stones

Six years ago, today Jonny got down on one knee & held out a beautiful stone & asked me to be his wifey. Today, I had a cluster of not-so-beautiful stones in my kidney blasted with a bunch of sound waves in hopes to get rid of them. It was a pretty quick procedure. Other than waiting all morning for the broke down truck carrying the lithotripsy machine to make it down here from Salem, the whole day went super smoothly. Most of the Sabos piled into our little casa, so Eli had a blast playing with nine of their kiddos. (The three oldest ones couldn't make it.) Now we're just praying these darn little stones pass painlessly & I never hear from another stone again! Unless of course Jonny wants to bless me with one of those pretty stones someday. If you want to hear the story of how he proposed to me, click here.
God Bless!

Doctor Appointments

Noah is TWO MONTHS OLD today! Can you believe it!? That went by so fast! At his two month check up today he weighed 14lbs even & measured 23 inches long. That's the 95th percentile for wight & 70th for height. Another big boy! He's wearing 3 mos. clothing now. To compare with his big brother, Eli was 14lbs 9oz & 25 in. at his two month appointment, & in the 97th percentile for both. Dr. Hathaway thought Noah was doing just great & said exactly what he used to say about Eli as a baby, "Wow, that's a very strong boy!" Then of course there was the sad part of the appointment... the shots. Noah got FIVE shots today! So sad :(
Noah is smiling a lot more often now. It is so precious! His mellow, calm personality is so sweet. We've been doing this thing where we blow through our lips to make a rumble sound (I don't know how to explain it), anyway, Noah tries to do it back to us. Last night Jonny, Becky & I were trying to get him to do it & when he did we all loudly praised him, "Yay!" & I clapped my hands & it totally freaked poor little Noah out! He jumped & his sweet little face immediately turned into a frown & his bottom lip popped out to make a pouty face. It was the cutest sad thing I've ever seen! He just started crying & crying. This isn't the first time a loud noise startled him to tears. Definitely not like Eli in this particular instance.

Jonny had a check up with his surgeon & the surgeon's team. He actually got the attention of 3 surgeons at once & was able to pick their brains. Jonny asked about all the migraines he's been getting (every day & a half!) & they thought it was his body's reaction to the stress of surgery. They all thought Jonny's chest x-ray looked great & his chest & incision seemed to be healing just fine. They still recommend he follow all the recovery precautions until 4 weeks from the day of his surgery.

Mr. Eli Monster is also growing & growing. He's talking in sentences all the time now! Yesterday he climbed up on his play structure & said, "I did it Mama!" He also said to Miss Lindsey, "My name is Eli Oelkers." We always hear, "I want...." you fill in the blank- there are many things the boy always wants. :) Another cute thing is, I always ask Eli, "Are you my boy?" & he responds with a proud 'Yes!' so the other day I asked him if Noah was my boy & Eli said, "No. Eli Mama's boy." Today he said he wasn't Mama or Dada's boy, but he was "Aunt Becky's boy." This afternoon when we came home from the doctor appointments Eli said, "Go play. Go swimming. Nakie!" Which meant he wanted to play in his pool in the backyard naked. :)

Settling In

*FIRST* an update on Jonny: He is doing great! I did not think recovering form open heart surgery would go so good. He's not bed-ridden like I was expecting. He sleeps more at night, takes little rests in the day, can't lift more than 10 lbs & his chest is sore, but he gets around & takes care of himself just fine. We went to the doctor on Tuesday to check his blood. The thinness (if that's a word?) is right where its supposed to be. He has to get it checked twice a week for awhile, but once it gets pretty regular & the doctors decide on the right coumadin dosage, he'll go less often. I do think, however, that he'll still have to go twice a month for this first year. The only bummer has been that Jonny has had 5 migraines in 10 days & last night he had a slight fever. The fever did brake this morning, though.

*SECOND* what this trial has me thinking about: Since Jonny has been home, we've been talking about our life on earth- what we're here for & what is most important to us. (Jonny will be making his own post soon about his thoughts.) We are so wealthy in blessings, but by far the most precious gift the Lord has blessed us with is our children. I LOVE my boys; I am crazy about them; I adore them; I delight in them! They bring me an abundance of joy. It's crazy how fast time flies by. We were reminiscing over pictures of Eli when he was a baby & it seems so long ago. Now we have another baby! You may be thinking, come on Jess, Eli is about to turn only two & Noah is an infant! Yes, I know. I've just been realizing more than ever that we cannot predict what will happen tomorrow. My boys will only be babies for a very short time, then they will only be toddlers for a short time, then young boys & so on. I want to enjoy every stage. I have a bad habit of focusing & stressing over trivial things like, the bathroom needs to be cleaned or when was the last time I mopped the floors? Having a clean house is obviously a nice thing to try to maintain, but there will always be something to clean or something to fix or bills to pay...my boys will not always be little. And what about soaking in the Word? Or being a witness for Christ? Or teaching your children about Him. Which of these has eternal effects? A shiny floor, or a child who is raised in the Lord & comes to know Him? Remember the story of Mary & Martha? (Luke 10:38-42) I so want to be a Mary! So... this open heart surgery thing has got us thinking about temporary versus eternal priorities. We've spent a lot of time thinking about our boys & how much we love them which has caused me to think about how the Father loves us. Like I said before, I love my boys so much. The amount of love I have for them is in-measurable. No word could completely define or give justice to the way I feel about my children. BUT how much more does God love us? (Matt. 7:11) His love is perfect; ours is not. Isn't that incredible? He loves us a million, billion, trillion times more. He loves us countless times more. We don't deserve to be loves that much, not to mention to be loved that much be the Creator of the universe. The author of perfection. The one who's voice can part seas & calm storms. Lord, let that be my focus.


Meanwhile... Eli & Noah are enjoying their Aunt Becky being here!

Pics from Jonny's Exciting Week @ OHSU

This was when Jonny was still in ICU

Trying to be cheerful

Three days after surgery

The Oelkers (minus the Monster)

On the Road Again...

Jonny can't come home today :( His liver is just doing a really good job at resisting the coumadin. They check his levels every day wanting to see his numbers be between 2.5 & 3.5. However, if he is at a 2, they will let him go home. Without an anticoagulant our blood level would be at a 1. Jonny's has been at a 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, & today it was a 1.6. He's really bored & lonely & wants to come home. We're planning for Noah & I to drive up either tonight or tomorrow morning & stay with him until he gets discharged. Eli will stay home & play w/ Aunt Becky. So here we go... on the road again.

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

So things are sorta standing still for Jonny now. He is recovering fine- taking walks, taking showers, sitting up, getting out of bed, doing his little arm-strengthening exercises, etc, etc. Recovery is supposed to be more painful for young men b/c of their lean, strong muscles trying to heal back together, so it is painful, but w/ the help of his pain meds, he's coping just fine. They put Jonny on a blood thinner to prevent any blood clotting on the new valve, but Jonny's blood is taking to that medication very slowly. His blood is having trouble thinning out. They were hoping his blood would thin out enough to discharge him Friday b/c everything else looked just fine. Then Friday turned into Saturday & now Saturday has turned into Sunday. Ugh...

The boys & I came home Friday night. Eli was getting pretty whinny & waking up an hour too early in the mornings. I was getting tired of the drive back & forth, & honestly, I was getting a little bored @ the hospital. Also, Noah's car seat is very heavy to carry back & forth from the parking garage to Jonny's room. I say this all just out of a longing to be back in our regular swing of things. All in all, the week went very smoothly. My amazing sister, Amy, was wonderful to us. Donnie & Amy, thank you for your hospitality! I know Eli loved all the attention & food & toys & cousins to play w/. He keeps asking for Amy & then when I tell him Amy isn't here, he says, "Aunt Shelly?" So Michelle, thanks for your help, too! You are also an awesome auntie & sister. :) We so appreciate you guys!

It does feel so good to be home, to feel a little peace & relaxation instead of rushing back to the hospital twice a day. We all slept great last night. Eli slept in, Noah only woke up twice, & Jonny (although still in the hospital) slept like a log. I think we all felt good to be home; I think Jonny felt good knowing we were home & back in our routine.

The other troubling news is Jonny got another migraine this morning! He got one two nights before surgery, his first night in ICU & again this morning! Please be praying that Jonny's blood thins out enough to get the okay to come home & that his migraines would cease. I'm so looking forward to us all sleeping under the same roof again. Okay, that's all for now, night-night!

The Road to Recovery

Jonny got moved out of ICU this afternoon & is in the regular recovery floor. He seemed much, much more alert today. In fact, when I walked in this morning, he was up in a chair eating his breakfast & seemed like normal Jonny as he greeted me w/ his usual, "Hey Sweetie". He still gets really sleepy when he's been up for awhile & he has to move very slowly & w/ assistance. His chest is going to be sore getting in & out of bed for awhile. I always tease Jonny for having a low pain tolerance, but I must say, he's doing quite well. He even took a walk down the hall this evening.

Eli is still having lots of fun staying w/ Aunt Amy. I had breakfast w/ him before I left this morning & then came back to take a nap w/ him at lunch time. Then I headed back up to the hospital until Eli's bed time. The day sure goes by quickly. I feel like I don't get to spend enough time w/ Jonny or Eli, & by this time in the evening I'm definitely read for bed. Noah has been wonderful w/ all the in & out of the car, in & out of hospital etc. etc. So that's it for today, I better get some rest so I can do it all over again tomorrow!

Amazing

Amazing. All I can say is amazing. God is amazing. Jonny's surgery went excellent. Although it was not the Lord's will to heal Jonny like we were praying, we cannot deny that God's gracious hand was on us today.

Jonny & I drove to OHSU @ about 5:30 this morning for pre-op stuff. We were both very calm & relaxed, even peaceful. I only got a little scared & teary when I had to say goodbye to Jonny. At about 8:30 this morning a team of doctors wheeled him away on his bed. It just all seemed so scary, serious & a bit intimidating. My sweet friend, Brea, was there waiting for me in the waiting room. We prayed right when I got down there & after that I felt totally at peace. Jonny's nurse called periodically to let me know what was going on. At about 9:43 they started surgery (opened up his chest cavity), then at 10:15 they hooked him up to the lung & heart machine. At 10:30 they started to cut his aortic valve. Then at 12:15 she called again to say it was over & he was all closed up & they were weaning him off the heart & lung machine. (They originally told us surgery would take 4-6 hours!) About an hour later he was in ICU & an hour after that I got to go see him! He looked pretty good, too. I was expecting him to look horrible, but he just looked like he always does when he's sleeping. Well, sleepy Jonny w/ a bunch of tubes coming out of him. His face was a bit swollen, too. He was awake, but groggy. He was talking, joking & kept asking for pizza & diet coke. :) We couldn't have asked for it to go more perfectly. Praise the Lord!

Eli & Noah did great, too. Eli had way too much fun w/ his Aunt Amy & Aunt Shelly & cousins. Noah was a perfect angle, like usual.

Here We Go...

It's time to leave for surgery. I'll post again when we have some news. In the mean time, pray, pray, pray!

Scratch That

NEVER MIND... Jonny's appointment is back to Monday. Sheesh...

Nice to Meet You

On Wednesday we met the cardiothoracic surgeon who will be operating on Jonny later this month. The meeting went very well. Dr. Song is an excellent communicator. We've met some really, really intelligent doctors who are terrible at communicating- not this guy. He's a genius, funny, & kind. After discussing the surgery & recovery, we feel very confident that this whole open heart surgery thing will go just fine. Dr. Song felt very confident that Jonny will do great during surgery. He commented that if 80 year old's do great then a fit, 24 year old will do awesome. He also seemed to think recovery will go better than we were thinking. I may not be as desperate for help taking care of my three boys as I initially thought. Dr. Song thought Jonny will just be spending a lot of time napping & laying around at first, then he'll be up walking around by the second week. He even made a joke about Jonny not really getting out of changing Noah's diapers. :) We also found out that two of Jonny's cousins had heart surgery in the last year. And one of them was walking three miles a couple weeks after surgery! We're praying that recovery goes that well for Jonny! I guess he'll mostly be on his own, probably watching T.V. in the bedroom & not needing much care, so I'll be spending my time hanging out w/ my little boys- life pretty much as usual. :)

I Need A New Heart

First off a little background on the heart:

Heart Structure:
Humans have a four chambered heart. The above heart is depicted as though it has been cut in half by a vertical plane allowing both its internal and external structures to be visible. The four chambers, Right Atrium, Left Atrium, Right Ventricle, and Left Ventricle are compressed by the heart muscle at different times in order to pump blood. All the veins and arteries connected to the heart are like one way streets that either bring blood to the heart(vein) or take blood away from the heart(artery).

Heart function:
The right side of the heart is responsible for getting blood through the lungs so it can be filled with oxygen, and the left side of the heart is responsible for pumping blood through the entire body. The heart beats from top to bottom. So first the Atria on both sides contract squeezing blood into the Ventricles, and then the Ventricles contract sending blood both to the body and the lungs, and in the process refilling the atria. This is why a heartbeat has two beats to it. The first beat is the Atrial contractions and the second is the Ventricular contractions. The Atria refill because pressure from the Ventricular contractions gets blood sitting in the circulatory system moving again. Some of this blood is far enough along on its journey though the body or through the lungs to come back to the heart, specifically to the Atria. The diagram shows the direction blood flows through the heart as well as the flexibility of the different valves that separate the chambers of the heart from each other, the Pulmonary Artery from the Right Ventricle, and the Aortic Artery from the Left Ventricle. Valves allow blood through in one direction but close when the beat is finished so that blood does not go back into the chamber it just came from. This is where my defect exists.

A Bicuspid Aortic Valve

Instead of having a tricuspid Aortic Valve like 99% of humanity I have a bicuspid Aortic Valve. This condition is caused by a mutation in the notch1 gene which effected the development of my aortic valve while I was still in the womb. The above image shows a tricuspid Aortic Valve on the left and a bicuspid Aortic Valve on the right.

If you look at the diagram of the heart above you'll notice that the Aortic valve separates the left ventricle from the Aortic Artery. The left side of the heart is much more powerful than the right because the left has to push blood through the entire body while the right just has to get it to the lungs and back. So basically I have a bad valve in the hardest working part of the heart.

What Should Happen
Here is what a normal Aortic Valve should do. The Left Ventricle contracts and tries to push all of its blood to the body. The Aortic Valve opens, allowing blood to pass from the Left Ventricle to the Aortic Artery. When the Left Ventricle is empty a negative pressure exists in the chamber, and this causes the Aortic valve to close. If there was no valve there the blood that was just pumped would come back into the Left Ventricle and nothing would have been accomplished by the beating of the heart. A tricuspid Aortic Valve prevents this from happening and the blood stays in the Aortic Artery.

What Happens in My Heart
Since I have a bicuspid Aortic Valve every time that negative pressure is created in the Left Ventricle some of the blood in my Aortic Artery leaks back into my Left Ventricle. I have a leaky Aortic Valve, or as the doctors put it I have moderate Aortic insufficiency. Basically my heart isn't as efficient as it is supposed to be.

Consequences of Moderate Aortic Insufficiency
Since my heart isn't as good at its job as everyone else's it has to work harder to get the same results. This means that over time my heart has been growing too large. Every year my heart undergoes a bunch of checks. This year at our appointment they let me know that my Left Ventricle has passed the 'acceptable' range for size and the best thing to do is operate. They prefer to operate now when I don't have severe symptoms so that after the valve problem is gone my heart can go back to normal.

I have an appointment with the surgeon next week. I plan on making another post about what specific treatment options exist and what I plan on doing.

Where is God in All of This?
God is amazing. The complexity of life never ceases to amaze me. The more I learn about biology the more I'm convinced that evolutionists don't have all the answers. Biology screams design, and it is only because of the dogma of naturalism, and the indoctrination that occurs at most universities, that most scientists reject design.
The reason my heart has a defect is not because God's creation wasn't perfect but because of the fall of man. In the garden Adam sinned, and as a consequence God has removed some of his sustaining power from creation. Since then man has continually turned away from God. Jesus came to allow a way for man to be right with God again. He gave his life to pay for our sins and because of this we can have a relationship with God. Jesus is coming again, this time to restore Creation to its original perfection. I look forward to eternity knowing that I will live with my perfect Creator forever.

Open Heart Surgery

Oh my gosh! Doesn't that sound horrible? Open heart surgery?!? Jonny & I keep repeating it over & over in shock. Open heart surgery.

So Jonny had his annual appointment w/ the cardiologist on Tuesday. His heart has made some significant growth in the last year & the cardiologist is suggesting heart surgery as soon as possible. For those of you who don't know about Jonny's heart murmur, he will be making a more detailed post about what is going on. In short, he has a bi-cuspid aortic heart valve instead of a tri-cuspid. Because he only has two 'flaps' that regulate the pumping of blood in & out of the aortic valve, there is some blood leakage which has caused his heart to work extra hard & enlarge. The purpose of the surgery is to put in a mechanical valve. The surgery is scheduled for July 21st. The recovery time is about 6 weeks. For the first 4 weeks, he can't lift anything over 5lbs. Jonny won't be able to hold his boys for a whole month. :(

Our surgeon is Dr. Howard Song. We are confident that he knows his stuff. He graduated Magna Cum Lada w/ his Bachelor's in biology from Yale, then got his MD at Stanford, then got his PhD in Philadelphia while he worked as a surgeon. Now he specializes in aortic surgery & biomedical & tissue engineering. Basically, he's the man when it comes to aortic valve replacement surgery.

We are both surprisingly calm & collected about the whole ordeal. Maybe we're just in shock b/c its such a huge thing. Maybe we're used to having medical issues... just kidding. :) (Remember this time last summer I was going in to the dermatologist to get my mole, which turned out to be melanoma, removed.) We have learned that the Lord is in complete control & we have no choice but to hand it over to Him. He will be our strength.

Another Post...

Geez, I've been posting a lot lately! But I had to post this cute picture of Ruby & Eli. For Easter we went to church, went to a BBQ/Kutless concert at our dear friends, Joey & Brea's, church in Portland, & then we went to Doernbecker to visit Ruby. Eli got to do an Easter egg hunt w/ his cousins in the hospital lobby. He was all over it! Its kinda scary, actually, that he's more aggressive than his almost 3 yr old cousins. :) (Monster personality.) It was a fun day & on our way home we used a gift card we had to have dinner at the Olive Garden. Yum Yum!

Today I had another ultrasound of my kidney. The stone is still there. :( I was really, really bummed. But Jonny reassured me that its a huge blessing & praise that the Lord took away the pain. Hopefully I can go the rest of my pregnancy w/out kidney pain. In the meantime, we're going to keep on praying. I'm also going to research natural remedies for breaking apart & dissolving kidney stones. If that doesn't work then hopefully after I have the baby they can just zap the stone w/ some sort of laser treatment that they do to break it apart. Hopefully surgery isn't in the picture. The Lord knows.

Urologist

I met w/ the urologist today- Dr. Bashey. I explained to him that I woke up Saturday morning feeling no pain & have felt completely normal since then. He seemed to think the stone is still in there. Apparently the pain can 'let up' for awhile & then return. I guess the stone they found is 1.2 cm long, which he thought was a pretty hefty size stone. Dr. Bashey said he 'was worried about me' & that he wants to 'watch me closely the rest of the pregnancy'. Based on the size of the stone & the pain I was feeling, he thought he was going to have to remove it surgically. They'd give me a spinal, but there is a risk it could send me into premature labor. However, Dr. Bashey thought it was wonderful news that I feel so great. He wants me to get another ultrasound in a couple weeks to see what's going on w/ the stone. If the pain does return, he hopes we can just continue w/ the Vicodin for as long as possible & finish out my pregnancy- full term. He wants to do some x-rays & a cat scan after I have the baby. He also asked me how many children I plan to have b/c kidney stones are somewhat common during pregnancy (what!?), especially if you've already had one. Here I thought I needed to be extra good about my calcium intake b/c I hate milk... & I end up w/ too much causing a kidney stone!

*Update*

Okay, so the intense pain I've been feeling since Friday night is a Kidney Stone. That's right, I'm 6 1/2 mos. pregnant & have a kidney stone. Lovely! We spent all day in Corvallis today going to appointments. This morning I got an ultrasound of my kidneys to find out why I've been in so much pain. This afternoon when I met w/ my OB doctor she told me they found a stone in my kidney. They sent me down the hall to set up an appointment w/ the urologist. We talked to him just briefly & he said he wanted me to try to wait a week & see if it passes on its own. (ouch!) Otherwise it may need to be surgically removed. I'll see him again next Tuesday. Meanwhile they prescribed me Vicodin. Jonny & Eli are at Costco filling my prescription right now. Jonny is going back to work tomorrow b/c he's running out of sick days. I'm going to try to take care of Eli w/ the help of narcotics. :) And my friend, Lindsey. Oh, also my doctor told me the results of my other ultrasound- from two weeks ago- a follow-up on a lump I found in my breast last Aug. is still there. It's condition is 'stable' & benign. If its still there after the baby is born, that too, might have to be removed. Sheesh... up until the last 9 months I thought I was a pretty healthy person! Thank God for Jonny's great job & health insurance. If you remember, try to pray that this whole kidney stone thing passes as painless as possible. Thanks!