Christmas

We have been very busy this Christmas season, especially since Tate has been involved in choir and preschool. We have had several programs to go to these last weeks. It is so much fun to watch Tate perform, he loves being on stage. Wonder where he gets that from.

Tate was really excited about Christmas this year. I think it gets better for the parents when the kids are really into it. Of course Seth just watched everything and annoyed Tate by playing with all of his toys. They were great though. Can't believe it is over with already. Now JP and I need to go through the playroom and clean out the old toys to get room for the new ones. Here are some pictures of the boys with their cousins on both sides. And of Tate and Caden singing at church. Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. Love you all.

Seth's 1st Birthday

Well I haven't posted in a long while so I thought I would try and catch up. My little Seth turned one on December 11th. I can't believe it. The time has gone by so fast and he is getting so big. He is precious. Here are some pictures of his party.

He is doing great!

We just got back from the cardiologist office. He is very pleased by Tate's recovery and says he looks and sounds great. We don't have to go back until 6 months for a check-up. He wants him to stay on the Propranolol until then but just as a precaution. He hasn't had an irregular rhythm since that one time so Dr. Best just thinks it was his heart adjusting to being messed with at surgery. He will check it again in 6 months and if everything looks good he can come off the medicine.

When Tate and I were talking about going to the doctor today he asked why he had to go and I told him that the Dr.'s wanted to make sure his fixed heart was working good and he said that it was because Jesus lived there. So sweet, I just kissed him. They make me laugh all the time.

I am very relieved and ready to get back to everyday life. Tate is doing really well. He went to choir last night at church and we are going to go back to school on Monday. He doesn't have school next Wednesday and Friday so that will give us more time until he goes back for good the first of December.

Trying to get ready for Seth's first birthday party. I can't believe he is almost one. I hope you guys don't mind getting your invites a little late. I'm trying the best I can to get everything done and to catch up with stuff we have missed.

Sorry for not posting sooner (Aunt Candy :)) but I wanted to have this information before I wrote anything. Will get some more pictures up of the boys and am going to try to include Seth more. Poor little honey, I feel as though I have neglected him. I'm sure he doesn't mind though as he gets much love at home. You can't help but love all over that boy.

I am actually starting to look forward to the holidays. Please continue to pray for Tate's healing and for the valve to last a very long time. I don't want to do that again any time soon.

Here are some pictures that I haven't posted yet. He is doing very well.

WE ARE HOME!!!

Hey guys, we are finally home, thank you Lord. I was about to crawl out of my skin today waiting to go home. Tate is doing really well. He was up and playing yesterday. Everyone has said what an improvement 12 hours has been. The only thing we have to do is hook him up to an EKG machine tomorrow that he has to wear for 24 hours and to take his blood pressure medicine. We have a PCP appointment in one week and a cardio appointment in two weeks.

We are all glad to be here. Hopefully he will rest well. Both my boys have been pretty whiny since I have gotten home so pray for patience for me.

Thanks again for everyone's prayers and support. You have no idea how much we appreciate all you have done. THANK GOD IT IS OVER.

Love you all.

P.S. I will post a bunch of pictures tomorrow. I can't download to my computer so I have to go to my parents house.

We are just hanging out.

Well, Tate is doing really well right now so we are just hanging out waiting to see when we can go home. The night before last he had some irregular heart rhythms so they did an EKG. They don't know what caused them but say that it is normal after heart surgery for that to happen. The heart has gone through a lot and needs time to adjust back to normal. So they have put Tate on blood pressure medicine. I was very concerned since Tate has been relatively normal and I wish him not to have to take medicine to help his heart but the doctor said we will check it out again in two weeks from release and if it is better he can come off of it. So that is encouraging. His ECHO yesterday looked really good. Like I said we are just hanging out. Tate is in better spirits today. He is doing much better. He is still having difficulty getting up and walking around but we are working on it. He is smiling more and playing better. I just have to get the sucker up and out of bed more.

Tate is my hero. He is so stinkin' cute in is Hulk PJ's and he is such a trooper! - Amy May Teague

Continue to pray for Tate and his healing. Also please pray for the other families here. I cannot describe what some of this kids are going through. Even though this is hard on me and am so sad that Tate has to be here I feel truly blessed that he is doing well and am thinking that old cliche "It could always be worse".

Sorry no pictures but I'm down in the hospital computer lab and can't upload any right now. I have some good ones though so keep checking.

We got a room!!!

Hey guys, today has been a busy day. Last night was very hard. Tate was having trouble going potty on his own, it hurt him since the Foley came out but he has gotten better today. I am keeping pull-ups on him and letting him go in them. That seems to help. He doesn't want to get out of bed very often. He has been walking (well really taking several steps) twice today. He seems to be doing very well and in much better spirits as am I. I even got him to smile today. He was playing with a fan that JP's work got him and that made him laugh. Thanks guys.

We are in room 8 in CVICU west for those of you who want to visit. He only has one IV and is only getting Tylenol with codeine. He has been such a trooper and I'm so very proud of him. I can't imagine what he thinks about all this. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. Hopefully we will be home in a few days.

Tate is doing well. He has gotten his chest tubes out, the IV in his foot and his Foley. That was traumatic having it all done at one time but he did very well. I have put him in his pj bottoms and his house slippers. They are letting his rest before he has to get up and walk. He has to walk 3 times today. It has been a very good time but we are extremely tired. Spending the night last night went really well (thanks to some sleeping aid) and my sister will be staying with me tonight. What an experience. We have talked to several families with kids here and are encouraged with their stories. Tate has fared a lot better than some but it still saddens me to know this will be a lifetime journey for him. I am so thankful for living in a time where modern medicine can do wonders but I'm also weary of what all this surgery could do to him. We will continue to praise God for our amazingly strong Tate and know that He will prove faithful. We love you all.

He is out!

He is out of surgery and doing well. He is in pain and they are trying to control it as best they can. Pray for strength, he is scared. The surgery went really well and everything looks great. We are very tired and hope to get some rest. Here are some pics.

Tate's 2nd surgery

Hey guys, we are here at the hospital and Tate's surgery has just started. His surgeon called an ENT doctor in to look at Tate's lungs because he has had several bouts of pneumonia last winter and still has fluid in his right lung. So they put a scope in and found some infection and flushed it out. They also found a blood vessel putting pressure on his trachea. Tate's surgeon is going to try to move the vessel over so he will stop building up fluid and will be able to flush his lungs out on his own. Hopefully Tate won't be getting sick all the time.

They are going to be putting in a bicuspid valve. We don't know how long it will stay in so that will be unknown territory. Continue to pray for Tate, he will be in surgery for a few hours longer. Thanks for all your support and prayers. Here are some pictures from Tate's party last night and the video game his preschool class gave him and a picture of him and daddy this morning getting his blood pressure taken.

Pumpkin patch and Halloween

Well this week has been fun and exciting. On Monday we went with Tate's preschool to the pumpkin patch. There were pig races, a hayride, petting zoo and then the pumpkins. We had a great time but it was a little cold for me. Friday was Tate's Halloween party at school. He had a blast and came home with lots of goodies.

And of course we went out to the church fall fest and trick or treating. Seth won the costume contest for his age group. He was adorable, check out the pic. This was the first year Tate has gone trick or treating and after the first two houses when he realized that people were giving him candy he told me that he really liked Halloween. Imagine that.

Okay, on to tomorrow. We have to be at the hospital at 8:30. JP and I are taking Tate to McDonald's for breakfast. At the hospital he will have blood work done, x-rays, EKG and an ECHO. They will look him over really well and we will get to meet the surgeons and get a rundown of the procedure. Please pray that Tate is well enough to have the surgery done. He has allergies and hasn't been feeling all that great so I hope the surgery doesn't get postponed. My grandmother has flown down from Chicago to take care of Seth while we are at the hospital. I am so grateful for that, thanks Mama Martha, we love you.

Will post an update as soon as we know something tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed. Thanks for all your prayers and support.

One week and counting

It is one week until Tate's surgery and I am counting down the days. I am trying and praying for Tate to be healthy so nothing will postpone his surgery. He has had a bad cough the past few days which is normal for him when the weather starts getting cooler. I am trying my best to keep him at home and limit his activities to school and some church. I am SO ready to get this over with. Pray for strength for me these last few days, I am very sad for my Tate. I can't really explain how I feel so I'm not going to try too.
This week is very busy trying to get things in order. Thanks to all my friends and family who are helping us out so much, I am very grateful for you all.
We will be talking to Tate about the surgery this weekend. He has videos to watch and books to look at. We also are having a party for him on Monday night before his big day. If you want info regarding his party just get in touch with me and I will give you specifics.

Want to put a plug in for my boys. I have all four here today. Seth and Cole are fighting over a Backyardigans guitar. In between the yells they stop and dance. They are so cute. I love watching them get more independence. Tate is spider man and Caden is Batman. My superheros!!!!! It is so neat to see how much they love each other.

I want to shout out to my friend Amy May whose birthday is today. Happy Birthday Maymer!!! I love you.

I will be posting more later.

P.S. On a side note, to those of you who will be spending next Tuesday with us at the hospital, DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! You can vote early if you don't want to have to worry with it next Tuesday.

Wild and Crazy Weekend

Well, JP and I learned a big lesson this weekend. Don't do two events with kids on the same day. On Saturday we went to the Air Force Base to see the Air Show. It was great even though we didn't get to see the Blue Angels. Tate seemed to enjoy himself and Seth did great. JP loved the F16's which all the kids thought was way too loud. Then we did a mad dash home to get ready to go to the State Fair. What fun!!! Tate loved the rides and all the animals and of course I loved the food. Seth stayed at home with Mima. We had a great time but we were all exhausted. It is amazing how your son having surgery can put a different perspective in view. I seem to appreciate things more and want to do family outings more often. What is sad is that I should always be that way. We only have our children for a short time so we shouldn't be taking these precious moments for granted.

Maybe we shouldn't of told him

Well, Tate doesn't seem to be dealing with his surgery very well right now. He has said some very sad things which makes me sad as well. Yesterday he told me that since he didn't have to get his flu shot (he was sick that day so he couldn't get it) that he didn't want to get his boo boo again either. He refers to his scar as his boo boo. He says that he doesn't want his boo boo to bleed. I just said I don't want him to get to have a boo boo either but that we have to make his heart better. When we went to his pediatrician the other day he suggested that Dr. Holmes will fix his heart for him. I wish she could. So it seems that he has this dread, sadness that he somewhat knows what lies again. (For those of you who don't know Tate well he has been to the doctor so much and had so many things done that he is scared of needles and basically anything you get near him.) So I have many anxieties along with him. I just hope that I can give him comfort and strength when the time comes. His reaction to the IV in his foot a few weeks ago has me very scared. Pray for us.

Tate's 2nd surgery

Well, here it is 3 years later and the doctors have called us in again to do surgery on Tate. We went for his annual cardio checkup and his echo showed that the monocupst (sp?) valve they put in Tate's heart during his first surgery has stopped working, there is some leakage and his right ventricle is enlarging to compensate. So they have decided to bring Tate in and put in a pulmonary valve. I don't know the specifics about the surgery but it is scheduled for November 4, 2008. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, especially Tate. I feel better going into this surgery then I did before but it is still extremely hard. I can't even describe it. I will keep posting updates and everyday life here at the Patterson household.

Tate's 1st surgery

In September 2005, Tate had surgery to repair his defect. He was 5 1/2 months old. The doctors originally told me that he would at least be a year old before they would do the repair so needless to say when they gave me 3 weeks notice about his surgery I was a basketcase. But they wanted to get it done before RSV season and since he seemed to be doing really well they wanted to get it over with. He was in the hospital for 6 days and did remarkably well. He was such a trooper. We had lots of family and friends visit which was a huge blessing. He has continued to do well and had grown up to be such an amazing child.

My little man Tate

Tate was born in April, 2005. It was a pretty uneventfull pregnancy which was good. It never once crossed my mind that something could possibly be wrong with my little man. I still had the mindset that nothing bad was ever going to happen to me, I guess I hadn't crossed the threshold into adulthood were bad things are unavoidable and those who love God aren't without exemption. So there I was, just given birth to what I thought was a huge baby (I couldn't believe that person had just come out of me) watching the nurses look him over when I notice something strange. The two nurses that were checking him out kept taking turns listening to his heart. I thought huh, how many times does one need to do that. One of the nurses walks over to me and tells me that they would like to take Tate down to the nursery and have him checked out by one of the pediatric doctors. I guess I knew then that something was wrong.
The doctor came back to tell me that something was wrong with Tate's heart. He kept saying heart disease which made no sense to me but then it seemed like all things were a vacuum and I couldn't process what was going on. So they took Tate to Children's Hospital. Jason went with him as well as most of the family. A doctor from Children's called me a few hours later to tell me what they had found. Tate was born with a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot with Absent Pulmonary Valve. I just remember asking him "Is it fixable?" and he said yes. Tate spent his first week of life in the hospital and got to come home on my birthday. I can't even describe that week, I still tear up thinking about it. I don't think I have ever felt such brokenness, such devastation. But I do know it was the best birthday present ever.

Getting started

Well, I guess I will start by saying a few things about myself and my pack. Jason and I have been married since 2001 and we have two adorable boys. Tate who is 3 and Seth who is 10 months. I am a stay at home mom and loving every minute of it. I have lots of friends who blog so I thought I would give it a try but I also wanted somewhere I could keep people undated on Tate. I guess I will do that now.