Still doing great!

We've been home for the hospital a week today and Jake is still doing remarkably well. Wednesday we took him back to the hospital to see the surgeon's PA, Mary, and get his stitches out. They actually only take three stitches out. One at the top of the incision, one at the bottom, and one where the chest tube was. When we got to the hospital, I expected Jake to be apprehensive, but he wasn't at all. He was friendly with the nurses and enjoyed getting his blood pressure taken again. In the past it was always his favorite part of a doctor's visit, but in the hospital it had scared him. His blood pressure was really good: 83/57. We have another appointment in a month with his regular cardiologist and Mary thinks at that appointment he'll be taken off his Enalapril and Lasix since the numbers are already looking better. They did a chest x-ray as well and the fluid around his heart has gone down quite a bit so they reduced his Lasix to just once a day. The only time he cried was when Mary took the stitches out. It didn't hurt him, but I think the scissors were pretty scary. We ran into Dr. Heinle on the way out and Jake smiled and told him hi. Hopefully the next time we see Dr. Heinle and Mary will just be to visit when we're there for a check-up.

At home he has been doing well, but he does get pretty sore still. He'll play for awhile and then you can tell when he's had enough. He'll start touching his chest and say "boo boo" when he's not feeling well. He's definitely not 100% yet which honestly makes me feel better because he's not running full force yet. We still have several weeks ahead of us where he shouldn't be climbing or lifting anything and if he's a little subdued that makes him safer! They also say no playground equipment for 6 weeks. With Jake's past record on playground equipment, I think that's a great idea! He is much whinier and more clingy than normal which I know is to be expected. He wants to sit in my lap quite often which I don't mind at all. We have a few more weeks to stay in and then one week past that before he can be around other kids. Ty's been home all this week which has been nice. I'm gearing up for next week when he goes back to work--I guess I need to get back out my toddler activity book :)

We are so thankful for all of the support we've had through all of this. I posted some pictures below of Jake with all of his loot! He got a plethora of balloons, stuffed animals, cards and flowers. He's been spoiled, but I'd say that's OK right now. Our church has been bringing us meals as well which has been so wonderful. Last Saturday when my parents were here, they helped Ty with the kids so I could get my hair cut which made me feel much better. Most of all, we're just so thankful for all of the prayers lifted up for Jake. We just need to keep praying this surgery fixed him for a long while!

Jake with the flowers Ty's work sent him...he surprisingly loves them!

And, he really loves smelling them :)

Jake and his balloons and stuffed animals...the balloons are sadly starting to deflate. I guess I should have taken this picture sooner!