Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
I've got wings, but I can't fly...
I'm talking about Jake's hair. I always knew I'd have a little rugrat running around rocking some badass hair.
"I Love Presents!"
If I ever get around to updating the blog to recap our Christmas, you'll see the adorable onesie I got Jake that has a mischievous looking Christmas Tree on it with the voice bubble saying, "I Love Presents".
Jake was flush with presents for his birthday, too. Check him out on his new ride-on toys:
A new hot-rod from mom and dad.
And a "Race Day" ride-on from Cousin Nicky and his parents
Jake loves to ride around on both of them!
Jake was flush with presents for his birthday, too. Check him out on his new ride-on toys:
A new hot-rod from mom and dad.
And a "Race Day" ride-on from Cousin Nicky and his parents
Jake loves to ride around on both of them!
Psycho-Mommy Photo Shoot
An overzealous photo shoot the morning of Jake's birthday produced 80+ images. Here are some of the best ones:
One Bad Bug is One Year Old
Jake is one! He turned one four weeks ago. Make no mistake, I now suck at blogging. But rather than explain, I'm just going to share. Below is a letter that I've written to all of his doctors, and to anyone who has involved in his care over the past year. It sums up the emotion this occasion brings up for us.
March 26, 2009
Today is our son Jake Maxwell Casden’s first birthday and it's been an unbelievable first year. He's had more harrowing experiences than most people ever go through in a lifetime and has made it to this huge milestone no worse for the wear.
Jake was diagnosed with aortic stenosis evolving into Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome at 22 weeks gestation. We underwent a fetal cardiac intervention at Boston Children’s Hospital. Jake was born in Boston on March 26th and had a catheterization at six hours old to dilate is aortic valve and create an ASD. Jake had a rough start but with time and medical management, he was able to leave the hospital without needing surgery.
We eased into life at home with the knowledge that at some point surgery to repair or replace his valves and to remove scar tissue from his ventricle was probable. Eating, reflux, and weight gain presented problems, but overall, life was grand. We were so happy to finally have our little boy home.
On the evening of August 3rd, Jake awoke from a nap with an intense cry. When he settled, he just didn’t look right to us so we brought him to the emergency room at Columbia/Presbyterian. An echo showed he was in heart failure. The next day, while awaiting transport to Boston, Jake went into full cardiac arrest. It took thirty minutes of CPR and several defibrillator shocks to get his heart rhythm back to normal. Fortunately no neurological, tissue or organ damage was sustained and we set about on the road to recovery. Another month in the hospital and Jake was able to make the trip to Boston.
On September 9th, coincidentally our wedding anniversary, Jake underwent open-heart surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital for EFE resectioning, aortic and mitral valve repair and an ASD fenestration. There’s been no looking back since!
Today, Jake is absolutely thriving. In January, he turned a corner. At that time, he was barely able to sit supported. Now, just three months later, he’s cruising and climbing! His reflux issues have also subsided and mealtimes have become much less stressful and he is finally starting to gain a little weight. At just about 17 lbs, he is small but mighty and we find it difficult to keep up with his unrelenting energy. He's commando crawling, getting his teeth, babbling, pulling up to standing, cruising and learning more and more each day. He loves his books and toys and can entertain himself for what seems like hours without fussing. All in all, we’d say Jake has quite a normal, not to mention wonderful, life.
As for his parents, well, we’ve learned a lot about who we are and what we’re capable over the past year. Strength and love go a long way but you have to arm yourself with knowledge, too. We’ve learned to believe in the power of science and medicine and to trust doctors who do not always have the answers. And we’ve been inspired to be better people by the remarkable example shown to us by our little fighter.
As we reflect upon the events of the past year, we find it hard to find the words to thank you for the role you’ve played in helping Jake reach this milestone. Sometimes words are not enough; therefore, we have made a donation to the pediatric cardiology programs at both Boston Children’s Hospital and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York. Please know that you have played a very important role in this family’s happiness and our gratitude to all involved is unending.
Sincerely,
Amy, Greg, and Jake Casden
We had an awesome party to celebrate with at least fifty people at our new house. It was the first time many of our friends had seen Jake since before his arrest last summer. I was so busy entertaining and showing Jake and the house off that I didn't get too many pictures. Here's a few...
Bad Bug cupcakes decorated by the lovely Laurie Rudnick
Make a wish!
Jake's first taste of sugar!
Cheers!
March 26, 2009
Today is our son Jake Maxwell Casden’s first birthday and it's been an unbelievable first year. He's had more harrowing experiences than most people ever go through in a lifetime and has made it to this huge milestone no worse for the wear.
Jake was diagnosed with aortic stenosis evolving into Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome at 22 weeks gestation. We underwent a fetal cardiac intervention at Boston Children’s Hospital. Jake was born in Boston on March 26th and had a catheterization at six hours old to dilate is aortic valve and create an ASD. Jake had a rough start but with time and medical management, he was able to leave the hospital without needing surgery.
We eased into life at home with the knowledge that at some point surgery to repair or replace his valves and to remove scar tissue from his ventricle was probable. Eating, reflux, and weight gain presented problems, but overall, life was grand. We were so happy to finally have our little boy home.
On the evening of August 3rd, Jake awoke from a nap with an intense cry. When he settled, he just didn’t look right to us so we brought him to the emergency room at Columbia/Presbyterian. An echo showed he was in heart failure. The next day, while awaiting transport to Boston, Jake went into full cardiac arrest. It took thirty minutes of CPR and several defibrillator shocks to get his heart rhythm back to normal. Fortunately no neurological, tissue or organ damage was sustained and we set about on the road to recovery. Another month in the hospital and Jake was able to make the trip to Boston.
On September 9th, coincidentally our wedding anniversary, Jake underwent open-heart surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital for EFE resectioning, aortic and mitral valve repair and an ASD fenestration. There’s been no looking back since!
Today, Jake is absolutely thriving. In January, he turned a corner. At that time, he was barely able to sit supported. Now, just three months later, he’s cruising and climbing! His reflux issues have also subsided and mealtimes have become much less stressful and he is finally starting to gain a little weight. At just about 17 lbs, he is small but mighty and we find it difficult to keep up with his unrelenting energy. He's commando crawling, getting his teeth, babbling, pulling up to standing, cruising and learning more and more each day. He loves his books and toys and can entertain himself for what seems like hours without fussing. All in all, we’d say Jake has quite a normal, not to mention wonderful, life.
As for his parents, well, we’ve learned a lot about who we are and what we’re capable over the past year. Strength and love go a long way but you have to arm yourself with knowledge, too. We’ve learned to believe in the power of science and medicine and to trust doctors who do not always have the answers. And we’ve been inspired to be better people by the remarkable example shown to us by our little fighter.
As we reflect upon the events of the past year, we find it hard to find the words to thank you for the role you’ve played in helping Jake reach this milestone. Sometimes words are not enough; therefore, we have made a donation to the pediatric cardiology programs at both Boston Children’s Hospital and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York. Please know that you have played a very important role in this family’s happiness and our gratitude to all involved is unending.
Sincerely,
Amy, Greg, and Jake Casden
We had an awesome party to celebrate with at least fifty people at our new house. It was the first time many of our friends had seen Jake since before his arrest last summer. I was so busy entertaining and showing Jake and the house off that I didn't get too many pictures. Here's a few...
Bad Bug cupcakes decorated by the lovely Laurie Rudnick
Make a wish!
Jake's first taste of sugar!
Cheers!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Present and Future Posts on the Past
I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long... (see previous post!)
It's true, I've lost momentum. Blame it on being overworked and overtired. Blame it on stress. Blame it on moving and unpacking, and getting my house in order (oh, yeah, we moved to the burbs and bought a house - details to come in a future post, or not). Blame it on wanting to spend my idle time spending time with Jake. Blame it on spending my idle time watching American Idol. Blame it on Facebook. Blame it on the rain that was slowly falling. Whatever the reason, it would seem that my daily schedule and motivation are not aligning to send me to the computer to update this here blog. Do I feel guilty? Hell yeah I do.
For now, I'm going to work on backtracking a bit to cover all the milestones and pitfalls we've had over the past few months. There's been a-plenty of both.
Merry Christmas
Christmas is my favorite holiday. At one time I tried to make myself sound cooler by falsely claiming New Years was my celebration of choice. Afterall, that fit in better with my party-girl image. But who was I kidding. How can you compare blowing a few horns and maybe kissing someone at midnight with presents? C'mon, presents! There's not much competition, is there.
In keeping true to my well intentioned philosophy of indoctrinating my beliefs upon my child, I went out and purchased this lovely onesie for his Christmas photos:
By the way, did I mention that Jake is half Jewish? Regardless, Christmas calls for celebration. Decorating, presents, food, and more food. And then, more food. My Aunt Jo makes three dinners for Christmas - Egg drop soup, followed by ravioli, meatballs and sausage, followed by smoked ham and turkey - a sort of deconstructed Turduckin, but better . But before we even get to that three dinners for one, there's Christmas Eve and The Feast of the Seven Fishes - not one, not two.... but SEVEN different seafood dishes. And then there's the appetizers and desserts and cookies and cookies and desserts... It's insane. The first time Greg came home with me he went and laid down on the couch away from everyone. When I went in to check on him he said he just couldn't be around food anymore.
However, this year we're staying home. It's just too early to travel with Jake. It's too close to his surgery and there's just too much at risk. While I'm sad and will miss my family, I must admit that there is something special about spending tour first holiday with just the three of us.
I'm looking forward to presents and to giving Jake lots and lots of presents for many years to come.
However, this year we're staying home. It's just too early to travel with Jake. It's too close to his surgery and there's just too much at risk. While I'm sad and will miss my family, I must admit that there is something special about spending tour first holiday with just the three of us.
I'm looking forward to presents and to giving Jake lots and lots of presents for many years to come.
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