Posted Jul 5, 2008 11:43am

Hey there loved ones! Boy did we get some yucky information this week. We took Kaden to Denver to see a specialist for a second opinion about his surgery. The Dr. said without a doubt that he needs this surgery soon. So we decided to go forward with the Nissen Fundopilication and the G-tube. The Nissen will prevent reflux from spilling into his lung and assist his body to heal. The G-tube will help give him more calories to help his bones grow and for his lungs to maintain healing. He stressed to us how important this is due to the fact that Kaden's been diagnosed with Failure to Thrive and a new heart murmur. The doctor also viewed all of his images and looked over his medical records. He informed us that Kaden's heart is too large because he's working so hard to breath all the time and that he appears to have pulmonary hypertension. We are following up with the cardiologist on the 8th to see how bad it is and to make sure he doesn't also have pulmonary edema. As for his overall diagnoses, he also found Kaden to have bronchopulmonary dyslpasia (scarring of the lungs) from being on the ventilator for so long. He also said that Kaden will continue to be oxygen dependent for years to come. He concurred that it is imperative for Kaden to be home-bound and to avoid all illnesses as much as possible. We don't have a clear prognosis as to what the future holds, but we were able to get him onto a hospice waiver that will ensure he never loses Medicaid. What we find bizzare is that his spirit is so strong. He looks and plays pretty normally for a child his age. Little did we know that he has gotten worse. We will keep encouraging our little man to work hard, play harder and enjoy everyday as much as possible. He's signing very well and can say 5 words now. His surgery will be a grueling process, but a necessary one never the less. I will do my best to keep everyone posted. Love to all of you!