The luck continues...

Molly and Clint learned today that the surgery will take place on the morning of June 8th!!!  WOW, that was fast!!  Prayers for the surgeon and his team, may they do their BEST work ever!  Prayers for little Simon may his strong little body do great and the attachment take place with no issues!!

Thanks!

The news we've been waiting for...

Sorry to keep you waiting!  Between taking the weekend off the computer and in complete over joy and full of prayers of thanks...on behalf of Clint and Molly, I am proud to announce the procedure on Friday was a complete success!  Simon will be scheduled for the esophagus repair/connection in the coming weeks.  He is ready right now but getting OR time for the surgeon, assembling the team in which he wants to be there, etc. will take a little bit of time!  Patience for our little patient is the key right now.  The upside of waiting is likely the gap will be even better by the time they go in and repair everything.

They measure the distance between the esophagus and the stomach by vertebrae. He is 3.5 vertebrae away from closing the gap. The surgeon was hoping for 3, but once the feeding tube is disconnected from his belly it will allow his stomach to move around, whereas right now it is tethered to the outside wall of this abdomen.  This combined with the weeks of waiting should make for a smaller distance for making the connection.  Also, not to mention 3 vertebrae on 6# 9oz Simon is about the distance of 1 of our vertebrae on our backs.

                                  Simon is praying for all of you and says thanks for your prayers!

Thank you for all the prayers for Simon!  Hopefully the next couple of weeks is full of growth on Simon's behalf and Clint and Molly preparing for his late summer arrival to his home.  Hopefully Molly will see the Dr. this week and get an idea of the date of surgery.

Prayers Needed

Molly had whirlwind morning in the NICU as she was told that TOMORROW, May 25th is the "explore" surgery to see if the gap between his esophagus and stomach has decreased. It is a very simple procedure using dye for the surgeon to visualize the gap.  The complicated part is the result and knowing if and when the big "connection" surgery can take place.  


He has grown from 4# 1oz to 6# 3 oz...and likely gaining more as I write!  Growing on the outside is not a problem and he looks amazingly strong.  Now we have to learn if the inside is growing and growing as well!


Please say a prayer for Baby Simon.  Please let the surgeons bring good news to Clint & Molly who so deserve it!  The days in the NICU are LONG and TIRING, and poor Baby Simon so wants to come home.  Don't get me wrong, he looks so comfy and is in love with a few extra special nurses.  Actually, I think they are in love too!  I can't blame them, we all are, he is the best!!  But it is time for all of this to be resolved and for this brand new little family to get home!


Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  The surgery takes place at about 9:45 am on Friday.

Here is a pic of Simon from this week, clothes are his new thing!  He looks like a baby now and less of a preemie!

 The glare was bad, but last night I stopped by the NICU for a little Simon time.  He as resting

so nicely.  He was dressed in this little football outfit, the light was too bright to get a good shot.  

Just when I thought I had Simon all to myself, Molly and Clint came back from a nice, well-deserved dinner out at House of Hunan!  Molly has been craving that since she was on bed rest.  It was so nice to see Clint, I never visit in the evening when he is there.  He is the positive and upbeat one, keeps everyone else that way!  He is the best!

Big Week!

Simon had his first photo shoot by Molly's photographer friend, Amanda from MC Life Portraits!  She has quite the gift for photos and did Molly & Clint's "Ohio" reception last July.  Ask Molly about her if you need photos, she does amazing work!


 Take a look, he is quite the ham.

 Yawn, you ladies love me!!

Look at me....no tube for just a minute!
(Thanks Photoshop and the talented Amanda!)

Last week Molly & Clint were told Simon could sit in the swing!  He also wore his first outfit.

Over the weekend Simon hit the 6 pound Mark.  The Doctor's are very pleased with his growth and hope all of this will mean good things and that the surgery can take place in June!  Please pray!

Mother's Day 2012

Molly celebrated her first Mother's Day with Baby Simon!  She learned being born in April has its advantages...DIAMONDS!  Clint surprised her with a little something sparkly for being mom to the most adorable little baby around!

Here is Simon on April 14th the day of his birth.....  4# 1oz.

Look at him now...

Simon is up to 5# 11.5oz and is 20" long!  

The goal is to grow and he is on it!!

**Have to verify that weight will Molly and will update...I am sure he grew more since Sunday, I am behind in blogging! :)

5 Pounds + Operation stalk the surgeon progress

Little man is growing like crazy and his new hobby is laying completely sideways in his bed.  He is beyond precious!  He is up over 5 pounds now, that means a pound plus in 3 weeks!!!

Here is one of our favorite pictures...

Look at the wing span on this little guy!!!

Molly's mission to seek out the #1 surgeon for Simon's condition has been a success! A very positive consult has taken place and Simon will be on his service when the surgery takes place.  All of this is well and good, but the unfortunate part is the gap Simon has is more rare than the typical esophageal issue.  Thus Simon will have all of the surgeons in the practice there, but the good news is lots of talented hands and minds to heal up Simon and get him home!

Thank you for all the thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes!  Keep Molly in your thoughts this weekend for her very 1st Mother's Day!

Growing!!

Molly & Clint spent the weekend holding little Simon and enjoying his little smile.  Here he is as of today...

At birth Simon was 18.25 inches long.  Today he is up to 19.5 inches.  I can't imagine where he gets his height from?  Haha!  He is going to be one tall little man, his fingers and toes are so long.

The best news is that the #1 Surgeon in the country (at repairing Simon's issue) has moved back to Akron!  He moved here on May 1st.  Molly is occupying her spare minutes locating this surgeon and hoping to get Simon on his case load for June.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Why not just have this all done by the best surgeon around.  Akron Children's is such an amazing place.

Finally, here is a picture of Simon being held by Clint over the weekend.

No News is Good News this week!

Simon is up to 4# 9oz!  He is looking as strong as ever and doing great.  Molly is enjoying the freedom of driving and visiting with baby Simon.  She takes a break and then returns as soon as Clint comes home from work.  That is their new routine, looks like for what will be the next several weeks.  Just keep praying the re-evaluation of his esophagus in June shows he is ready for surgery.

Here is his latest mug shot: