Sorry, no pictures for this post. I left my camera in the baby bag and my mom has Braden right now! I will post the pictures from today tomorrow!!
Reed is doing great. I showed up on the 5th floor this afternoon and the receptionist said that "he was no longer with them". Not really the best of words for someone to use in a hospital if you know what I mean!! However, Reed had been moved to the 6th floor which is the last floor he will be on before he goes home. Praise God!
The 6th floor is where Ryan and I will 'room in' with him to show that we know how to take care of all his meds. This will not happen though till next week sometime since his only medicine is through an IV right now.
His swallow study went well. He just has reflux which is actually much better than other possibilities. They are starting him on milk tonight and working him up slowly. Plesae continue to pray that he will feed well and keep it down.
Thank you guys so very much for all of your prayers. Ryan and I feel like totally different people this week. We are so thankful for the gift that God has given us, and we cannot wait to see what He has in store for Reed's life. His life has already been a great testament to God and his power!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
3 Days After Surgery
He looks better than he did yesterday! The yellow tube in his nose is a NJ tube which will be used to start his milk doses tonight. They want to do this to get his intestines going again and slowly work up to larger amounts of milk each hour. They did try to bottle feed him today and it went ok but not great. He does great with the sucking, but does it too quickly, and then he will spit it back up. They are going to do a swallow test on him tomorrow to see what is causing the reflux. This is totally normal with babies that have not been bottle feeding for a long time. Please pray that Reed will learn how to bottle feed and keep the milk down. 
The bandage on his neck is where a tube was taken out today. One less tube!!!
He is doing a good job coughing on his own which will help strengthen his lungs. They are very pleased that he does this himself instead of them having to suction his lungs out.
He got a little cold tonight so they put some heat lamps on him. Reed thought the light was too bright in his eyes so he decided to wear his KU hat since his UK hat has not arrived. Thanks Uncle Zach for my hat but I would really like a UK one!!!
Don't I look like such a big boy! I am already two and a half months old!!!
The bandage on his neck is where a tube was taken out today. One less tube!!!He is doing a good job coughing on his own which will help strengthen his lungs. They are very pleased that he does this himself instead of them having to suction his lungs out.
He got a little cold tonight so they put some heat lamps on him. Reed thought the light was too bright in his eyes so he decided to wear his KU hat since his UK hat has not arrived. Thanks Uncle Zach for my hat but I would really like a UK one!!! Don't I look like such a big boy! I am already two and a half months old!!!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Two Days After
Here is Reed intubated with the ventilator this morning. He was starting all of the breaths on his own so they were not worried about extubating him later today. The thing on his head measures the oxygen level going to his brain. 
Reed was wide awake from 11-3 today because they took him off of his pain meds so that he would be awake for the extubation. Those puppy dog eyes get ya...that is why he has so many girlfriends!
Reed practicing sitting up. We have to do this often so that he will start the healing process. The poor guy is going to be pretty sore from having his chest cavity opened up. 
Reed's mom without stress written all over her face :-) He had the sock on his hand because he loves to pull the tubes out of his nose!
I know that he may look bad to a lot of you but he looks a ton better to us!!! You can see some tubes coming out of his right side and they are connected to his heart to drain off excess blood from surgery. He kept looking at the blue tube above him and would not take his eyes off of it. I think he realizes that the University of Kentucky is blue and white and he already loves those colors!
I only put this Kansas hat on Reed while he was asleep so that he does not fall in love with blue and red even though Ryan will try his best! If you notice in this picture he is extubated and breathing on his own!!! Way to go Reed!!!
My friend, Emily, came to sing to Reed today. She volunteers at Vanderbilt and sings to children in the hospital. She is amazing.
About half way through this video, you will see Reed to start moving his right arm up and down "jammin" to her song!!!
Reed was wide awake from 11-3 today because they took him off of his pain meds so that he would be awake for the extubation. Those puppy dog eyes get ya...that is why he has so many girlfriends!
Reed practicing sitting up. We have to do this often so that he will start the healing process. The poor guy is going to be pretty sore from having his chest cavity opened up. Reed's mom without stress written all over her face :-) He had the sock on his hand because he loves to pull the tubes out of his nose! I know that he may look bad to a lot of you but he looks a ton better to us!!! You can see some tubes coming out of his right side and they are connected to his heart to drain off excess blood from surgery. He kept looking at the blue tube above him and would not take his eyes off of it. I think he realizes that the University of Kentucky is blue and white and he already loves those colors!I only put this Kansas hat on Reed while he was asleep so that he does not fall in love with blue and red even though Ryan will try his best! If you notice in this picture he is extubated and breathing on his own!!! Way to go Reed!!!
My friend, Emily, came to sing to Reed today. She volunteers at Vanderbilt and sings to children in the hospital. She is amazing.About half way through this video, you will see Reed to start moving his right arm up and down "jammin" to her song!!!
Picture Catch Up
Two Days Before Surgery (Saturday, January 17)
You can see how jaundice little Reed was getting. It was time for a new heart! Don't you think he is going to be a little "baller" with those big hands!
One Day Before Surgery (Sunday, January 18)
Braden was really sad to think about his brother going in for surgery even though we didn't know it yet. 
Then Braden quickly remembered that Reed was going to get his new heart the next day!
The Day of Surgery (Monday, January 19)
This picture was me having a little talk with Reed telling him that he was finally getting a new heart!!!
Last picture of our family with the "old Reed" 
Kisses with our little fighter!
Graphic Pictures Below!!!! 
Reed is still doing great. I am about to leave to go visit him. I will update later with pictures from yesterday and today. Please pray that his extubation will go smooth this afternoon. This is the tube that is in his mouth helping him breath. They are giving him some medicine this morning to help him get some more of the fluid off his chest before they remove the tube. Please pray that he continues to do really well and that each day he keeps improving! Love, Keeley and Ryan
You can see how jaundice little Reed was getting. It was time for a new heart! Don't you think he is going to be a little "baller" with those big hands!
One Day Before Surgery (Sunday, January 18)Braden was really sad to think about his brother going in for surgery even though we didn't know it yet. 
Then Braden quickly remembered that Reed was going to get his new heart the next day!
The Day of Surgery (Monday, January 19)
This picture was me having a little talk with Reed telling him that he was finally getting a new heart!!!
Last picture of our family with the "old Reed" 
Kisses with our little fighter!
Graphic Pictures Below!!!! If you have a weak stomach then you might want to skip this part! Here is a picture of Reed cut open waiting for his new heart. Yes, we had to sign papers in order for the nurse to take pictures. She said that she had never had that request before.
All ofthe wires are the heart bypass machine that was connected to his heart.
Reed's old heart
Reed's new heart!!!! How many people will actually have a picture of their two hearts that they had during their life....Reed will!
This picture is bitter sweet though because I cannot look at this picture without thinking of the family that gave us this incredible gift. Please continue to keep them in your prayers too!
Reed right after surgery. His coloring was already a ton better. Look at the cool scar that he is going to have and not remember one thing about the day he got it! 
Reed is still doing great. I am about to leave to go visit him. I will update later with pictures from yesterday and today. Please pray that his extubation will go smooth this afternoon. This is the tube that is in his mouth helping him breath. They are giving him some medicine this morning to help him get some more of the fluid off his chest before they remove the tube. Please pray that he continues to do really well and that each day he keeps improving! Love, Keeley and Ryan
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Day 1 after Surgery
The surgery was successful! Dr. Bischell came out after it was over and said that he would give the whole process an A+!!!
Last night, or should I say this morning, we finally got to see Reed around 2 am. It took them a while to get all of his new tubes set up and for some of the bleeding to quit. The bleeding was expected because he was given medicine during the surgery so that his blood would not clot. Once they got him settled, we got to see our sweet boy. He looked great even with all the tubes on him. The coolest part was seeing how easily his chest was moving up and down while he was breathing with his new heart. Before surgery, his old heart had to work so hard to help him breathe and you could see his chest make hard contractions to help breathe.
I will update later today with pictures.
Ryan even asked if we could get a picture of Reed's old heart. We had to sign some papers and they took a picture of his heart sitting in his chest before they removed it, his old heart removed and a picture of his brand new heart before it was put in his chest...pretty cool!
I have not been up this morning but Ryan said that the doctors just made rounds and that he is doing great! Please continue to lift Reed and his doctors up in prayers. Pray that Reed's body will not reject this new heart and that he will thrive and doing great with his new plumbing!!! Ryan and I cannot express to you how grateful we are for all the prayers you have lifted up and how great our God is!
Last night, or should I say this morning, we finally got to see Reed around 2 am. It took them a while to get all of his new tubes set up and for some of the bleeding to quit. The bleeding was expected because he was given medicine during the surgery so that his blood would not clot. Once they got him settled, we got to see our sweet boy. He looked great even with all the tubes on him. The coolest part was seeing how easily his chest was moving up and down while he was breathing with his new heart. Before surgery, his old heart had to work so hard to help him breathe and you could see his chest make hard contractions to help breathe.
I will update later today with pictures.
Ryan even asked if we could get a picture of Reed's old heart. We had to sign some papers and they took a picture of his heart sitting in his chest before they removed it, his old heart removed and a picture of his brand new heart before it was put in his chest...pretty cool!
I have not been up this morning but Ryan said that the doctors just made rounds and that he is doing great! Please continue to lift Reed and his doctors up in prayers. Pray that Reed's body will not reject this new heart and that he will thrive and doing great with his new plumbing!!! Ryan and I cannot express to you how grateful we are for all the prayers you have lifted up and how great our God is!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Surgery Update
I just got off the phone with the head nurse and Reed is doing well. His new heart is BEATING and he is already off the heart bypass machine! God is so good!!!! Please continue to lift up the performing surgeon and all the other people working on our sweet little boy. They said it would still be another hour and a half to two hours for the surgery to be complete. Thank you again for all the prayers! Love, Keeley and Ryan
I Have a Dream!!!!
And my dream would be that Reed would get a new heart and .....WE HAVE A HEART!!!!!! I got the phone call around noon today from Dr. Dodd telling us that they have a heart donor for Reed. Words cannot begin to explain the sheer excitement at that moment. We are waiting at the hospital for Reed to be taken to surgery which will be around 5:00. We think that the surgery will be about 5-6 hours long. The team of doctors have left for Kentucky to get Reed's new heart. Please pray for the precious family that has made this incredible sacrifice so that our boy has a chance at life.
Please be praying for the following:
His health
Surgery to remove & transport heart
Surgery to implant his new heart
His body to accept and grow
Family Giving us this Gift! In all my excitement, I can't help but think of the loss they are dealing with.
God Is Good!
68 Days!!!! His Heart Is Here! Thank you for your prayers!
Love, Ryan and Keeley White
Please be praying for the following:
His health
Surgery to remove & transport heart
Surgery to implant his new heart
His body to accept and grow
Family Giving us this Gift! In all my excitement, I can't help but think of the loss they are dealing with.
God Is Good!
68 Days!!!! His Heart Is Here! Thank you for your prayers!
Love, Ryan and Keeley White
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Week 9
This week has been good so far for Reed and Braden. Nothing new to report on either of the boys. Still just patiently waiting and hanging in there!
One thing that is pretty neat is that Braden seems to sleep much better when he is with Reed even though there are a ton of noises going off from monitors in Reed's room. I know that they have to miss each other after having spent a cramped 9 months together!
You may notice how Reed seems to have a nice tan in most of these pictures. His nutrients that he gets through an IV actually cause him to be kind of jaundice. I think that I need to be hooked up to one of these bags in the winter! 
Here is sweet Maggie holding Braden at church this past Sunday. Maggie was one of the flower girls in our wedding 3 years ago. She is going to be a great babysitter! 
Thanks Natalie for coming to visit Reed. Reed and Braden cannot wait to have a playmate in 6 weeks. It is going to be hard keeping Braden and Brady straight!!!
Beth and Christy are some of the great nurses that take care of Reed. These girls are not only nurses for Reed but seem to be part time babysitters for Braden when I bring him to the hospital! I cannot express my gratitude to all these ladies for caring for my child when I am not there. They love on Reed and Braden so much, and Ryan and I are so very thankful for the nurses like Christy, Beth, Jessie, Judy, Grace, Kim, Allison and Anna.
Mom's favorite pictures from this week: 
Aunt Tina came to visit the boys this week. Of course the cute Polo outfit is from her. She is going to keep our boys up to date with the cute clothes! 
Our boys celebrated their two month birthday yesterday in their birthday suits! 
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Week 8
I know that a lot of people check this blog regularly and some more than one time a day so I figure the more pictures the better!! I absolutely love when people tell me that they check this all the time. Ryan and I are so thankful for all of you that are praying for us during this time.
We continue to wait for Reed's heart and are so VERYgrateful that he is still healthy and growing strong. Our constant prayer is that Reed's heart will come soon and that he will remain healthy while he waits!!
Our boys are getting so big and so long. It is amazing how much they have grown since they were 5 pounds at birth.
These boys already having daddy wrapped around their fingers. I can already tell that I am going to be the rule enforcer and dad will be the fun one:-)
However, there was a big first yesterday with Reed.....Reed SMILED at me!!!!! I was so glad that there were 4 other people in the room when I was talking to Reed to witness that he smiled at me. He not only smiled once but several times. When I called Ryan, he could not believe that I got him to smile before he did! (You cannot tell in the pics below because it was too hard to snap the picture when he smiled)
Here is one of Reed's new things that he likes to look at. Who knew that black and white could be so stimulating! 
Braden has really starting to show his little personality here in the last week too. He loves to "talk" to you and smile, sometimes even in his sleep. 
We continue to wait for Reed's heart and are so VERYgrateful that he is still healthy and growing strong. Our constant prayer is that Reed's heart will come soon and that he will remain healthy while he waits!!
Our boys are getting so big and so long. It is amazing how much they have grown since they were 5 pounds at birth.
These boys already having daddy wrapped around their fingers. I can already tell that I am going to be the rule enforcer and dad will be the fun one:-)However, there was a big first yesterday with Reed.....Reed SMILED at me!!!!! I was so glad that there were 4 other people in the room when I was talking to Reed to witness that he smiled at me. He not only smiled once but several times. When I called Ryan, he could not believe that I got him to smile before he did! (You cannot tell in the pics below because it was too hard to snap the picture when he smiled)Here is one of Reed's new things that he likes to look at. Who knew that black and white could be so stimulating! Braden has really starting to show his little personality here in the last week too. He loves to "talk" to you and smile, sometimes even in his sleep. Reed's Thoughts:
1) Are those nurses coming in here to mess with me again?!? 
2) Ummm, that sugar water they just gave me was great. 
2) Ummm, that sugar water they just gave me was great. 3) That sugar water did not keep me from hurting when the nurse pulled off a bandage from my arm! 
Mom's favorite pictures from yesterday of Reed and Braden:
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