It's that time again...

Hooked · May 08, 2011, 11:31:00 PM

Well, it is official, Garrett goes under the knife again on June 20th. This will be his 3rd heart surgery and second bypass surgery. I dread the day with all my soul, but also know it needs to be done and I can't wait to get it over with.

The good news is that after this surgery all his blood will be flowing in one direction. So, for the first time in his life all the blood going out to the body will be oxygenated.

Please keep him in your prayers!

For those who missed the first two surgeries, Garrett is my 3 year old son (almost 4). He was born with half a heart. You can read about it if you want on his caringbridge page: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/garrettjones/mystory

Winterhawk1960 · May 09, 2011, 08:59:00 AM

Prayers going up for the good Lord to guide the surgeon's hands and to protect and keep Garrett safe through it all.

Winterhawk1960

BenBow · May 09, 2011, 09:45:00 AM

Prayers for continued good results and God's gentle hand guiding it all.

Doc Nock · May 09, 2011, 10:50:00 AM

To quote a smart li'l girl raised by God-fearing parents: "But, the bestest doctor of all is God!" Katie Jones (7 years old)

Prayers for His Will to be done and that His perfect Will be for Garrett to sail through this and march on into old age being a ferverant witness to His Glory, Grace and Healing.

Don't borrow worry from tomorrow, for tomorrow will have it's own.

Keep the Son in your eyes, Hoss.

Red Tailed Hawk · May 09, 2011, 06:24:00 PM

Prayers sent for Garrett, Can only imagine how hard it must be for you. Prayers sent and fingers crossed.

Rookie@51 · May 09, 2011, 10:47:00 PM

I will renew my prayer book with you request. Thanks for reminding us about this. I am prsying that he will someday be on here telling us about his first bow kill. If the Lord lets us stay here that long that is. Lord your will be done in this family as they stand on their faith in the fact that you have our back as we stand looking forward in every area of our lives. Thank you for where Garrett has come from and where he is going from here. Amen.......Dusty

eddings220 · May 09, 2011, 10:49:00 PM

Praying for Garrett & you and family as well. My 16 month old son Clayton was born with Down Syndrome and we faced alot of uncertainity as well. But the one thing we can all be certain of is that our Father in Heaven made Garrett for a purpose, Garrett is special in God's eyes and God will always take care of him. God Bless

magnus · May 10, 2011, 06:08:00 AM

Prayers from us my friend!

GRAYBEARD · May 10, 2011, 08:23:00 AM

Prayers for strength of faith and body for all involved.
I hope the outcome was positive.

Nosight · May 10, 2011, 09:20:00 AM

Prayers from here for G. Man and family..

Please keep us up on him...

4dogs · May 11, 2011, 07:52:00 PM

I just want you to know that I pray for your little boy every day. I was in your shoes six years ago. I have a grand daughter that was born with HLS, same thing Garret has I think. I was in a position to spend all my time with her as she went through these procedures and I also took her to the St. Lewis Childrens then on to Houston Childrens for a month, looking for answers. I mostly wanted you to know that at times it seems impossible but keep going and put your faith in GOD. My grand daughter is now a very happy eight year old with no problems to speak of and she is the most precious thing in my life. These kids that go through this kind of thing are very very special, touched by GOD. If you ever need to talk to somebody thats been there, PM me and I will call. Good luck and GOD BLESS you all.

Doc Nock · May 29, 2011, 08:54:00 AM

Haven't heard any updates, Chip, so searched this one out and thought I'd bring it up again.

Prayers continue for you all as the time draws closer.

Keep the Son in your eyes!

Rookie@51 · May 29, 2011, 09:57:00 AM

Still here and praying for ya'll too. Lord in your time and ways bless this family and grow Garrett into a strong man of God so he can tell others of your grace. Amen .......Dusty

Hooked · June 17, 2011, 01:10:00 AM

We go in tomorrow for Garrett's Pre-Op appt and our meeting with the surgeon. My wife has really been stressing over keeping him healthy. She almost had a nervous breakdown today when our 8 year old daughter (who has been complaining about a sore throat) got mad at Garrett and spit a mouth full of water on him. She said she started crying uncontrollably. What's funny is later she was driving with Garrett in the car and asked him how she sounded earlier. She said he just made a pitful crying sound "waaahaahaaa".

While she has been worrying about that part the surgery has really started weighing on me. Please pray for both of us to know his peace and strength. I know I need more of it right now.

As always pray for Garrett, his surgeon and staff, and his big sisters.

thanks!

Stone Knife · June 17, 2011, 06:01:00 AM

I'm praying the lord's hand will guide the surgeons and that the Lord will use Garrett as a continued example of Gods love. I pray that your family's burden will be eased, in the name of his holy son Jesus we pray.

Hooked · June 17, 2011, 04:20:00 PM

All went well with Garrett's Pre-Admission Testing today. He did great until the nurse stuck the needle in his arm to draw blood. Ouch! Thankfully that was the very last thing to be done. He fell asleep in the car almost immediately and slept all the way home.

A friend asked Suzie on the way home if she felt a big relief of getting through today. She immediately said "No!", there was just a shift to worrying about Monday.

Not sure he really knows what is going on. They went through a little storybook with him today about how the doctor is going to look at his heart. Not sure how much he took in since he was working real hard on chewing a tootsie roll.

The procedure involves rerouting the blood coming in from the lower half of his body so it goes directly to his lungs. Since there is no pump pushing the blood into his lungs it is just passively flowing in and it will take a while for his body to adjust. He may have some stomach upset and other issues while his body adjusts.

He also has moderate leakage in his heart valves. Since he only has the one pump and set of valves it is important to keep these functioning well. The surgeon may add some type of ring to the valves that will help them function more efficiently. I should have more details on this on Monday.

Garrett will be the surgeon's second procedure of the day, which means his procedure probably won't start until late morning. We don't have to be there until 9:30am. Cardiac nurse said most of these patients are in the hospital for 2 weeks and 50% go home with their chest tubes still in place.

Thanks for your prayers!

Doc Nock · June 17, 2011, 04:21:00 PM

Continued and renewed prayers for Wonderful Garrett!

May God's own hand rest on all involved, bring peace to you and your family.

Lord in your Mercy...

Keep the Son in your eyes, Chip!

4dogs · June 17, 2011, 05:52:00 PM

ber643 · June 17, 2011, 05:53:00 PM

May the good Lord keep his angles on their ever present watch over young Garrett - and his parents.
Hang in there, Chip. It must be so scarey.

Doc Nock · June 18, 2011, 07:30:00 PM

Amazing what these docs can do these days, huh, Chip?

The longer you have Garrett to enjoy, the tougher this has to be to "let go/let God".

I struggle with similar issues on a much smaller scale, but I can relate to how it's hard to "trust and walk in faith" at times. We want to do more ourselves to help...

Peace and blessings on you all. Remember, the bestest doctor of all is God!

Prayers for the procedure to go well and Garrett to do his own amazing adjustments and marvel the docs.

Go in peace... praise be to God!