas so we will see what her scale says. I am going to try to post more Pictures soon.
Thank You for continuing to follow Liam's journey and the prayers they are greatly appreciated. I really need to see that since all thats on my mind is Liam's next surgery and its getting close and i have bonded so well with Liam and I am just don't know how strong I will be when i hand him back over to the doctors.

Liam's RSV shot

Finally yesterday Liam went for his RSV shot. He was smiling at the nurse and she couldn't give him the shot, she kept saying sorry Liam this is going to hurt but then she was like i can't give him this shot with him smiling at me like this. She waited and every time she go to give it to him he just shoot his big flirty smile, then she said sorry Liam sorry mom i have to do this well he screamed so loud i cried i never heard him scream like that, so i picked him up and gave him hugs, he actually cried for a few minutes.They said those shots really hurt. I can't believe he has to get that shot every month :( they weighed him and he was 3.9 kilos which is 8 pounds. Since last month he has only gained 5oz. So now we have to add the 1cc of vegetable oil to the 24 calorie formula to make it 30 calories because he didn't gain a full pound but at least he is gaining, slowly but surely. Tomorrow he has to go to his Pediatrician for a weight check, since she is watching his weight gain too. His next appointment is to see the Pediatric Cardiologist which is a few days after Christmas. Then down to Miami 2 and half weeks later to see his Surgeon. Nothing else new to report except Liam loves to smile, he just stares at you and when you make eye contact he can't stop smiling.

UPDATE

Sorry there haven't been any post, we have been getting ready for Christmas!. We are so excited and can't wait for the kids to open their presents and spend it with Liam and his first Christmas.
Liam is suppose to go next week for his RSV shot sometime, I have to call Monday to see what they scheduled for him, Also he has a weight check and a shot at the Peditricians on December 21st. Liam is such a good baby, we are so blessed to have him, he just loves to be held and watch his brother and sisters run around here crazy and he doesn't know what the 2 dogs are all about but he watches them wrestle and bark at each other. He only cries when he is hungry. Everything that he has been through since birth I didn't know how he was going to be, all i can say is he is such a GOOD bAby! Liam also has to be in Miami on January 16th to see his surgeon. I think after we go see the Cardiologist on December 28th, she will probably be reporting to the Surgeon, and then he is going to look Liam over and they will probably be deciding on the date of his next surgery. But i am not going to even talk about that right now, i am going to enjoy the holidays with him first!
Christmas pictures have been added to the website.

Added Song and Picture

I ADDED A SONG BY MARK SHULTZ HE IS A CHRISTIAN SINGER AND IT DESCRIBES WHAT I FELT AND FEEL FOR MY PRECIOUS SON LIAM. VERY POWERFUL SONG IF YOU LIKE TO STAY AND LISTEN. ALSO I ADDED PICTURES AND WILL BE ADDING MORE AS I GET THEM ON THE COMPUTER

Cardio Appointment

Liam had his Cardiologist Appt this Morning, and everything looks great. She didn't do an Echo because she said she felt he sounded good. His Saturations were at the highest 82 today but i mostly saw lower 70's . She said it will go down as he grows. She told me to continue to watch for fast breathing and to see if he is sweating but he is doing very good and I haven't seen any of that. His next appointment is Next month and we will be scheduling his Pulmonary doctor this week for his RSV shot since he is behind. Liam was weighed today and was 7 pounds 11oz she was happy to see he gained a pound since his last appointment. He will be going in for a weight check in the next couple weeks hopefully he will gain some more ounces since now she told me to up the amount of formula that he drinks from 2 ounces now to 2½ ounces, and i started that the other day since he has been looking for more. I will give my next update for his weight check.

Peditrician Appointment

Liam had his first shots it hurt me more than him because he cried for a half a second and me a whole minute. Liam weighs 7 pounds 12 oz so he put on a pound since his last visit yay. I keep forgetting to ask how much he grew, but he has a weight check appt next month to make sure he is putting on enough weight. Liam has to go to a Pulminologist and start getting his RSV shots which he is a month behind he has to get a series of those, and a gastro doctor for his Reflux. His reflux is doing good but she wants to make sure everything is fine there.
Liam's first Thanksgiving was awesome, all his family was here at the house with us.It was awesome to have both his aunts and uncles and grandparents here. We are definitely thankful for friends and family and all the prayers and Thankful for Liam!!!

UPDATE

JUST WANTED TO UPDATE ON LIAM'S FEEDINGS. HE IS NOW EATING 60 CC'S AND NOT THROWING IT UP. WE ARE SO PROUD OF HIM.
HE LOVES BEING HOME AND STARING AT HIS OLDER BROTHER AND SISTERS. I WILL BE POSTING A NEWER PICTURE OF HIM SOON.

WEST PALM BEACH

Liam had a pediatric cardiologist appointment this morning in West Palm Beach. She checked him over and we went over his medicines that he takes, she didn't change anything this time, but she said maybe next time she will change the amount he gets. She said for life he will be on this one medicine he takes for his heart called Captiprol. Also I will be seeing her once a month unless something comes up. He is in the upper 80's about 83-87 for oxygen it got to 91 before we left but she marked it down as upper 8o's. Liam was about 92 to 95 in the hospital. His next appointment is November 28th. She said Liam's next surgery depending on how his conduit is doing in the heart and what his oxygen numbers are. So she said the next surgery is going to be 2 to 4 months from now. Hopefully the 4 months!!!!

Home From Miami again..

Liam is doing fine, They said he doesn't have any infections and the suture looked fine even though the sutures dissolved and the skin was still open, they said that was normal. As for him throwing up every meal they told me since he has the reflux he needs to eat small amounts and then burped and then wait 10 min and feed him more and do the same until he is done eating, then hold him for a while upright, i guess we were doing that but having Jake being so demanding its easy to put the baby down and tend to Jake, but now we just have to hold Liam a little longer, which there are no complaints here. I will figure it out some how and Jake loves the baby and has showed no signs of Jealousy at all, so he can wait a few more minutes.

Taking Liam back to the Doctors

Today we are leaving for Miami, we are worried, one of the tube incisions that was below the belly button has opened. We are hoping he its not infected. Not only that Liam is not holding any of his feedings and eating less. We will let you know an update when we get back, I hope they don't keep him, but if they do its for the best. Thanks for the continued prayers.

Miami Trip

Today was Liam's doctor's appointment to see the Surgeon. He Checked Liam's incisions and he has an infection so they prescribed him Keflex antibiotic. They told me he might get an infection so they were not worried and its not too bad it just started so he should be fine.
They want him eating more, he is only eating 35 cc's which is 1 ounce and they want him eating 60 cc's so i guess they want him to fatten up for his next surgery which he said would be at 4months of age to 6 months of age. Now to get him to eat more than he is eating. They want me to make another pediatrician appointment in 2 weeks just to see if he has gained any weight. I am having a problem with him throwing up every time he goes over 35 cc's, I hope he starts eating more so i don't have to supplement formula or have the Feeding tube back in. But I think he will start eating more soon. I will keep you updated for the next doctors appointment which is October 31'st to his Pediatric Cardiologist.

LIAM'S FIRST PEDITRICIAN APPT

Liam went to the doctor. He weighs 7 pounds even so he is trying to catch up to his birth weight which was 7 and a half pounds, they measured him but we were asking questions about his surgery so I never got how much he grew. They didn't get all his medical records from the hospital yet so the doctor basically asked me a bunch of questions about the pregnancy and his birth and then surgery. His Next appointment will be for shots November 21st. He will be going to Miami tomorrow to see Dr Rosenkranz, his Surgeon. I don't see the Pediatric Cardiologist until October 31st, She will be the one deciding on when Liam has his Second Surgery. They said its usually between the age of 3 to 6 months, hopefully he will stay healthy until his 6th month so i don't have to go through all of this again so soon. A new Picture will be up soon

LIAM IS .......

HOME!!!! Thursday morning doctors were telling me that Liam was doing really well and that he was on all of his medicines to go home on. So I was thinking we still had another week or longer! Later they came by and asked about all his doctors i have for him and their phone numbers so he could make appointments for Liam. Later that evening a nurse came by and was asking me questions and started to mention When Liam goes home, and so I asked her since home was being used so much today when was Liam coming home? She Looked at me and said no one told me? She said you are taking Liam home tomorrow!!!! I was really dumbfounded. So Friday we took Liam to the Ronald Mcdonald House and stayed one more night because we were not packed up and ready to leave and plus it was past the time to check out. Saturday Morning Jerry drove me and Liam home at 8 am and he came back to Miami to pack up and check out. I want to thank you for all the continuous prayers for Liam, it means so much to us. We have a lot of doctors appointments this week. He has to see his Pediatric Cardiologist on Wednesday and then Thursday we have to go back down to Miami and see the surgeon that operated on Liam, and then he has his regular Pediatrician appointment. Liam is doing great, he is catching up on all the missed sleep he didn't get in the hospital, since they had to do something to him every 5 to 10 min and all his monitors beeping all the time.
The girls and Jake are so happy that we are home, since they have missed us so much, they came to stay with us at the Ronald Mcdonald house on Fridays Saturdays and then left after dinner on Sunday to go back home for the school week. It feels really good to be home and see all the prayers for our little fighter, Liam. look for more updates after Liam's doctors appointments and I will be posting a new picture of Liam real soon.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, they took the feeding tube out of Liam's nose and he is feeding on his own now. They are giving him the medicine that he will go home with in hopefully a couple weeks.

Great News

Liam was taken off the respirator on Saturday. He's breathing on his own and I got to hold him for the first time. I was able to bottle feed him as well. Sorry there hasn't been more updates, but it is very long nights in the hospital.

Liam's Progress

Liam had a pic line put in yesterday since all his iv's are falling out. They also Extubated(took out his breathing tube) him at 4:15 pm. He did great all day, We finally got to see his face again. About 11pm as i was leaving to go get some rest i noticed him breathing harder and called the doctor in the room, he said he had a little congestion so they ordered him a abuterol treatment, and i stayed until he was done and he was breathing alot better. This morning we came in to see him and they re-intubated(put the tube back in) him. They said that he started breathing harder again and that the congestion is just too much for the air to get into his lungs. We thank everyone for the continuous prayers, comments and concerns.

Pneumonia

Liam had his chest closed on Monday. By Liam's gasses they knew he had some infection but couldn't determine what it was. On Sunday through studies, and cultures they determined that Liam now has pneumonia. He is on the strongest antibiotics to help cure his pneumonia. He will remain on the respirator and is being fed mothers milk through a feeding tube he is only getting 15 cc's every hour . We will keep you updated. Thank you for your prayers.

Chest Closing Update

Liam did great on the procedure to close his chest.He had minor Blood Pressure issues after but they got him stable and it was normal for after this kind of procedure. He is doing well. Now the next few days they are going to let him heal and then We will update on when he will be coming off sedation. Please Continue to Pray for him. Thank You

Surgery

Today is Monday October 1st. Liam is going to have his chest closed today since they kept it open after surgery so he could heal and for no infections. He will be in surgery for a few hours. We ask for your prayers and thank you for them. We will update as soon as possible.

Liam's First Surgery

Thankfully Liam successfully completed his first of 3 heart reconstruction surgery today. His surgery began at 7:45 A.M. (Friday Setp 28) and Liam left the operating room at 5:30pm. Our thanks to Dr. Rosenkranz and his team for this miraculous surgery. Dr. Rosenkranz said that Liam did well in surgery and everything could be expected to go well did go well. Liam will now be in the cardiac neonatal intensive care unit for at least one month. Liam will be under sedation for at least six days. Currently, the doctors have not closed his chest. On Monday the surgeons will return to do that. The next seven days are critical. The following month to come Liam will be gathering strength to be discharged and to head home. We will be staying at the Ronald McDonald House for parents beginning tonight. Please keep Liam in your prayers. The whole family thanks you for your help and concern.

Complications for Surgery

Liam is going into surgery on Friday the 28th at 7 am. The doctors have discovered yet another problem in his heart. The left side has a small chamber which will not release the blood that is pumped into it. This causes high blood pressure for Liam. The doctors are aware of this problem and will take extreme caution during surgery. This is a rare circumstance, even among those that have HLHS. It will make tomorrow's surgery more difficult and more dangerous, yet not impossible. Please keep Liam in your prayers. We have pictures, but no way to upoad them at the hospital. We will try to get them up soon.

Birth Announcement

Liam was born at 1:52 pm today!
He is 7 pounds 6 ounces, 19 ¾ inches long. He has blond hair and blue eyes. I had a natural delivery, not C-section. Liam is scheduled for heart surgery on Friday the 28th and it is going to be a six hour procedure. He’s breathing on his own but is being watched closely. Pictures will follow soon. Liam is in the NICU and will be on a medication that will prevent the top of the heart from closing before surgery as would be in the womb.

Welcome

Thank you for visiting. This website is preparing for the birth of Liam Lockhart on September 24th 2007. Liam has been diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). This means that Liam will be born with only half of his heart functioning. Shortly after Liam is born,he will undergo Major surgery to reconstruct his heart. Since Liam's heart did not develop on the left side, the Doctors will attempt to transform his heart into a 2 chamber heart. (His left 2 chambers did not form) After he is born the family will post Liam's journey on this site. Please come back to this site to follow Liam's progress.You can donate to Liam either by the Paypal link on the right of the page or you can go to any Wachovia Bank and donate to the "Liam Lockhart Irrevocable Trust". Again, Thank You For Visiting. You can read more about HLHS by goingto;www.pediheart.org/parents/defects/HLHS.htm