UPDATE 5 (Final update – w/ picture 7:00 p.m.): My son’s heart surgery
By Ken Falkenstein | Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 | Virginia
Joshua Falkenstein on the night before his heart surgery 6-23-11
Please forgive me a personal indulgence. Tomorrow (Friday), my 9-week-old son Joshua will be having heart surgery for a heart defect related to his Down Syndrome. The surgery will begin at around 7:30 a.m. and will go until late afternoon. The pediatric heart surgeon performing the operation is a world-class surgeon, so Josh is in the best of hands. Nevertheless, there is a 5% mortality rate associated with this procedure.
Any positive thoughts and prayers on behalf of Josh would be deeply appreciated.
UPDATE 1 (9:25 a.m.): Josh has been taken into surgery. They are giving us updates every couple of hours. We just got the first update: They have set Josh up on anesthesia and various monitoring lines and made the first incision. Next step is to set him up on the heart-lung bypass machine. I’ll post periodic updates. Please keep thinking positive thoughts and praying for him.
UPDATE 2 (11:00 a.m.) – Josh is now on bypass and doing well with it. His heart is opened, and the surgery is underway. He will remain on bypass for about 2 hours.
UPDATE 3 (1:45 P.M.) – The surgery is now concluded, and Josh is off of the bypass machine. Josh tolerated everything well, and the doctors are confident that his heart has been properly repaired. Currently they are doing a series of echocardiograms, after which they will close him and prepare to return him to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The long and short of it is that Josh is now past the most dangerous parts of this procedure and is doing well.
UPDATE 4 (3:30) – Josh has now been closed up, and they are taking him back to the PICU. The surgeon should be out soon to talk to us, and we should be able to go see Josh in about an hour. We’ve been told that he will look terrible – bloated with fluids and lots of tubes and wires sticking out of him – but that he is actually doing well and expected to fully recover and be able to finally get off of the ventilator in a few days.
Josh after his heart surgery 6-24-11
UPDATE 5 (7:00) – Kim and I met with the surgeon, and he said that the echocardiograms indicate that the surgery was successful. Josh was returned to the PICU, and Kim and I went to see him. Despite the warnings we were given that he would look terrible, he actually looked quite good, as you can see in the picture. They are keeping him sedated and will ween him off of the pain medicine and other medications over the coming days.
The bottom line is that Josh tolerated the surgery well, and it appears to have been successful. The doctors are optimistic that he will finally be able to get off of the ventilator within the next few days, learn to take a bottle, and go home within the next few weeks. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Kim and I know that they made a difference.
And most of all, Kim and I want to express our profound respect, admiration, and appreciation to Dr. Muhammad “Ali” Mumtaz, the world-class pediatric cardiac surgeon who, with his excellent team, saved our son’s life today.
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About the author
Ken Falkenstein has been a staffer in the United States Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates. He has managed political campaigns. He was a military intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army in West Germany during the Cold War. He is currently the Vice President of the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads and practices as a civil litigation attorney with the law firm of Poole Mahoney PC in Virginia Beach. His concern for his kids' future is what most informs his writing.
Comments
29 Responses to "UPDATE 5 (Final update – w/ picture 7:00 p.m.): My son’s heart surgery"
Ken, Sending prayers. Such big surgery for such a little guy!
Our thoughts and prayers are with Josh, the medical team, you and your family, Ken. Keep us posted.
My thoughts are with your family. Have faith and stay positive. We are all hoping for the best.
Dear Ken,
It pains me to see a child suffer through any serious illness. I can only imagine what you and your wife are going through. I pray that your son can be made well to live a satisfying life.
Lots of prayers coming your way! God Bless!
Prayers enroute from Pittsburg, Pa this eve.
Our prayers are with you and your family.
Prayers from me and my family for little Joshua.
Patrick K. Robertson
Ken,
If this is any encouragement to you, I have a niece who was born premature and had several heart repair procedures before she was six years old. She had her most recent heart valve correction operation the year before she started college. Today she is a registered nurse supervising a preemie ward at a major hospital.
God has big plans for Josh and our prayers are with him and your family.
Ken, Dottie and I send our prayers and will add Joshua our prayer list and prayer chain.
O God, the source of all health, fill our hearts with faith. Be near us in times of weakness and pain. Although we know You are in control, we are apprehensive about what faces Joshua. You made us and love us. You have provided Joshua’s surgeons the needed skill to perform a miracle on his behalf. Sustain Josuha by Your grace and that our strength and courage may not fail; Heal Josuha according to Your will.
Amen.
Sending lots of prayers for sweet Joshua. What a tough day this will be for your family, but it sounds like he is in the best hands possible.
Lord, stretch out Thy Hand and protect Joshua this day.
Ken,
I have made my prayers while, right now, if everything is going according to schedule, the surgery is happening.
Keep us informed. Do not think doing so is a personal indulgence, it is keeping a concerned community up-to-date.
Ours thoughts and prayers are with you and Josh as well.
Ken, best wishes for you and your son.
Ken, this is undoubtedly (sp?) the most important thing discussed on this blog today. God bless Josh, you and your wife, and the doctors.
He has been in my thoughts and prayers all morning. Thanks for keeping us posted. It makes us who are there in spirit feel more connected. Stay strong and know we are there for you however you need.
Many thoughts and prayers for that beautiful little boy, and all those who love him so much.
We’re glad the surgery is over and successful. I know you and Kim will be relieved when he is out of the ICU. Our prayers are with you.
Joshua has been in my thoughts all day and when I read Ken’s last post, I felt like crying…it made my day. It will be such an emotional moment for Ken and his wife when they see their son again and I know that they can’t wait for the time that they can pick him up and hold him in their arms.
Now, I need to sign off and go into prayer and just thank the Lord, again and again, for repairing the health of little Joshua. Thank you,
doctors, but the Lord is the great healer and I know that you doctors will be the first to agree with that. Thank you…heavenly Father
Thank you for the update, Ken. He looks great and I am certain that everyone is as grateful as you and Kim are for the incredible power that God has placed in the hands of surgeons. What they are capable of doing comes from a Higher Power that transcends human experience, as does life itself.
Ken,
My prayers are with Josh and your family. Josh is a fighter, and God has great plans for him.
Krystle
My prayers are for Joshua, you, and your family. God Bless all of you…. Tim Hugo
Your right, Ken, he looks almost like the first picture. What a cute little boy. Perfect little nose, little ears, beautiful head and such a serene and pleasant expression on his face. It’s what I think a little baby angel would look like.
Kudos for the doctor and doctors and nurses. And much, much praise to our Lord God Jehovah and his son Jesus. And thank you Lord for the prayers of all your servants praying for little Josh…thank you for listening and acting.
Glad everything went well. Its got to be tough for such a little guy to go through surgery like that, but thankfully it sounds like all is well. God Bless you and Josh (and the surgeon)
Sorry to get in here late but I am so glade everything went well. Joshua looks great and is clearly a little fighter. My best whishes and prayers for Joshua, your family and you!
My thougts and prayers…
Ken, God Bless you and your family. Best Wishes and much love to little Joshua.
Ken, your Joshua is a beauty, a blessing, a gift, and a reminder of what is most important in all of our lives.
Heavenly Father watch with us over Joshua and grant that he may be restored to that perfect health which it is yours alone to give. Relieve his pain, guard him from all danger, and restore to him your gifts of gladness and strength.
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