June Catch-up

As you probably know, we've had a crazy month so far. Actually, we have had a crazy year so far! I thought that I should post some pics to get caught up here. On Memorial Day we decided that we needed to do something fun as a family before Dylan's open heart surgery. We decided to take the kids up to the Seattle Aquarium since we hadn't been there for a couple of years. It was a fun way to spend part of the day.

Here are the kids touching a real sea cucumber.

The kids really liked the shallow pools where they could touch everything.

We had some lunch at our traditional Steamers.

Baby Dylan 2 days before surgery and not happy about the wind.

And I should also mention that Lindsey graduated from preschool. They did a cute program and she was very happy that she could go. It was the night that we brought Dylan home from the hospital so everything was up in the air.

Way to go Lindsey!

The kids and I went to enjoy the festivities while Justin stayed home with Dylan.

And now for some less than pleasant pictures. Here are some additional pictures from Dylan's stay in the hospital that aren't on his blog. I cried when I went through these again.

7:30 am. In the waiting room before surgery.....last meal was 6 hours ago.

8:30 am. All scrubbed up, in a hospital gown, right before the doctors whisked him away behind those forbidding doors to the operating room. Just look at those eyes! He knew something was up.

After 4 long hours: Successful but very sedated

See that tear? That's just how we felt.

The chest tube and pacing wires exposed

His arms were tied down so that he wouldn't pull anything out. Despite being on 2 narcotic medications and 1 anesthesia med, he was so strong and still tried to wake up and move around.

Getting the breathing tube out was a huge step. Now he was breathing on his own with a little oxygen to help.

We will never forget the day that he woke up and remembered us. What a wonderful thing to finally see that smile after 7 days of being sedated! Day 8 was a very happy day.

Being moved out of the cardiac ICU was a big step on day 8 as well

Day 10: Finally ready to go home!

Being home sure feels good!