Another Surgery

It has been several years since our last post.  Jadon has grown and has been progressing well overall.  He is mischievous and so happy and full of life.  He loves to play with mom, dad, siblings, knock-knock (his name for Grandma). He often will be heard asking one of us "Will you play with me?"

Medically, we have had some ups and downs over the last few years.  As a result of Jadon's first open heart surgery in Feb 2015, he had damage to 2 of his heart valves among other things.  During the fall of 2017, there was increased back flow from the tricuspid valve.   In Feb 2018, the pulmonary valve (which had been implanted during the original surgery and was also leaking) was replaced with a cath procedure in hopes that it would allow the tricuspid valve to function better.   It helped for about 6 months during which Jadon had increased energy and stamina.  However during the fall his exercise tolerance started to decrease.  A regular follow up test on his liver showed that it was being damaged by the back pressure caused by the leaky tricuspid valve.   The medical team decided that it necessitates an open heart surgery to replace the tricuspid valve.  We got our tentative surgery date today.   Lord willing Jadon will have surgery on Tuesday February 5th.  The medical team is aware of the challenges and there is some level of concern as to how Jadon's heart will tolerate being on the bypass machine during the open heart surgery again.   Issues the first time led to a cardiac arrest and subsequent need for a cardiac bypass surgery to help repair some of the damage.

We would appreciate your prayers for Jadon and the whole family at this time.