Our Sweet "Heart": Thankful

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Thankful

This week we finally got to hold our little man. It was wonderful to cuddle with him, despite all the tubes and paraphenalia he needs to keep him alive.

It will be a while until we get to hold him again, but we are beyond grateful for the gifts of today and know that we'll be holding him again soon!

Here he is weighing a whopping 4lbs 6ounces. He's our beautiful little guy!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

5 comments:

McGrathsNovember 10, 2009 at 6:59 PM
SO glad to hear that everything went well!
I bet you miss your other little ones.
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Jake and RachelleNovember 10, 2009 at 7:44 PM
We are so happy for you. How wonderful that you were finally able to hold him. It's amazing how the simple things in life are really the most important. We pray that he will keep doing well and that you can return home soon.
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Latter-day GuyNovember 10, 2009 at 9:52 PM
To quote a favorite sermon: "It's Friday, but Sunday's a-comin'!"
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Erin SNovember 11, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Alissa, you are so beautiful. Maddox is very lucky to have such wonderful parents! I'm so happy you were able to hold him!
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mary janeNovember 11, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Thank you for your updates. You are all in our prayers
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Maddox Revere Dixon

Welcome to our story of modern day miracles. We have seen first hand the wonders of our Heavenly Father and have been joined with people all over in earnest prayer for a baby boy... our Miracle Maddox.

Maddox was diagnosed prenatally with Aortic Stenosis and Mitral Regurgitation. We found out at 27 weeks gestational age that he had a congenital heart defect. By 29 weeks he was in heart failure and had developed hydrops(fluid under the skin, in his abdomen, and around his heart). The plan was to deliver him at 30 weeks via c-section and after birth attempt to get him stable enough to try to open up his aortic valve. We were also given the option of doing nothing and delivering vaginally once he had passed away, which they thought would be soon. The doctors gave him a less than 1% chance of survival if we tried to intervene. We started planning his funeral. The week we were scheduled to have the c-section we were given the option of flying out to Boston to do a fetal intervention where they would essentially operate on Maddox in the womb. The doctors in Boston weren't even sure that Maddox would be alive once we got off the plane. Two days later we had the fetal intervention where they ballooned open the aortic valve, put a stent in the atrial septum as well as a hole above the stent, and removed some of the fluid in Maddox's belly. Maddox was the 9th baby with his unique heart condition to have undergone this type of intervention. It was successful, and Maddox was delivered at 37 weeks in Boston, where he underwent open heart surgery at 3 weeks of age. At two months of age Maddox came home to Texas. We are now trying to adjust to the new normal: multiple weekly doctors' visits, g-tube feeds, medications administered throughout the day, insurance claims, and including our three other children in the care of their amazing little brother. What an adventure. More surgery is in the Mad-man's future, but he has a future, and for that we will be forever grateful.