Moving up........

The DSA results brought fantastic news! Mason's antibody levels have significantly dropped! The percent of rejecting antibodies left in his blood right now is very low. Hooray!! The Donor Specific Antigen test (only done here at Stanford......and soon to be used at other transplant hospitals) shows the specific bad antigens that Mason's body is fighting against. 2 weeks ago he had 8 of those and in very high percentages and now he only has 1!! And the amount of that 1 in his blood dropped 92%. That is HUGE! A huge miraculous drop of those mean nasty rejecting antibodies!

I love good news!!!

Tomorrow Mason will move up to 3 west, the recovery floor for cardiac and transplant patients. This means he does not need ICU care any more!! This also means Mason and Mommy can share a big bed (Okay, a twin is not big, but at least bigger than an ICU crib!) and we can have our own bathroom too. Hopefully, Mason can at least get a little better rest up there, especially w/ Mommy cuddling him to get him to sleep!

Good Night!

Four

I'm sorry to many of you who probably checked the blog yesterday for a new post! I had been holding off, because the docs thought they would get the DSA (donor specific antigens) / antibody level results late last night. I figured I would wait and post with the news about those results and our next game plan of action. BUT.....they never got them and then I was tooooo tired to post at midnight!! And still NO results this morning!

Mason continues to do well with his heart function, blood pressure, no supplemental O2, and clesr lungs! Yay!! I love seeing his great progress after such a huge set back! Mason's strength and courage will always and forever amaze me!!!

Poor little man is extremely exhausted though.

Today marks FOUR weeks of being at the hospital and not getting anything close to the sleep a 2 1/2 year old really needs.

Sunday will mark FOUR weeks from Mason's Angel heart birthday, but remember the week prior to that Mason had a routine cath on Thursday, stayed the night in the CVICU, went home Friday afternoon for a few hours, had his mini stroke, went right back to the hospital through the Emergency Room, admitted to the CVICU to be watched for the weekend, and then Saturday night got word that his new heart was coming!

A long, tiring FOUR weeks but..............a very special, faith stregthening, prayer answering, hope fulfilling, definitely priceless FOUR weeks! I'm grateful my Heavenly Father has allowed me to be on this wonderful journey with Miracle Mason.

Needless to say Mason doesn't quite understand why he is still in this place that is not home, nor why I just won't put him in his stroller, pack us up, and get of here!! He's been tired and cranky the last couple of days, but I certainly don't blame him. We are watching him closely to make sure it is just "being done" with this place and not the beginnings of an infection or a return of that awful "R" word.

Got to go cheer my baby up, AND Mark and Braiden just arrived to visit us, thanks to an amazing Mason Fan and dear friend who purchased their flights with her Delta Sky Miles. (Thanks Jamie & family)

Thanks for all of your prayers over the last TEN weeks and TWO days since Mason and I left our family in Utah to start this next chapter of our journey. Today, I am especially grateful for how profoundly your prayers have touched Mason and our family during our roller coaster ride these last FOUR weeks. We love you!!

I will update later with the antibody results.

The Celebration Walk

I love good news!

Mason is completely off O2 and back on room air! His O2 Saturations are 99-100%!

Mason's rejection has significantly dropped!

We got the results back from today's biopsy (Biopsy 2) and it is a grade 1a. This is fabulous news!!! Biopsy 1 was a 3b (0= no rejection and 4 b being the highest level of rejection) which was a very high level of rejection..........but now he's dropped down to a 1a which is the 1st level above no rejection. Wow!!! He's made a lot of progress! I will not know the next plan of action until we get DSA (antibody) test results back on Thursday sometime.

Many prayers have been answered this day! Thank you!

To celebrate, Mason got to take a walk around the CVICU!

And on our walk we stopped to get a new cup ice. How else would Mason prefer to celebrate?!!

He was so excited about the ice, off went his mask, and off went the lid on the cup...........he just could not wait!!!

Until tomorrow.......................Good Night!

Well Behaved

Mason was very well behaved in the cath lab this morning. Meaning......... no unexpected episodes like last time!! The pressures in his heart look great. They are lower than his cath 10 days ago (biopsy 1), and in a very healthy normal range. The echo after his cath also showed that the leak in his tricuspid valve is very mild and less than cath 1 as well. Both are good signs for having stopped the rejection! Although, we won't know what the biopsy shows until later tonight.

Mason's case is being talked about right now in a a transplant team conference. They are setting up the plan of action if his rejection has not been significantly lessened by the treatments he's received over the last 10 days, as well as a plan of action if it has lessened but will still need follow up treatments. We sure are praying for the latter of the 2 plans!!!

I will update with biopsy 2 results late tonight!

Today's Top 10

What did Mason accomplish today?

1. Both chest tubes removed!
2. Lungs look great! ( chest x-ray'ed)
3. Heart function is excellent! (echo'ed)
4. Off high flow O2! (Just regular cannula at 1 liter and weaning ....)
5. Ate 7 bites of applesauce! (He's refused all food since August)
6. Said "please" and "thank you" at least 25+ times today to get more ice chips! (verbally and w/ sign language)
7. Scope of vocal chords showed no permanent damage! (The left one is slightly weaker, so we will stick with thicker liquids and food while it heals.)
8. Took a bath (sort of) and was very excited to played in the water!
9. Dressed in clean PJ's!
10. Said "love you" to Mommy!

Today is day 4( Round II) of the plasmapheresis and ATG. I sure hope it is wiping out those mean antibodies this time!!! Tomorrow will be a big day. Mason will go to the cath lab at 8 am for his biopsy. They will also look at the pressures in his heart while they do his cath/ biopsy and remove his RA central line he has had in since his transplant surgery. We should have stat (quick) results of the biopsy by tomorrow night to know the status of his rejection.

After biopsy, in the afternoon he will have his 5th (Round II) plasmapheresis treatment followed by a very large dose of IVIG. Then another antibody blood test will be taken. Those results will probably be back Wednesday night.

We pray and hope that both the biopsy and the antibody level tests will bring us good news.

HOPE!

HAVE FAITH!

PRAY!

BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!

TRUST IN HIM AND HIS PLAN!

Quote of the Day:

"To become a winner in the race for eternal life requires effort—constant work, striving, and enduring well with God’s help. But the key is that we must take it just one step at a time." Marvin J. Ashton

(A special heart mommy sent me this quote and I love it! Thank you!)

Would you ever think.........

..............that ice chips would make a 2 year old sooooooo happy?

Mason has been a very happy boy today, because I've been feeding him ice chips all day. Not ice cream, candy, pop, or fruit snacks but ice chips is all it takes to cheer up sweet little Miracle Mason!!! Someday soon, hopefully Mason will get his appetite back (that he lost last August) and he'll be excited for a yummy milkshake instead. Our nurse was able to bribe him with ice so that I could go outside and eat some lunch in the sunshine. It has been a beautiful day here today.

When I turned my back on Mason to grab the camera, he excitedly grabbed the cup of ice and then spilled it all over himself! Woops!

In the next day or two the docs want an ENT specialist to do a scope (take pictures) of Mason's vocal chords to make sure all is well before we offer him water or any other thin liquids. Sometimes from being on the ventilator or having heart surgery vocal chords can be temporarily damaged, which can increase the risk of aspiration. We were letting Mason drink water the week following transplant, but it would cause him to cough quite frequently. And, after 10 days of being off the ventilator post transplant surgery he still had a very weak voice. So this time after being off the ventilator the docs want to be more cautious, because the coughing with drinks of water and a weak voice are both signs of possible vocal cord problems.

Today Mason's chest x-ray showed that the left lung effusion is almost all cleared up! Fabulous news!! We are so excited!! Because it is Sunday, the chest tubes didn't get pulled by the surgical team yet. I guess it is not a 'Sunday Priority", but most likely he'll get them out tomorrow. Since both lungs look good now, he'll go to normal nasal O2 tomorrow and then our goal is .........in a day or 2 back to room air again!

Mason has been getting slow continuous G-tube feeds through out this rejection episode, but tomorrow we will try bolus feeds again (his normal routine of a 3 oz's of his high calorie formula every 3 hours.) We had been doing this prior to knowing about the rejection, but he was having trouble keeping that and all his meds down. Hopefully he'll be able to handle it better now.

Mason has had his nights and days mixed up this last week. Last night I think he slept 3 hours total! He was tired out from his 'all night party' and took a 9am cat nap today. Here's my sleeping superstar hero:

So far, day 3 of Round II of Mason anti-rejection treatment has gone well. I'm so glad he and his heart continue to tolerate this nasty rejection!

I'm grateful for prayers, fast, and special blessings that continue to carry us forward in our journey. I'm grateful for kind gifts, cards, e-mails, text messages, lunches and dinners (from church members here in Pal Alto), meals for my family at home, help w/ laundry at home, and much much more. How could I do this with out you? It would be very very difficult!! Love and gratitude to all of you!!!

Quiet Time

After all the 'excitement' the last 8 days..........we are finally enjoying some quiet time. No true changes, which is good right now, because Mason's plan of course is a 'ONE-WAY' road to recovery from here on out!!!!

We are on day 2 of Round II's plasmapheresis and ATG or IVIg. Following the pheresis Mason gets IVIg on days 1,3, & 5 and ATG on days 2 & 4. Thankfully, last night he did not get the itchies from the IVIg. The doctor ordered for him to get benadryl and hydrocortisone not only before it this time, but every 4 hours to prevent the miserable itchies. Hopefully tonight's treatment will go just as well.

Mason also is on very high daily doses of steroids and anti-rejection meds. Basically, his immune system his being completely wiped out right now. More so than if he hadn't gone into rejection. (I think I'll be looking into purchasing a year supply of hand sanitizer and lysol wipes!!!!)

His blood pressure, heart rate, and O2 remain very stable, showing us that his body continues to tolerate all these aggressive treatments as well as the rejection hew goings through. His echo's continue to show perfect heart function! For this I couldn't feel more blessed!! What an answer to prayers of so many.

Mason is also back to his cute little self. The puffy Marshmallow Boy with the miserable fluid retention has left and given us back our Miracle Mason! He feels much much better!

There is still some fluid around his left lung but the right lung looks great. Tomorrow he will get the right chest tube (placed while in the cath lab last week) out for sure. Mason is on high flow nasal cannula since extubation on Wednesday. He is only on 40% O2 but they want to leave the high flow on for a couple more days to help give extra support to the left lung in getting the fluid off.

We HOPE for many more peaceful quiet days as Mason recovers.

Round II

The blood test results didn't come back yesterday, so I'm sorry if I left you anxiously waiting! Needless to say, I was quite anxious myself!!!

This morning the results came in and...............ROUND II will need to begin this afternoon! That being said, I will explain. Mason's antibody levels did drop but he still has a significant amount of the mean, naughty antibodies that want to reject his heart. Not the news I had hoped for, nor the docs, nor any of you for that matter. He will start the 5 day treatment again today of the plasma- pheresis followed by IVIg. We will remain in the CVICU for at least another

week.

As I have tried to find today's sunshine after the 'not so great' antibody test results..........this is what I've found trying to peak through the clouds:

-At least the treatments killed off some of the bad antibodies.

-His echos still show perfect heart function.

-We are getting lots of Mommy & Mason time.

-We spend our days with very nice doctors and nurses.

I once heard this quote:

"Patience is trusting in God's timing"

Unknown

Today this is what I will work on to help me find more sunshine!!!

Please pray with our family that ROUND II will bring better results.

Way To Go Mason!

Yay! No more breathing tube! He did it!

The docs decided to wait until this morning to extubate, just to be cautious. If it didn't go well there is always a larger staff on to help during the day. Mason is doing very well and much happier to have the tube out. He will slowly be weened back off the nasal cannula again.

The DSA (donor specific antigens) blood test results have not come back yet. We should have the results later today.

Biopsy is scheduled next Tuesday.

Mason will stay in the CVICU at least through post-biopsy.

I get to hold Mason now. The first time since last Friday morning. We are both very excited for the snuggle time!

I'll try to update later today with the antibody level results.

Loves to our family back home! We miss you! xoxoxo

Today's Hope

Mason continues to be on the mend taking his baby steps, one day at a time. Last night his little body did a great job at getting more fluid off. He's still quite chubby with fluid, but a little better than yesterday, and much much better than Saturday and Sunday.

His heart function is thankfully still excellent. His angel Easter heart is one very strong little heart to put up so well with this rejection and fluid overload.

He had every itchy night during his treatment of IVIg. Even after benadryl and hydrocortisone. I was very sad for him to be so miserable and itchy! Mason has extremely sensitive skin. But, hopefully when we get the results to the antibody level test (probably tomorrow a.m.) it will have been completely worth it that he's had to do all these treatments. Mason is so tough and brave!!

Today's HOPE is to get him extubated/ off the breathing tube! He will do a few trial runs before the docs make their final decision. Personally, I think he's ready and I know he will be a much happier little boy! My HOPE along with this today is that Mason will now be on a ONE-WAY road to recovery. No more speed bumps please!!!

I'm very humbled by so many of you all over the world that are praying for Miracle Mason and his recovery. It is all of you that help increase my FAITH and STRENGTH to carry on each day. I'm also especially grateful to all of those at home helping care for my family (whom I miss very very much) making it possible for me to be here holding Mason's hand through this incredibly special journey.

Here is a picture of a some dear friends of ours that were

praying for Mason while on vacation in Newport Beach over

Easter and Spring break. These sweet kiddos actually did this

on Easter morning while Mason was in surgery!!

Thank you Aagard Family!!

Baby Steps

I think I jinxed myself with my post titled Giant Steps on April 11, one week post transplant! We are definitely in a baby steps mode now.

Mason was so fluid overloaded I knew it wouldn't come off over night, but I had hoped for it to come off quicker than it is. At least everyday his edema is a little better. His kidneys are doing their job now,( well with the help of several diuretics), but he is also taking in so many fluids because of all his meds and anti-rejection treatments it is a bit of a vicious cycle! Still praying for pee and chest tube drainage.

Heart function is still excellent. Lung function is good, with still small amounts of fluid around the left.

Breathing tube still in to allow him more resting time......time to get rid of his 'marshmallow' figure and back to his cute little Mason figure!! The goal is to extubate tomorrow (remove it), yay!! He will be a much happier little guy.

By Thursday morning we will have the antibody blood test results back, or DSA, to see how effective these treatments have been to kill the bad antibodies. Although, we won't have a true measure of his rejection status until after his next biopsy. This will probably be on Friday or Monday and then we can get results late that night. After that we will then know our next plan of action.

Here are a few pictures of our last couple of days:

Anytime someone new walks in the room, or he thinks I've left the room, Mason raises his arm. This is while being pretty sleep on sedation. The nurses and I have joked that he's saying "excuse me, can I go now?" I'm all done with this stuff!" or "Mom, wait! I'm coming too!"

Some of Mason's meds and treatments tend to make him quite itchy. He's constantly trying to scratch his face.

So, I have been placing a ice cold wet towel over his eyes and cheeks and it seems to help.

This is the plasmapheresis machine used for one of Mason's treatments. The yellow liquid is the new plasma he is receiving that is free off the bad antibodies.

Got to go now. I need to get Mason a new cool wet towel for his itchies. I will always update with any new updates or changes. For now, we'll keep on with our baby steps......and in the right direction!!

Thank you for all your love and faithful prayers for our sweet baby.

Love, Summer

My Little Marshmallow

All is going well and Mason's recovery is slowly moving in the right direction.

Mason's kidneys finally kicked into action yesterday and he's been peeing off his extra fluid, slowly but surely. Yay! (Your prayers and mine were heard and answered.)

He is still a sweet little puffy marshmallow, which I know makes him uncomfortable! The docs have to keep him pretty sedated to keep him happy. Which I don't really like, but I don't want him in pain or uncomfortable either. He needs his rest to heal.

He is still on the breathing tube (since Friday night) to help him get the rest he needs to get this extra fluid off his lungs and body. He is doing most of the breathing and work on his own which is great, but the the b tube is there to support him if needed.

This afternoon he will start his 4th pheresis treatment, followed by an IVIg treatment. The ATG was only for the first 3 days. PRAY with us that these are working please!!!!

Today's echo looks great, so Mason's heart function is excellent and not affected by the rejection. For this I am very very grateful!!

Today, we press forward with faith that Mason can fight off this awful rejection!!

A very dear heart friend shared this with me:

....that the works of God should be manifest in him. John 9:3

Brave Mason

I must say, Mason is my hero!

He is so, so brave!

With only a few tears every once in awhile he has been tolerating every thing so well during this most recent set back. I've cried many more tears than him.

So far day 1 and day 2 of the plasmapheresis (it is about a 2 1/2 hour treatment in the evening) and the ATG (4 hour iv infusion immediately after the plasmapheresis) have gone very well. He has had no adverse side affects. Although, we will not know if it has served it's purpose until after all 5 treatments. They will check his antibody levels early Wednesday morning. And a biopsy on Wed or Thursday.

Yesterday, Mason's echo was beautiful!! His heart function is still excellent! (That was the best part of our day.) He has not had today's echo yet.

Poor little boy is very swollen and still retaining too much fluid. He is a puffy little marshmallow. The docs said that possibly some of his meds have not been agreeing with his kidneys and can even have a toxic type of affect on them. They've been switching meds and adding meds for kidney support to help him pee this extra fluid off. Finally this morning it looks like his kidneys are doing a better job! Rejection can also be attributing to his fluid overload.

Mason's heart rate and blood pressures are in a very good range, which means his body is handling all of this very well. That is great news. (See, I am trying to find the sunshine.)

I think after sleeping and eating here for 18 days straight now (and even on my b-day yesterday) the nursing staff is thinking of giving me some scrubs and hiring me!! No, really I wouldn't want to be any other place right now. This is my mission right now, to help my sweet baby get healthy enough to bring him home with his new heart.

Loves to you all! We couldn't do this with out all of your prayers and support. Thank you to those also fasting for Mason this day. I'm tearing up with gratitude just thinking about it! I do have faith in a miraculous recovery. I leave it in the hands of Him who sends miracles and in the hands of all our amazing doctors and nurses!

Here is a poem I love written by another heart mom.................

WHEN I BECAME A HEART MOTHER

ONE DAY MY WORLD CAME CRASHING DOWN,

I'LL NEVER BE THE SAME.

THEY TOLD ME THAT MY CHILD WAS SICK.

I THOUGHT, "AM I TO BLAME"?

I DON'T THINK I CAN HANDLE THIS.

I AM REALLY NOT THAT STRONG.

IT SEEMED MY HEART WAS BREAKING.

I HAVE LOVED HIM FOR SO LONG.

I WILL NOT GIVE UP ON THIS CHILD.

I WILL LISTEN TO YOUR ADVICE.

I WILL GIVE MY CHILD ANY CHANCE.

NO MATTER WHAT THE PRICE.

I WILL LEARN ALL THAT I NEED TO HELP MY CHILD THRIVE.

I'LL EVEN USE THAT FEEDING TUBE.

MY CHILD MUST SURVIVE!

WILL HE NEED A LOT OF THERAPY?

WILL HE GAIN THE NEEDED WEIGHT?

PLEASE GOD, HELP ME DO THIS.

I WILL ACCEPT OUR FATE.

WHEN THE MONITORS BEEP AT NIGHT,

IT SERVES AS MY REMINDER.

HOW MANY PARENTS WOULD LOVE THAT SOUND.

TOMORROW I WILL BE KINDER.

AS ANOTHER ANGEL EARNS HIS WINGS,

I RUN TO MY CHILD'S BED.

I WATCH HIM SLEEP FOR QUITE A WHILE.

I BEND DOWN AND KISS HIS HEAD.

I CRY FOR THE PARENTS WHOSE HEARTS HAVE BEEN BROKEN.

I LOOK TO YOU WONDERING WHY?

OH LORD, I JUST CAN'T KNOW YOUR WAYS....

NO MATTER HOW I TRY.

AND YET, I TRUST YOU HOLD HIS LIFE,

AND GUIDE US THROUGH EACH DAY.

MY MIND SAYS SAVOR EACH MOMENT HE'S HERE,

BUT MY HEART BEGS, "PLEASE LET HIM STAY"!

FROM PACING THE SURGICAL WAITING ROOM,

TO SITTING BY HIS BED.

FROM WISHING FOR A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP,

TO LEARNING EVERY MED.

FROM WONDERING, "WILL HE BE ALRIGHT?",

TO WATCHING HIM REACH OUT HIS HANDS.

WITH EVERY SMILE MY HEART JUST MELTS,

DESPITE LIFE'S HARSH DEMANDS.

FOR ALL WHO SEE THAT FADED LINE.

I LOOK TO THEM AND SMILE.

YOU SEE MY CHILD IS LOVED SO MUCH.

I WOULD FACE ANY TRIAL.

THAT SCAR I TRACE WITH MY FINGER

(IT'S THE DOOR TO HIS BEAUTIFUL HEART).

GOD MUST HAVE KNOWN HOW MUCH I'D LOVE HIM

(JUST AS HE LOVED HIM FROM THE START).

A HEART MOM IS ALWAYS A HEART MOM.

NOW WISE BEYOND HER YEARS.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ANGELS IN HEAVEN,

OUR HEARTS SHARE IN ALL OF YOUR TEARS.

EVERY DAY I WILL TRY AND REMEMBER,

I WAS CHOSEN FOR HIM (AND NO OTHER).

I WILL ALWAYS EMBRACE THAT BEAUTIFUL DAY.......

WHEN I BECAME A "HEART MOTHER"

Sad

Late last night I received the results from both Mason's biopsy yesterday and the DSA (donor specific antigens) blood test run pre and post Mason's IVIg treatment on Thursday.

I am sad.

Both were positive for rejection. Yes, that is right........rejection! I'm not putting that awful word in bold lettering, because I don't like bad news! I've been down the path of bad news too many times! My faith is being tested! But, I will persevere! I believe in miracles!

Mason's biopsy came back at a grade 3R -not good. The good news is (I'm trying to find the sunshine) they caught it early on. The doctors are hopeful they can turn this around with very intensive treatments. These treatments were started late last night. There is hope, but they are taking this very seriously.

Mason's DSA showed that pre and post his IVIG treatment he is fighting against 7 of the donor's antigens. So, the IVIg treatment did not work this time. Meaning, even after the treatment those antigens are still present in his blood. The day after transplant a cross match was run and everything came back at zero. There were no Donor Specific Antigens present at that time. Even though Mason's IVIg treatments the 2 months prior to transplant had gotten rid of all these bad antigens, there was a possibility they would return due to a very smart immune system.

Plan of action:

• In the cath lab Mason was given high doses of 2 meds: 1) Lasix to help with fluid overload and 2) Methylprednisolone {Solumedrone-which is a 3 day aggressive anti-rejection medication. They gave one dose in the cath lab in case the biopsy was positive for rejection and now they will continut that.
• Plasmapheresis was started late last night. It is a 2 hour treatment that he will receive for 5 consecutive days. In my own words, with a machine similar to a dialysis machine they take Mason's "bad" plasma (high in bad antibodies) and remove it from his blood and replace it with new "clean, good"plasma. The new plasma is mixed with his own red blood cells and put back into his body. (For more info on plasmapheresis click here.)
• Following each plasmapheresis he will receive a 4 hour infusion treatment of ATG. This is similar to IVIg, but stronger. (For more info on ATG or Antithymocyte globulin click here)
• Daily echos to check if the rejection is affecting his new heart function. No echo yet today, but yesterday's showed excellent function (more sunshine admist this awful storm) still with a slight leak in the tricuspid valve. (which now, after reviewing all his echo's, it looks like his angel heart came with it and that's okay. Very treatable when it is so slight.)
• Continuing still on all 15 oral ( by g-tube) medications. He is not on any heart function meds though which is good.
• PRAYER, PRAYER, FAITH, HOPE, AND MORE PRAYER
• BELIEVE IN MORE MIRACLES

The doctors explained to me that the next 5 days are the most critical in turning this rejection around.

I need to go now and hold my baby's hand!

Set Backs

I will make this short and to the point............

I don't like set backs!!!

And Mason does not either!!

Miracle Mason is in need of your continued prayers at this time. He has had a hard day and he's back in the CVICU :(

In the cath lab, before the biopsy as the anesthesiologist was intubating him (placing the breathing tube- typically used while under anesthesia for the cath procedure), Mason had an event or episode that you might call a mild cardiac arrest. His O2 saturations and heart rate began to dip so they did about 30 sec of chest compressions. (Although, I will say when the cath nurse called me and said cardiac arrest I pictured the day at 3 days old when he completely flat lined!!! So, I was relieved to hear it wasn't this!) Less alarming wording would be 'a brachycardic (lowering heart rate) event'.

Complete fluid overall would be a major explanation for Mason's swelling, irritability, and persistent cough. In the last 24 hours he has developed plural effusion around both lungs! Thank goodness no fluid (effusion) around the heart though. In the cath lab they placed chest tubes again to drain the fluid. Why did this happen? Possibly, switching diuretics.

They did get a biopsy and we will have results late tonight.

His pressures were high in his heart. Which can be a sign of rejection. But, when they placed the chest tubes and he began to drain off a lot of fluid his pressures went back down into normal range. So that presents better HOPE that his irritability, elevated white blood cell count, and mild tricuspid valve leakage is from the fluid overload and not rejection. PRAYER. FAITH. HOPE.

Mason was extubated (breathing tube removed) in the the cath lab.

I am with him in the CVICU and he already looks better than this morning, as for the swelling factor at least!

We are sad for the set back. We pray for a quick rebound and no rejection.

PRAYER, FAITH, AND HOPE BRING MIRACLES