Bless Damon's Heart

Myles' Summer School Assembly

2009-06-30T14:42:00.003-05:00

Myles had his last day of summer school today. Here is a picture of him in the patriot parade.

Happy Birthday Myles!

2009-06-24T22:13:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Myles' 6th birthday. Damon and I took cupcakes to his class at summer school, then after dinner we went swimming at Papa Dan's and Candy grandma's. He had a fun day and really loves the Bakugons that Damon got for him, and the Leapster2 he got from us.

I still can't believe he's six years old. Time has gone by way too quickly. Ironically enough though, it seems like Damon has been two forever. Like his aging process is frozen. People will ask me how old he is and I say 2 1/2 but what I'm thinking is "good grief, he's still just two." Don't misunderstand, I don't want time to speed up, I love him being two. And he loves being two. He doesn't want to be anything else. If you ask him, he says he just wants to stay two.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Myles! You're a great big brother, and so smart and funny. We're blessed by you buddy!

Mom, Dad and Damon

Home and Getting Better

2009-06-07T17:49:00.003-05:00

Damon is home and doing somewhat better. The doctor told us that he has a double ear infection and that is why his fever was as high as it was (105.5 degrees). He is on antibiotics and he slowly getting better. He is really clingy and wanting someone to hold him, but we really don't mind. We just want him to get better and I think with a lot of rest and prayers he will. Thanks for your prayers.

The Cochrans

Please Pray

2009-06-07T01:27:00.002-05:00

Sarah just took Damon to the ER in Joplin. Damon's fever was higher than it was before throughout the weekend and he was getting sick. We always get concerned when he has a fever because it increases his heart rate. Especially when all of the nurses and doctors start poking and prodding him. I will be updating as I get updates from Sarah at the hospital. Just please pray for him.

Under the Weather

2009-06-06T09:38:00.003-05:00

Damon has been a little under the weather this week. He has had a high grade fever and just not feeling good at all. The doctor said that it is just a virus and it will pass, but in the here and now that doesn't help. So we are just keeping him hydrated and he is getting plenty of rest. We would appreciate any prayers that this virus would pass quickly and that there would be no other complications for his heart. We will keep you posted if anything changes.

Update on Tommy

2009-06-04T10:41:00.002-05:00

Tommy is recovering in ICU with his new heart. Praise Jesus. Please continue to pray for him and the donor family. It doesn't make any sort of sense that for him to live someone else has to die but neither does Jesus going to the cross for my sins. God is in control and His word says: All things work together for good for those that believe and are called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28

Here is the post on his carepage from this morning:
Once again, Tommy has demonstrated what amazing vitality and determination he possesses, and above all, what the power of prayer can do! Colleen told me that Tommy had an “amazing” night without any issues. He is awake, “hungry” and working on coming off the breathing machine. They are both still in “awe and disbelief” over what has transpired since early yesterday. They are so “thankful for all the support and prayers” and truly blessed to have so much encouragement.

Tommy’s day will be a day of recovery. A day with a beautiful, 4 chambered, strong beating heart. We are once again reminded of the fragility of life and weighed down by the reality that one life was lost to spare another. Again, please continue to hold close the donor family and bear in mind that life is too short to take anything for granted.

We love you Tommy…

...Jill Teats (fellow heart Mom) posting for Colleen

Tommy

2009-06-03T11:38:00.002-05:00

Tommy is an 8 year old little boy with HLHS who is receiving a heart transplant as I type this. Please pray for this to be his "perfect heart" and that the transplant goes smoothly. No infections, no complications, no rejection. This little boy has had a rough 8 years and needs this heart to work. God is faithful and He sees, knows, controls all things. Pray pray pray.

Sarah

Need your input!

2009-05-26T22:20:00.002-05:00

The boys and I are going to participate in the summer reading program at our local library and while I was checking out the info I saw that they are having a photography contest. I don't really think there is a prize, except you get your work displayed in a gallery for a while. But photography is a passion of mine so I thought I'd enter something. Now I need you to help me choose what to enter! These shots were all taken around the Joplin area. Leave me a comment about which one is your favorite.

Whew!

2009-05-25T21:32:00.002-05:00

The boys and I went over to GG's today and helped her in her garden. It was fun, and the boys where a huge help. Ok, Myles helped a little bit. Damon played in the fountain and gave his shoes a bath. Anyway, we were there most of the day and by the time we got done everyone was filthy and tired. We went in the house to gather up our stuff so we could leave and I found an empty wrapper for Nightime Sleep Aid on the floor in the kitchen. There were two pills in each package and one was broken on the floor and the other was missing. I got down on my knees to look for it under the cabinets and I saw a little dribble of slobber on the floor with a small piece of one of the pills in it. So I assume that Damon somehow got this package open and ate one of these pills. He chewed it up probably, and drooled on the floor while doing it. I also assume that the pill tasted nasty to him, otherwise he would've probably ate the other one and moved onto the other packages. Praise God for nasty tasting medicine. So I called the dr's office (no one there), the Mom's hotline at the hospital (referred me somewhere else), and then finally the Poison Control Center. Sue, the nice lady at the PCC told me that I had nothing to worry about, and it wouldn't affect his heart in any way. She even called back two hours later to check on Damon. So nice!

And yes, Damon did fall asleep shortly after we found the empty pill package. But he really didn't sleep any longer than he would have for his regular nap. So I guess I'm not 100% sure that he actually ate that pill, but I wanted to error on the side of caution. Never a dull moment around here. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-24T23:23:00.002-05:00

We hope everyone has a safe and fun long weekend! We're so excited for summer to be here so we can be outside and do lots of fun things. We're already planning out first camping trip of the season. One of what I hope will be lots and lots! Damon is feeling much better, although his cough is hanging on every now and then. Thanks for the prayers.Talk to you all later.

Sarah

P.S. Look to your right for a new feature on the website.

Damon's sick

2009-05-20T11:15:00.001-05:00

Damon has a cold and has had a low fever since Monday night. Overnight it's gotten a little higher and his cough has started to sound worse. He's gagging a lot when he coughs and it sounds like his lungs might be getting congested. I'm taking him to the dr this afternoon so please pray that it's only a cold and that he can get some relief from this cough.

Sarah

Update

2009-05-15T16:47:00.001-05:00

Jeremy's surgery went fine yesterday. He is home now and still in some pain but otherwise fine. Thanks for your prayers.

Sarah

Prayer for Jeremy

2009-05-14T11:44:00.002-05:00

This is Lacey posting for the Cochrans:
Jeremy has been having problems with kidney stones and the doctors did a procedure early this week to break them up. The procedure was successful at breaking them up but he has not been able to pass them and there were some complications. He will be having surgery at 12:30 today to remove the stones. Please pray for a complete recovery for Jeremy.

Dr visit

2009-05-04T20:37:00.002-05:00

Damon had an appt w/ Dr Tong today and it went well. He told us that everything looks the same on his echo and his EKG. His sats were a tad lower than last time (which is a normal thing to happen and they were only 83% which is still a good number) and the gradient on his aortic arch was a little higher.

Here's an explanation of what that means. Everyone has an aorta, the big vessel that comes out of your heart on the left side that carries your blood out to your body. Damon's was teeny tiny when he was born (part of the HLHS defect) and it had to be rebuilt in his first surgery. There is one spot on his aorta that kept getting narrow so it's been ballooned during a heart cath 5 times to stretch it out. The gradient is a number that tells how fast the blood is flowing through that spot. If the number is low that means that the spot is wide open allowing a lot of blood to flow through at a slow pace. If the number is higher that means it's getting narrower and the blood doesn't have as much room to flow through so it's moving faster. Think of it as a river. When the river is wide, the water is moving slowly. But when the river narrows and the water only has a small area to get through, it moves much faster.

A narrow spot on his aorta is not good, but not to worry. When we first got there they took his blood pressure on his leg. It was normal. After Dr Tong saw the echo he had them retake his blood pressure on his arm. He said if the blood pressure was higher on his arm, then it could mean that his aorta is getting narrow again. But when the blood pressure machine was finished squeezing, his arm blood pressure was lower than in his leg. So all is well. Dr Tong said he would note it in the chart and check it next time we see him in August.

Maybe I should have saved you all that confusion and just said his appt went fine, but at least now you have learned something. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

So...

2009-05-03T23:00:00.002-05:00

what does everyone think so far of the changes? I know right now it's pretty bare, but I did add the links back on with little pictures instead of the Names of the organization. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it took a little time to do and involved some computer smarts, so I was proud of myself. Soon I'll add some pictures of Damon and hopefully some other fun stuff so keep checking back.

Damon goes to see Dr Tong tomorrow (Monday) so I'll post here after that with an update. Talk to you all later!

Sarah

Mother's Day Mini-Session Portraits

2009-04-29T10:08:00.002-05:00

Click on the flyer below to see it larger.

From Drop Box

Changes

2009-04-27T21:34:00.002-05:00

As we speak, wait that's wrong. As I type this I am logging in to a class about how to "Bling" your Blog. So watch for changes coming soon to our tiny corner of the world wide web. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

A case of the Mondays

2009-04-20T18:17:00.002-05:00

I'm grouchy today. I can't really say exactly why though. My mind has had a hard time focusing lately, like I would be doing something and be thinking about all the other things I needed to do and I would never really get any one thing completely done. So I've had to tell it to only think about one thing at a time. It's helping, but my mind is used to being distracted so I'm having to train it to do this.

Enough about me, this blog is called "BlessDamonsHeart" so I shall now tell you something funny he said over the weekend. I went to an all day scrapbooking event on Saturday. I left home around 7:30am and he was awake and as we were saying goodbye Jeremy told him to tell me have fun at your Scrap-N-Chat. He says "Have fun at you scrap and fat mommy. Have fun wiff you scrapping fatties." Your welcome for the laugh. It made me feel better too. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

He did it!

2009-04-14T21:31:00.002-05:00

Damon peed on the potty tonight! He's been sitting on his potty chair for several days now with no luck, but tonight while I was getting the boys ready for a bath, he sat down and did it. (Probably because I wasn't watching. He's probably one of those nervous pee-ers, you know the kind that can't do it if someone's watching.) Anyway, we celebrated a lot and clapped and said "Woohoo Damon!" and gave hi 5's. He was so happy. Then I got the pleasure of cleaning out the potty chair. Talk to you all later.

Sarah

Our trip to the Circus

2009-04-09T15:31:00.000-05:00

Everyone had a great time. The overall favorite act was the clowns because they were boxing and slapping each other. The kids were cracking up. Talk to you all later!

Sarah

It's official

2009-04-07T10:14:00.002-05:00

we're going to the circus. Although I don't really need to leave my house to experience it, we'll be attending the real one today. I'm excited, it's Damon's first one and Myles was too young to remember when we took him. Maybe I'll ride the elephant. Haha! Will try to post pictures tomorrow. Take care and talk to you all soon.

Sarah

P.S. Damon had a double ear infection last week, but is doing much better now. We are also working w/ his new pediatrician to get this constipation problem resolved once and for all.

Missouri Weather

2009-03-28T19:59:00.000-05:00

If you need me to explain, then you don't live here.

Prayers needed

2009-03-10T09:20:00.003-05:00

I received an email today informing me that a good friend lost her brother-in-law Sunday. You can read the story by clicking here on foxnews.com. I'm sure if you watch the national news you will be seeing the story soon. He was a pastor in Illinois, just outside of St Louis. A man came into the church and shot him while he was in the middle of his sermon. The article reports that the man had brought enough ammunition for 30 rounds but the gun jammed after just 4. Some people will blame God for allowing this to happen. But let me tell you with certainty, God had nothing to do with it. The devil is at work in our world and this reeks of him. Don't get me wrong, God was involved. He jammed that gun after only 4 rounds. And the only man that died was the pastor. That breaks my heart beyond what I can express here, but that man was ready to meet God. God did not cause this to happen, but He will use it to bring more people to Him.

I ask that you please pray for this man's wife, Cindy, and his two daughters. Pray for his mother, and the rest of their family. I spoke with my friend right before I posted this and they are shocked, but they can already see God moving and working in people's lives because of this tragedy.

The reality is

2009-03-03T16:07:00.003-06:00

I was checking up on some of the kids I read about on Carepages today. They are kids from all over the country, most of whom have HLHS like Damon. And sadly some who have gone to be with Jesus. Another mom posted of a little angel girl who passed away yesterday after complications with her heart transplant. I struggle to understand this, and realize that I never will. I feel so blessed to have Damon and that he is thriving right now and yet have to fight back the fear (sometimes daily) that it could all turn around in a moment. There are certain realities that I don't like to face. That he is having another surgery. That the future is absolutely uncertain. That Damon will be different, limited in some ways, for the rest of his life. Then there are the realities that I cling to, that keep my head above water. That he is fine, right now in this moment. That despite my fears, God is in control. That He has his hand of protection on Damon and is keeping it there. And that despite the surgeries, procedures, medicines, and pain that we've all faced together, having our son here is better than not having him. Only God can explain why some children stay and some are called home. I know that I take Damon for granted so often, and let him frustrate me a lot but the reality is that there are families out there right now trying to make it through this week of their son's 3rd birthday, which he will never get to celebrate. God help me to understand, to see things from your perspective and forgive me for not seeing my reality clearly.

Better

2009-02-19T10:47:00.002-06:00

Damon isn't really sick anymore, at least not w/ fever and throwing up. We (Myles, Damon and I) all are coughing though. I feel like I'm about to cough up a lung. So we could use prayer for that.

I took a cute video last night that I'll try to post on here soon. Myles was showing us how this kid in his class slaps himself across the face and then Damon started trying to do it. Except he kept missing his own face, like 20 times in a row. It was hilarious. So I grabbed the camera and started taking video, but by the time I got it out he had found his face so it wasn't as funny. But then I told them to sing a song and Myles was singing and Damon was playing drums w/ his medicine syringes and he was cracking up at Myles.

Also, this morning, Damon woke up at 5:30 (yea!) and I went and got him and put him in bed with me so he would go back to sleep. We slept for another hour or so and then my alarm started going off and I was trying to get out of bed w/out him waking up. He woke up. And he looked at me and said "Are we all done mommy?" He's a riot.