Finding His Voice

Zachary is doing wonderfully, and adjusting to the changes in his life quite well.   After several days of cathetering and only getting very small amounts, we decided to call the urologist and see if there were any new steps to take.  After some discussion with the nurses, it was decided that we could reduce the catheters to twice a day, rather than four!  We are very excited and continue to pray for a complete stop to the process, and Zachary's continued healing. 

We have been enjoying our time spent with the little guy for the past several days, especially his new found love of baby talk, and all the smiles that go along with it.  He is quite the story teller, and if given the opportunity, will tell some rather lengthy tales!!  The video above is of one of his many recent episodes, we hope you enjoy the story!!

Not all has been rosy around the Zurliene house.  Zachary decided the Saturday night and EARLY Sunday morning were not good times for sleeping or eating.  After four hours of screaming, grunting, and overall displeasure he collapsed from exhaustion and slept for a few hours, as did Mommy and Daddy.  Not sure what caused the minor meltdown, but thankfully, he returned to normalcy on Sunday, and has been his old self for over 24 hours!

Tomorrow is Zachary's appointment with the orthopedic surgeon to have his casts removed, and a follow up exam after his surgery.  We're anxious to hear about the progress he has made to this point, and to see how straight his feet are becoming!  They will put another set of casts on, and hopefully in two more weeks,  he will be all through with casts!

Thank You All for the continued Love and Prayers, and we will update Zach's progress soon.  With Love - Brian + Kimmie

Moving Forward, Looking Back

Zachary's urodynamics test went very well yesterday.  Dr. Wilson (the urologist) said that all the results from the test were very positive.  Zachary's bladder is smooth and good size (many children with spina bifida have bladders that are rigid and small).  They were able to fill it with 60ml of fluid which is very full for a child his age.  Then they observed him relieving the fluid and were pleased with his steady stream (sorry for the graphic details, but it's all for the better).  After the test we consulted with the doctor and discussed Zach's future.  Dr. Wilson said he had a "sneaking suspicion" that Zach could develop some difficulties further down the road, and so after some talk and soul searching, Mommy and Daddy decided that we should begin catheterizing Zach.  The doctor feels this is for the better because it begins the process early in his development, so when he gets older he is very much accustomed to the process and it will make things much easier.  

This morning Mommy began the first catheter, and got a very small amount of fluid out (a very good sign).  The rest of the day was more of the same, with very small amounts each time.  If this continues for several days the doctor told us to call and consult him, because he may want to discontinue the catheterization.  That would be an ideal situation,  one we are praying especially hard for.  

We hope you all enjoy the short video, and some pictures from yesterday's trip to Children's hospital.  Please continue to pray for Zach's healing and an ending to his catheterization. God Bless - Brian + Kimmie

 

Happy and Healing

 Zachary has been doing very well the past few days, and seems to have handled the whole surgery and recovery wonderfully.  We all had a very peaceful weekend, enjoying the nice weather before the storms moved in today.  Saturday, Mommy took Zach out to dinner with Nicole and they had a nice night together.  Yesterday was a fun day with Adam, Ashley, Autumn, and Alex coming by and joining us for some lunch in old town Erie.  They had not seen Zachary since he was in the NICU, and it was fun spending some time together, and watching Mommy get "burned"" by the green chile!  

Tomorrow, Zachary has his urodynamics test in the afternoon.  We should get a lot of answers as to his future with his bladder and bowels.  We're praying for wonderful results, and Zachary's continued healing on this journey.  Love to You All - Brian + Kimmie

Success!

Success!

Zachary is finished with his surgery, back home, and resting comfortably... Praise God!!   We began the day early, arriving at Children's at 5:30.  After check in and some brief consultation with the nurses, anesthesiologist, Dr. Miller (the surgeon), and the residents, Zachary was off to surgery by 7:45.  Mommy and Daddy decided to pass the time by getting some breakfast at the food court, and boy were we surprised! You hear horror stories about hospital food, but they've figured it out at Children's. We each had our own custom made omelets that were delicious, and only $3.75!

The procedure was fairly quick, and by 8:45 Dr. Miller was out of the OR and sitting with us in the waiting area.  She was "very pleased" with how things went, and the movement they were able to get out of both feet, and especially the left foot.  Zachary has two LARGE plaster casts that have his feet pointing more upright, and will have them for the next two weeks.  At that point we will meet with Dr. Miller again for evaluation and another set of casts for another 2-3 weeks.  

After our short post-op meeting with Dr. Miller we were able to go in and see Zachary during recovery. It took him quite a while, but he eventually came out of his sleepiness and we tried to let him breast feed.  He gave it a try, but was just too tired to make it worth while.  A short time later we gave him a bottle and he easily ate 4oz and began acting much more like himself.  After a few more checks of the vital signs by the nurses Zachary was discharged and we headed home.  We just gave him a dose of kiddie tylenol, and he's sleeping peacefully in his crib.

It's been a very long day already, and all three of us are in need of a good nap.  We are so thankful that everything turned out so well, and our prayers continue to be answered.  Thank You All for the well wishes and prayers, and you are all invited to come by and sign Zach's casts, we're going to save this set.  With Thanks, Praise, and Love - Brian + Kimmie

False Start

Just a quick note to let you all know that Zachary's surgery has been rescheduled for Thursday morning at 7:30.  Dr. Miller had some conflicts with tomorrow so we'll be at Children's on Thursday instead.  Thank You for all the well wishes and prayers, and please keep them coming for an extra day. Until then.... - Brian + Kimmie

Surgery: Part 3

Today we found out that Zachary's tenotomy will be Wednesday morning.  He will go in at 8:45, and should be out of surgery in an hour.  He will need to be under anesthesia for the surgery, and he will need a few hours afterward to recover, but we should be in and out in the same day.  

Grandma had to return to Arizona last night, Zachary wished she could have stayed longer, but overall it was a great weekend, and they had a wonderful time trading goofy faces and hugs.  

The three of us are taking it easy, preparing for Wednesday, and enjoying our little chatter box and all his new sounds.  Please say an extra prayer for Zachary's surgery to go exceptionally well, and we will give an update as soon as we can.  Love and God Bless - Brian + Kimmie

Full of Smiles

Zachary has had a wonderful time the past few days.  Yesterday was a big day with the arrival of Grandma! The two of them have been enjoying each others company, and trading tongue wags for the past 24 hours!  Zach has developed a new favorite activity the past few days as well.  He likes to have whomever is holding him stick out their town, then he sticks out his tongue and laughs at the response he has gotten!  It's really fun to watch, and you can see in the video the noises he makes in response.  

Late last night we noticed that Zachary's left foot had shrunk back up into his cast again, so early this morning we called Children's and scheduled him for a new cast to be put on at 2.  With the plaster casts that he has this week the best option was to cut off his cast on his left foot, and because they were out of plaster casts, he is ow once again in one plaster and one fiberglass cast.  Zach was great throughout the whole procedure, as usual.  No word yet from Dr. Miller as to Zachary's tenotomy.  It seems she is very busy and they are trying to find a time to fit his surgery in, so we'll just wait patiently and pray for the best.

Tonight Mommy and Daddy had yet another "date night", with Grandma here and Cindy coming up to visit as well.  Two weeks in a row for Friday night dinners, we're starting to feel a bit spoiled! Everyone had a wonderful time (Mommy and Daddy at Dinner, Cindy and Grandma with Zach), and we are all looking forward to a weekend filled with laughs, feedings, and tongue wags!  Thanks and God Bless - Brian + Kimmie

Taking the Next Step

Zachary had his appointment this morning with the orthopedic specialist at Children's (Dr. Miller) and she decided that things have progressed enough to schedule the tenotomy.  It was a bit of a long morning with the overnight snow causing a slow trip to the hospital, and having to wait a while for the doctor to see Zachary.  We also had to spend some time soaking Zach's one plaster cast to get it off before he could be examined, so he was quite tired when all was said and done.  After his exam, and a couple of quick X-rays of his feet, Zach had two new plaster casts put on for the final week before the tenotomy.  We are awaiting a call from the physician's assistant to set up the exact time, but we are pretty sure it will be sometime later next week.  For now Zachary is showing wonderful progress, and there is a good chance he will be through with casts and on to boots by the middle of April!  We are so blessed that he continues to do so well each step along the way!  Enjoy the pictures of Zachary's ENORMOUS casts, and his new favorite activity of putting his hands up to is ears which we call his earmuffs! Thanks and God Bless 

-Brian + Kimmie

Mr. Attitude

Zachary has been doing very well this week, and enjoying the unseasonably warm weather that Colorado has had for almost the entire winter.  Mommy and Daddy were so very fortunate to have Cindy come by on Friday afternoon and watch Zachary for quite a while.  After eating a wonderful dinner (seafood for Lent), it was back home from our short "time off".  We found Zach resting comfortably in Cindy's arms, and discovered that he was great for her the entire time!  

We had a rather low key weekend, with Daddy working on Saturday, and Mommy heading to a baby shower Sunday, and the weather changing.  It's become much more seasonal, and cooled off quite a bit.  Tomorrow Zachary has an appointment with the orthopedic specialist to check the progress of his left foot, and hopefully receive some good news about his possible tenotomy.  Please keep praying for that!

Grandma is arriving on Thursday for her first visit since Zachary's birthday!  She'll be here for the weekend, and we hope to be able to hold Zachary again by Monday, because we're sure he's got a permanent spot in her arm for a few days.

We'll give an update after we get results tomorrow.  Until then, God Bless.

 - Brian + Kimmie

New Shoes

Zach has been growing steadily, and Mommy and Daddy have really begun to notice lately that he doesn't look much like a newborn any more.  He's quickly becoming a big baby boy before our eyes.  

Zachary had new casts put on Tuesday afternoon, and by early this morning he had already begun to loosen the one on his left foot, so it was back to Children's to have another new one placed.  This time, the doctor who saw Zach was a plaster cast specialist instead of the usual fiberglass ones.  So for the next week Zachary is a bit lopsided with one fiberglass and one plaster cast. Hopefully this will better hold his left foot in place and flatten out the sole of the foot more efficiently.  Next Tuesday we have an appointment with Dr. Miller, the orthopedic specialist, and hopefully the results will be very positive and we can continue with Zachary's tenotomy and recovery.  

Overall, Zachary has been progressing wonderfully and continues to amaze us each and every day.  We continue to pray for his healing and improvement, and thank all of you for your continued prayers.  We've been praying extra hard lately for a little girl that we have seen grow with spina bifida, and exchanged some messages with her parents.  Her name is Alex Diffee and she has had a tough stretch recently and has been in Children's for the past several weeks. Through the grace of God she has shown much improvement and will hopefully be able to return home soon.  We have seen first hand the power of prayer, and are grateful that our prayers are being answered in the lives of others as well.  

One last note of wonderful news.  We found out today that Aunt Peg will be coming out for a couple of weeks in May to watch Zachary and be a HUGE support for Mommy and Daddy! Zach is anxiously awaiting her arrival! 

Thank You All, and God Bless - Brian + Kimmie