Michael is still at Children’s Hospital in Oakland , maybe for another week or so. (He was admitted on Oct. 22nd.)

Michael was moved out of ICU the night before last to a regular room but he’s still being watched and monitored closely. He wasn’t getting any sleep in ICU, it is one big room w/ only curtains dividing patients and with everyone’s monitors going off all night and babies crying; Michael was not getting any sleep and the doctor said sleep is very important so they moved him.

He needs to take intravenous antibiotics for another 4 weeks from home and then at that point the cardiologists will decide if Michael will need another open heart surgery and a possible valve replacement. If his valve does not get a lot better than it is right now …he will need surgery, we certainly hope and pray his valve heals back up nicely.

Some risks right now; very fast heart rate that won’t go down, anemia, infection ‘clot’ on his valve that could travel to other organs or brain (thank God the clot is getting smaller with the antibiotics), very leaky and unstable mitral valve, fluid around his left lung, etc.

He almost was given a blood transfusion because with this infection his red blood cells are not producing but they decided to try these injections of ‘something’ to help stimulate the bone marrow to make red cells. They are also giving him iron pills for the anemia and diuretics for fluid around his lung.

We basically have to wait until the antibiotic course is complete and then they can see what the mitral valve looks like at that point. In the mean time we just hope and pray that none of the “risks” happen.

Love, Sherrill