He Did It!

Mason has had a fabulous day! He is progressing so well that the docs all agreed he was ready to extubate (take off the ventilator) this morning. And....HE DID IT!! They put him on just a nasal cannula for extra support for now. He began on 2 liters and he's already down to 1/2 liter tonight with his O2 sats at 99%! Wow this is so exciting and almost unbelievable!

When he got the breathing tube out he seemed to almost be in a trance. I think he was feeling so good he didn't know what to think. For his whole life of 28 months it has been so much work for him to breath, or really just to live, and now he was laying there with his new strong healthy heart allowing him to breathe with ease! The most peaceful and calm feeling came over Mark, my mom, and I who were all in the room to witness this. To witness this miracle changing our sweet Mason's life!

Mason has had great numbers (heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, right atrial pressure, and O2 sats) all day. He's had a few little heart rhythm issues today, but just balancing out his electrolytes seemed to solve it. The docs said this is pretty normal post transplant. Today he also came off several off the heart support meds he came out of the OR on.

The other good news of the day is that the cross matching blood tests which were taken in the OR during transplant (cross matching Mason with his donor) came back with NO surprises. Meaning the cross match done prior to Dr. R telling us they had a heart for Mason showed the same few antibodies that could cause rejection, but no more than they were already prepared for. This is great! Mason is being treated with very high doses of anti-rejection meds, steroids, and IVIg to help prevent possible rejection.

Mason is also tolerating his chest tubes, central iv lines, and etc much better than I thought he would at this age. The nurses did put the little braces (called "no-no"s) on his arms so that he won't pull anything out, but when I'm sitting with him we take them off to give him a break. I just hold his hand and keep a close eye on him.

Mason has loved having visits from all our family while they are here enjoying spring break! The timing of everything has been so perfect. I'm so glad they are here to be with Miracle Mason and I at this special time.

Kaitlin, Ammon, Braiden, and Preston on Easter morning.

Thank you for supporting us in our journey, for your sweet thoughts, and of course for continuing to pray for Mason and his donor family.