Michael is came home on Tues May 12th!! Thank God!! The doctors are finalizing their at-home strategy for antibiotics, follow-up visits, medications, and general "stuff" to watch for! Michael, obviously, is in GREAT spirits as he's been VERY anxious to get home!! The doctors are pleased with his progress as he is taking less and less of his pain medication. The rash that he got all over his chest is much, much better now, and the doctors think the rash should be gone completely in a few more days.

Michael is still recovering nicely, however, he has had a couple of issues that the doctors are watching closely. The first main issue is that Michael has developed a rash all over his chest and part of his neck. At first, the doctors thought it could be a reaction to the morphine or vicadin that he was taking, but since he doesn't have the rash on his legs and back, they ruled that out. They now think that the rash is from either the iodine they put on his chest before surgery or the surgical tape they use to keep all the tubes, gauze, and lines secure on his chest or a little of both.

At about 5:30 this morning, Michael wakes me up and says, "Dad, check this out!"  I then watched him do 2 situps in his bed!  To which I responded, "Michael, you need to lay off the morphine!!"  (What a showoff!)  Anyway, the point is, Michael is doing GREAT!!  He's smiling, he's in very little pain, and he's getting anxious about when he can leave the hospital  Michael is living proof that the power of prayer does work and our God truly is an awesome God.  Thank you to all of you and we will continue to update you on Michael's progress.  He is due to get all his tubes out of his chest

SURGERY SUCCESS!!! Michael is mooooving around well (he receiced a cow's valve rather than pig's... Stuart says let the jokes begin).
Michael is recovering in the ICU and the family will see him soon.
AMEN

Michael's surgery will begin around 7:30am on the 5th and should last around 6 hours, outlook positive!!! Regardless, please consider a 15, 30, or 60minute prayer window between 7a - 2pm to ask for God's hand to watch over the hands of Michael's surgeons and the anesthesiologist.
He will be recovering for a few hours, visitors should hold off until after 5pm or perhaps wait until the 6th to see Michael. Also, Dr's would like anyone who is even remotely sick, or something close to it, to avoid seeing Michael.

We went to our monthly checkup yesterday, and the cardiologist says that Michael’s heart has slightly enlarged, and that the blood pressure in the area connecting to his lungs has elevated. Both are signs that the surgery will NOT be able to be postponed until the summer. His heart functions are completely normal, but due to the fact that Michael’s valve is leaking, his heart is working overtime and at a faster rate to try to keep up. We have a follow-up appointment scheduled for April 14, and at this appointment, the cardiologist will tell us when they plan on doing his surgery.

Michael has to have another surgery to either repair OR replace his valve. The new infection has caused his valve to leak some more, so the doctors have confirmed that another surgery is necessary. The scheduled surgery will be Tuesday, January 20th. Michael is in GREAT spirits (he’s taking this very well!!!), and he has no pain and no discomfort. Obviously, he wishes that another surgery was not necessary, but despite all he’s been through, he remains positive about his outcome. The surgeon, Dr. Hanley, will decide if his valve is repairable once they go in again.

Michael came home last night from the hospital! Yeah!! It's great and a little scary all at the same time.

His heart rate and blood pressure, etc. is not normal like it use to be before he had the first mitral valve infection but for now it's a new normal for him and he needs to monitor it on a daily basis.