Teagan James Stewart

2011-04-22T12:39:00.000-06:00

Wow! Where do I start? Lets start with Teagan’s big appointment he had at primaries in March. We took him in for is routine check up. They always tell you to expect the worse when you go in, so I got myself all nervous thinking of everything that could be wrong. We took him in had an echo done and then met with the Dr. Well she surprised me and Bryson both. She came in with a big smile on her face with the fellow Cardiologist behind her. They told us that Teag’s is the Best Hypo Plastic baby they have ever seen. They also told us that Teagan’s valve that was leaking from the time of birth had healed its self all the way. They were shocked and amazed. At that point that told us we could take him off the rest of his heart meds. You can’t imagine how happy I was, nervous but happy. Our little man has once again amazed all around him, we love him and couldn’t be prouder. We talked to his Dr. and asked lots of questions, she helped us understand the road ahead. As long as things keep going as good as they have been, it could be a couple of years until his next surgery. So we are going to enjoy every minute until then.

Now lets talk about his life at home. Teagan was did not want to learn to walk, but if you put him up against a baby that walked and had them race Teagan would win. He crawled as fast as most kids could run. But finally on his 17 month birthday he surprised us all. We were sitting as a family watching a movie, the next thing we know Teagan stands up in the middle of the floor and walks across the room. We couldn’t believe it. From there he has gained so much balance and I think he feels like a big kid now. He is no longer a baby. He has finally stopped getting ear infections, and stayed healthy for the most part. He is talking up a storm , He loves to copy what we say. And yes he has a little of his dads humor. He loves to tease Emma.

Last week we took a trip as a family to St. George. Having Teagan walking made it so much fun. He is a little energizer bunny. He loves the water, and he loves climbing on the red cliffs getting dirty. He also learned a new song from Grandpa Doug “Stuck like glue” It was hilarious. He loves to play and sing and entertain anyone who will watch. Oh and he thinks he taught himself karate , He’s got some good moves going. We are so happy with him and how strong he is. He isn’t letting his little slow him down one bit. Thanks for all of your support. We love you all.

An Amazing Year!

2011-01-01T10:04:00.001-07:00

Wow! So it's been along time since I have posted, but no news is good news.

As I look back at the year, all I can think of if how amazing it has been. Yes we have gone through our trials, but they have only made us stronger. We look at it and think it could have been alot worse. I have a wonderful, healthy family and that is all I can ask for. In the last year have learned to stop and enjoy the moments. With Bryson being laid off for 8 months it, you would think that it was a little stressful and yes it was thinking about the finances. But we have realized what a blessing it was , I mean what dad gets to take off 8 months of work and spend every waking moment of it enjoying his children. Spending preciouse time with his little boy who at that time we didn't know if it would be our only time with him. To look back there wouldn't look back with any regrets. And when I say he spent every minute with his kids he did, weather it be making sledding hills, buildings bug houses, camping, fishing, or even cuddling watching movies. They did everything together, he is an amazing dad. I am very lucky to have him. Anyway enough bragging about my husband.

Teagan is doing very well , as I always say the doctors are always amazed at what he is doing and how well he is doing it. In the last couple months we have taken a couple of trips to PCMC (just check ups) and we have been able to meet up with some of his nurses. Its been fun to be able to show them Teag's and what he has become. They are such wonderful people, they have saved so many of our little ones lives. So if they are reading this, THANK YOU.Thank you to everyone who has helped us through this year, you are all amazing and we love you very much.

As you can see in this picture Teagan and his dad have alot of fun teasing the camera. He Don't they look handsome!

Emma and Teagan have such a special bond, its alot of fun to watch.

I catch them giving each other kisses all the time, and when I look back in the car they are always holding hands.

Last time I posted it was on Teags birthday so I didn't have any pictures yet, so here they are.

He had a sports themed party and it was alot of fun. He has quite the sweet tooth.

CELEBRATING!

2010-10-08T22:17:00.000-06:00

I know we haven’t updated for a while, but life has been a little crazy. But we are excited to announce that Teagan has turned “1” today, I can’t even believe it. This whole last week I have been kind of emotional thinking about writing this. I keep thinking all of the blessings and miracles we have been given in the last year, and I just want to cry. To look back and think about all that my little guy has gone through is overwhelming. I am so excited to move on and have a year of hopefully no Dr.’s other than well visits. The Dr.’s have told us that with how good Teagan is looking and doing , he will have at least a year until his next surgery. We were very excited about that. We are hoping to go on with a normal life for a while. We are so excited to see him cross this mile stone, and can’t wait to see him cross more. So I was all excited to have a big BBQ with family this Saturday for his Birthday, had invitations made and all. But then of course Monday Teagan started throwing up and didn’t stop, so I took him to the dr. they tested him and it came back positive that he had influenza B. Ya that was a lot of fun this week, but they also told me that he would be contagious until Saturday. Needless to say the party has been put off for a little while. His official birthday is today, but Teagan wasn’t feeling to hot so we are waiting until tomorrow to do our little family party and give him his own cake. He will love it, and he will never now we had to put if off a day. We did give him his big present today, we couldn’t wait. It was a large dinosaur that he can ride and play with. He loved it. I am posting a picture of him playing on it today. I forgot he will have a little hospital visit on November 2nd , He is going in to get tubes put in and get a circumcision. He’s not going to be very exited, but it needs to be done ( he will thank us later).

Development wise Teagan is doing very well. He has started pulling himself up and tries walking around furniture. They said it is normal for a baby who has had a past like his, to take a while to gain the muscles to walk. I am ok with this, its one less thing that will help him get into things.

Now that we have made it through the first year, we feel like we can make it through anything as a family. Thanks for all of the love and support that you all have shown us. We love and appreciate your friendship. Hope all is well with all of you. Our Birthday wish is that all of us can have an uneventful year, filled with love and happiness.

Love, Amanda

Rough Week!

2010-08-05T22:43:00.000-06:00

( This picture is of him after he heard he got to go home.)

So it's been a rough week. Last Thursday Bryson's little brother Brandt got married, and on the way home we realized Teags had a fever. So I called and got an appointment, so we stopped on our way home. They told us he had a double ear infection, we got him on an med. and didn't think else of it. On Saturday he started having fevers again and by 4 in the morning he had a fever of 104.8. So we did the usual and gave him tylenol and put him in a cool bath. For 2 days if we let the meds run past 4 hours in between it would go back up to 104. Monday morning we made another appointment to see why he was getting better. We went in and they told us his infection was gone, at that point they did blood work and found out that his white blood cells were high. From there they sent us to primaries, that is when me and Teags had a good ten hour mommy son session. They did blood work again urine samples and x-rays of his chest and stomach. Everything came back negative except the urine said that there was some bacteria, so they put him on an IV with antibiotics. At 10:30 that evening they sent us home and said they would get the cultures back with in 24 hours. Well 2 days went by and no news, the fevers were gone and he was acting normal. Wednesday night we received a call at 11:30 pm. It was the ER Dr. he asked if Teagan had a fever that night and asked how he was feeling. I told him he was doing great and I felt he was a healthy again. At that point he told me they had just received the results and Teagan tested positive for a bacterial infection in his blood. He said where he hadn't had a fever that night that I could just bring him in in the morning for more blood work and another IV of antibiotics. So 1st thing this morning I took him in . The Dr. walked in and was shocked that he was doing so good. He made a game plan, he wanted to do more blood cultures and watch him for a good hour to see how he was acting and feeling. After watching him they feel that it was a false positive on the culture. He told me that if he really had that bad of an infection he wouldn't be doing as well as he is. That made me feel a little better. So now we are hoping that we don't get another call from the ER Dr. , no new is good news! Now we are excited to have a nice quiet day off tomorrow, just spending time at home.

These are just a few of the Pictures from the wedding.

Eating Rasberry's and Crawling!

2010-07-25T13:48:00.000-06:00

As you can tell from his messy face, Teag loves being out with us crawling around the grass and eating raspberry's! He is doing so good, it is hard to stop him when he wants something. He is getting good at going over legs, pillows, anything in his way. He also went out on the swing for the 1st time, as you can see from the pics he loved that too. All in all we are having a fun summer, just need to get rid of the pink eye that is making the rounds for the 2nd time!

Summer Fun!

2010-07-09T23:53:00.000-06:00

Sorry it has been a while since our last update! We have been having fun this summer as a family, lots of fishing trips and swimming at the lake, Teag has loved it. He is doing so good, he is gaining weight and growing like he should. He loves being outside, watching the girls and anything else that moves. When we go up fishing he loves to watch the fish when we catch them, he does all he can to get his hands on them.
As far as his heart goes we have only had 1 follow up since his 2nd surgery and they were very pleased so we really don't think about it. We just enjoy having him and watching him smile, he seems to brighten up everyones moods. Thank you all for you love and support for Teag, we will continue to keep you posted.

Little Warrior!

2010-05-23T08:32:00.001-06:00

This last Friday we had the opportunity to go up to Weber High for their final assembly to thank them for all of the money they raised for Teagan during Quarters for Cans. It was so much fun to introduce him to them, they had us come down to the stage where we introduced Teagan and presented them a plaque Amanda made for them. They were so respectful, they gave him a standing ovation for a few minutes. The plaque we gave them included this picture in an 8x10 and this shirt he is wearing in the picture below. Amanda bought 2 shirts and her and our friend Audrey Rogers embroidered them with the "Little Warrior", he looked like a little stud.

From there we went to his big follow up appointment at Primary's to see how his heart is doing, we are so happy to say that after looking at his echo they decided to take him off 2 of his heart meds! They said he is doing better than they expected, they are very pleased. We know it is because of all of the prayers of faith that are offered on his behalf, we love and thank you for them. They had to sedate him for the echo, he wanted to grab everything that came close to him. He had everyone laughing, he is such a happy little kid.

Anyway, thanks again to all of you Weber Warriors, and thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers!

7 Months!

2010-05-10T23:55:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that little man turned 7 months old on the 8th, time is flying by. He is doing so good, we just got him going on solids and he LOVES it. He even eats the peas! As you can see from the pics below we just got back from a vacation to southern Utah, it was so nice to get away. We spent a lot of time at the pool, Teag loved watching his sisters swim and even joined them a couple times. He is so happy and excited to see them, he loves to watch those girls.

We have also had him out to church a few times, we love to let him meet all of you who fasted for him that first weekend he was alive, it feels like he knows you when he see's you. We still talk about how much everyone has done for us through all of this, in fact we were able to use the money we saved from the secret santa to help pay for our vacation, it was like a late Christmas gift. :) So thank you!

Anyway, we just wanted to give an update on Teagan, he is doing as good as ever!

Doing good!

2010-04-25T00:55:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since we have posted, sorry! Time flies, we don't realize how long it has been. Teagan is doing great. He is as happy as can be and getting stronger everyday. He is rolling over to grab things, likes his belly time, and loves taking baths with Emma. He is developing so good, sometimes we forget he has had 2 heart surgeries.

We will try to be better about this, we know there are kids born with this condition every day and Teagan is such an inspiration to so many parents facing this future. We love him and want to let you know he is as strong as ever!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-05T21:53:00.000-06:00

Teagans 1st time getting to go see Great-Grandma Jennie.

Teagan had his 1st Easter and he loved it. He obviously didn't care about the candy but he did enjoy playing with the empty eggs. We were able to take him over to play with all of his cousins and have a Easter egg hunt, it was alot of fun. As you can see he looks quite handsome in his easter outfit. He loves chewing and sucking on his tie.
It's nice to have the last 6 months behind us. Now hopefully we will have a couple years, hospital free. We will be going in again in the next couple of weeks for his check up and an echo to check on his heart function. There is no reason to believe that they will find anything, thank goodness. We hope you all had a good Easter, and we hope the weather will start getting warmer so that we can start having bbq's and and have everyone come and meet Teags.

Sitting up!

2010-03-22T21:01:00.000-06:00

Little man is doing so good. He is all the way off his oxygen and his levels are staying high, it is nice to have a wireless boy! :) Here are a few pics from the park, he loves being out on sunny days

ENJOYING LIFE!

2010-03-16T13:20:00.000-06:00

Little man is doing so good! He is doing a little better each day, we are so proud of him. Last week we had a little scare, Amanda gave him his meds a few minutes early and went upstairs. I was in sitting with him and his med alarm went off so I gave him his meds...again. As I was heading out the door to go mop some floors at the church I told Amanda not to worry about his meds, I had taken care of it (just trying to be useful :)) Needless to say we were on the phone with poison control right away, they told Amanda that because he had a blood pressure med and a heart med that he needed to be taken to the ER immediately! AHH! They told us to get him to the nearest one and that they would "stabilize" him and transport him to Primary's. Not what we wanted to hear. So we got in the car and started driving and trying every way we could to get a hold of someone at Primary's for a 2nd opinion. We were able to get a hold of the Gardner’s, the parents of the Teagan, who were still down there. They got their nurse who gave us the pager number of one of the cardio nurses - called that number and she quickly called us back. She was standing next to one of the cardio docs, so we told them what had happened and they said that they though he would be fine but to bring him down there to monitor his blood pressure. We were so relieved to hear that, so we took him down where they monitored him for a hour and released us. They actually told us that he was on a low enough dose that is could have been doubled if needed - we kind of chuckled, that would have been nice to know! But I was so proud of Amanda, she was so calm and collected through it, what a mom.

Above - Eating his breathing tube. He loves to pull it out of his nose when we aren't looking and put it in his mouth!

Teag and his new cousin Olivia (Nick and Jennifer's baby girl)

He loves sitting up, and he loves his girlfriend Loren! He is holding his head up really good and loves sitting up with a little help

Outside Time!

2010-03-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to some great weather Teagan was able to make it outside to watch his sisters play! He is doing so good, we are very happy. He is also talking a lot and rolling onto his side, he is so much fun to have around.

We want to thank everyone who has continued to help our family, we love and appreciate you and like we have said before, we will always be indebted to you. Here are a few pics of buddy boy!

Here he is talking away!

Side time...he loves being on his sides

Bath time!

2010-02-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

Teagan got his 1st real bath since surgery tonight, he loved it! He is doing great!

Getting back to normal!

2010-02-24T10:31:00.001-07:00

So we have been home since sunday afternoon and it has been wonderful. We are finally getting everything back to normal. Teagan is trying to get back on his schedule, he is doing so good. He is so patient with us, in the mornings he has to take 5 medications, he doesn't even try to spit them out anymore. He is smiling and trying to laugh at his sisters. We can tell that he really misses playing on his back, the Dr. told us not to let him have back or belly time for at least a week. So every time I go to change his diaper he starts kicking his legs and smiling, that was his favorit passing time before the surgery. But no worries he will be able to do it again sooner that later. He is eating and gaining weight just like the Dr. are wanting him to do. You really can't tell that he had surgery a week ago if you can't see his scar. He is healing so good. I thought he would need alot of pain meds. but all we are giving him is tylenol, which is pretty low key. He is still my little cuddler, every moring after the girls go to school me and him have cuddle time, where I rock him to sleep for his morning nap. It's wonderful. Thanks again for all you thoughts ad prayers, they have truley helped with his healing process.

Home Sweet Home...

2010-02-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

We're home! Oh it is so nice to be home again, we are so happy to be here. They came in this morning and said he is doing very good and that they were ready to release us today, music to our ears! We are so grateful for the good care he received and his speedy recovery, it is nice to have all of this behind us.
We want to thank our friend we have met down at the hospital, there are some amazing families and little heroes down there. Best wishes to the to Teagan Gardner and Alex Diaz, our prayers and with you guys! We look up to and admire you and know all will work out the way it should.

Keeping us on our toes...

2010-02-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Teag is doing good, but had a little scare last night. His oxygen levels went to 72-73 (he was in the mid 80's)and wouldn't come up even after they doubled his oxygen intake. On top of that his voice has not been coming back and at times it seems he is having a tough time breathing. They came in and sucked out his airways and that helped, but it is so stressful when anything goes wrong. He is doing better, is O2 isn't great but it is back up around 75-78, hopefully it stays there. He is becoming more and more active every day, he loves pulling his tubes off. We have his hands and feet wrapped up, it will be nice when he can chew on them again! Anyway, he is doing good, just going a little slower than we would like. Thank you for all your prayers!

Tubeless...

2010-02-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Awe the difference 2 days makes...little man is doing so good, we are so proud of him. They pulled the final tube today and he is doing great, now they are doing his echo before they release him upstairs. We were so happy to see Titus come in to do the echo, he is the one who basically saved Teagan when he had NEC. He is a good man. You can see the pic of the safety pin, Teagan is grabbing everything he can, they say he is very active and full of energy, that's what we like to hear!

In our arms!

2010-02-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

We finally got to hold him! It feels so good to be able to hold and comfort him, he is doing really good.

Day 2

2010-02-17T11:59:00.001-07:00

So things are going very good, but it is also very hard. He is coming off his pain meds and it is SO hard to watch him struggle and not be able to hold and comfort him. We yern to cuddle him and help him feel better, it is hard to stand and watch. He is such a strong little man, what a powerful example our 4 month old is to us.

From a recovery standpoint he is doing very good, he is recovering quickly. He is eating great and getting his voice back, it is nice to hear his cry. Yesterday after the pulled his breathing tube his pipes were pretty swollen, when he would try to cry he would turn blue and fight for air. Today he is a lot better, and his cardiologist is very pleased with his progress.
We are so grateful for the medical care he is getting, what a blessing it is to have these amazing nurses and doctors by his side 24-7.

This is right after surgery

Day 2, eating very good!

We're here!

2010-02-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

We are here with a hungry little man! Amanda got up at 3 and fed Teag, I didn't fall alseep until 2 so I slept in until 4. We stayed up and packed, we were to tired last night. We got to the hospital at 6 and as you can see, Teagan was hungry! he was trying to eat his hands, his hospital robe, the nurses hands, my face, anything! He was so cute and happy, we were glad he didn't get to fussy. They took all his vitals, we signed all the consent forms and off he went. It is soooo hard to watch them take him, but we know he is in good hands. They took him back at 7:30, at 10 they said they had made the insision and had cut through the scar tissue. At 11 they told us he was on the by-pass machine and doing very good and at noon they called and said they were finished! They are still pulling out lines and closing him up, but the procedure went very good. We are so proud of him...they said he will have a headache for a few days, but we can deal with that.

Twas the night before...

2010-02-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

Surgery and all through the house...okay a little much :) The girls all wanted to take turns feeding him before he leaves for a week, they don't quite understand everything but the will miss their little brother!

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN

2010-02-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

So I have told that I need to up date a little more often to let everyone know what’s going on. So here I go! We are just preparing ourselves as much as we can for Tuesday. That is when Teagan will be going back in for his Glenn which is another open heart surgery. It's starting to hit me a little harder each day as it gets closer. We've been down this road before but it’s a little different now. This is my little boy that I have grown to know and love. It's going to be the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life, to hand him to the Dr. and let them take him. He is so strong and healthy I wish I could just protect him so that he could stay that way with out the surgery. But I know in order for him to continue being healthy that this surgery is necessary.

It’s just me wishing I had the power to skip over this next step. The Doctors have told us that he will be in the surgery for 6-8 hours. But they also said that because he is so big and healthy that he should recover a lot fast than last time. So we are expecting to be down at primaries 8-14 days. It's going to be hard to be away from my girls, but I know that they will be taken care of and be having lots of fun. So once again thank you everyone for helping me and my family get through this, it’s through your thoughts and prayers that we are able to be so strong. We will be updating this more often now with all the details of what’s going on.

Love Amanda

2010-02-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Wanted to update with a few pics of the little man. I am not sure how to do it all in one so there are like 6 posts. :) Anyway, he is doing really good, getting stronger every day!!

2010-02-07T15:37:00.002-07:00

2010-02-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

2010-02-07T15:30:00.002-07:00

2010-02-07T15:22:00.002-07:00

2010-02-07T15:19:00.002-07:00

2010-02-07T15:15:00.002-07:00

2010-01-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

So we recieved a good report from the doctor. She was very pleased with what she was able to see on the reports from the cath . So she passed him through to be scheduled for his surgery, we will be going down to primaries on February 15th to do all of the preparations for the surgery and on the 16th they will do the surgery. They have told us that this next surgery won't be as hard on him as the first one was. They say that he will be in the hospital from 8 to 14 days just depending on how his body recovers.

So as a family we are enjoying every minute we can while he is strong and healthy. As you can see in this picture Teagan loves to smile and is getting so strong, he loves to sit in his bumbo and watch everything around him. He loves his sisters, every time they walk in the room he gets a big grin on his face. They love dancing and singing for him to see his reaction .It is so fun to see the bond that is growing between each one of them.

Once again we would like to thank each one of you for your love and support you show to us each day.

Love, Amanda

2010-01-18T22:50:00.003-07:00

Well it is the end of the day, Teagan has come through strong. They tried running the cath up both groin veins but they were clotted off, so they had to go through his neck. He did really good, they told us they have never seen such healthy pulmonary arteries in a heart baby. He is strong! They were going to let us leave at 4:30 but we wanted to stay until his oxygen levels stayed above 75%. To get them there they had to do a transfusion with about 2 oz of blood, his red cell levels were a little low were low so they added some and he is doing a lot better. We should be out of here in the morning, we will see how tonight goes.
Sorry if this Post seems random, I am doing it from my I touch and these keys are hard to hit! Anyway, we only got a couple hours of sleep so we are going to bed, but we wanted to let anyone wondering that he did great. Good night!

2010-01-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Wanted to update on Teagan. Over the last few weeks his oxygen has gone from the mid 80's to 76-78. Because it has dropped they are going to do his 2nd open heart surgery a little sooner than they hoped, they are thinking 5 weeks out, if not sooner. We are taking him down this Monday to have his veins tested, they need to make sure they are strong enough to handle the next surgery. To do this they sedate him and run a line through a vein in his groin up to his heart and test to make sure they can handle the pressure. His cardiologist told us that she has no reason to believe he won't handle it, we will keep our fingers crossed. She also told us she has never seen a heart baby gain so much weight, they are very pleased with his progress that way.

The second surgery is called the Bidirectional Glenn Shunt, we have been told that it is much easier on them than the 1st surgery. We will be in the hospital anywhere from 6-14 days rather than the month we were in the 1st time.

He is such a happy little guy, his smile always lights up the room. We are so grateful for all he has taught us, what a strong little man.

By the way, we also wanted to thank Weber High School for the donation they gave Teagan, and everyone who donated to their project W.I.S.H. What an amazing high school and community, we are so grateful to be where we are. Thank you, we love and appreciate all you do.
Love,
The Stewart's

2010-01-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

2010-01-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Wanted to give an update on little man. We have had a crazy month, we have had strep, the croup, throw up flu, nasty head colds, you name it! But we are getting better, we love good health. Fortunately Teagan stayed healthy through it all, but keeping him that way was a chore. We had to keep him isolated in his room, easier said than done. But we figured it was a lot less hassle than being at Primary's, so we will take it. At the end of the year I was laid off from NovaQuest, so I have had a lot of time to help. We have to laugh and say that we are flattered by all the confidence the Lord has in us, it seems to be piling on! But this to shall pass, and the lessons we are learning will never be forgotten (and hopefully never re-lived:)...)

Last night was an all-nighter between Amanda and I, Teagan had a rough time. We got him to the doc today and found out he has an ear infection, as funny as it sounds we were relieved that is all it is. We were ready to take him to Primary's, he wouldn't eat and was very fussy. But he is on an antibiotic, hopefully the nights go a lot better.

I am just thankful for an amazing wife, she has meniere's disease, basically it causes dizziness and nasty headaches among other things. But she is so good, takes amazing care of the girls and Teagan, I can't imagine going through this with anyone else.

2010-01-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

He had to wear a harness to monitor his heart arrhythmia for 24 hrs. His heart skips beats, sometimes frequent and other times not, but they wanted to watch it to see if it is of concern. We will see what they found out tomorrow, but so far they said it doesn't appear to be a threat.

2009-12-26T20:39:00.004-07:00

Here are a few pics of Teagan smiling, he has so much personality! I took this while we watched the Lakers get demolished by the Caveliers, it brought a smile to both of our faces!

2009-12-26T20:29:00.003-07:00

2009-12-26T20:22:00.004-07:00

2009-12-25T22:55:00.002-07:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! We hope that all of you are having a wonderful Holiday Season, I know we are. Even though we have been stuck to our house for the last little while, I feel this has been and will be our best Christmas ever, and I'm not talking about presents. So many of you have shown us the true meaning of Christmas. I just have to mention a few of our experiences this last week. As you know we have had sickness in our home, but we still managed to get our family put together so that we could get our family pictures taken for our cards. Thanks to my brother-in-law Nick Marriott we were able to get them taken without even exposing Teagan to germs. I was so excited to go home and make them, but that night my girls became sick with strep so me and Teag’s had to lock ourselves up stairs away from the sickness. I just figured we wouldn't get them out this year, but I was talking to our friend Angie Ericksen and she offered to make them for me. It was wonderful we, e-mailed the pictures and an hour later they were done. They were just was I would have done to the T. I know that we have mentioned that someone was doing the 12 days of Christmas on our last post, but I just wanted to mention how wonderful it was. Every night they would bring a new activity for the girls to do, it was so nice because it took their mind off of not being able to go outside. Thank you so much.

Last night Bryson and I watched "It’s a Wonderful Life". When it got to the end where the people from the town surrounded them and donated money to them me and Bryson both began to cry. This movie has never touched us so much, as we watched it, it hit home how much everyone around is doing the same for us. We have had cards in the mail and on our porch with money from unknown families. We have even had people drop a big box of food on our porch and an envelope with money. We don't know how to thank all of you, or even find out who you are to repay the favor someday. Last night we also had a friend of ours, Melissa Chambers, show up at our house. She told us that she put us in for a photo shoot give away, and that we were nominated. We don't know all the details yet but she did tell us that they are going to give us a very nice family photo shoot. I can't wait, I have always wanted a big family picture to put above my fire place. So thank you Melissa that was very thoughtful. These are just a few of the things acts of kindness that have been done for our family. I thank you all with from the bottom of my heart.

As for Teagan he is doing really good. He is gaining weight like crazy, he now weighs 9.14 , the doctors are very impressed. He is so happy and always full of smiles. We did have a little scare last week, his leg would turn purple and swell up. We took him and had an ultra sound done and they weren't able to find anything wrong. They had thought that it could have been a micro blood clot , but they didn't find anything - thank goodness. Since then we elevate his leg when it starts to swell so that the blood will circulate easier. Nothing scary though. We are looking forward to his next appointment at PCMC on January 8th to see how his heart function is going. We will post pictures of him soon, he has a contagious smile!

Thank you again, we love and appreciate all of you more than you will ever know.

Love,

Amanda

THANK YOU!

2009-12-14T20:56:00.003-07:00

     Where to start. First, we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We cannot begin to express the gratitude we feel towards all who are doing such kind acts of service for our family. We want to thank the Pleasant View 7th ward for their very generous donation. I am hesitant to tell what they did because we don't want people thinking we are asking for help - I promise that has nothing to do with my intentions. I only want to give credit where credit is due. Channa Stewart (my sis-in-law) and Melissa Chambers (long-time friend) sent out a letter asking their ward, the Pleasant View 7th ward, if they would like to donate to a fund in lue of neighbor gifts this year. Well they did and collected a very generous amount of money that they brought to us last Saturday. We are putting it straight into a fund for Teagan to help pay for future medical bills, not one penny will be used for anything else. We don't even know these kind people, but they were willing to give money to help lift a heavy financial burden. We thank you and can only pray that the favor will be returned to you in the future. We love you and will do ANYTHING, ANYTIME for any of you.
     Next we would like to thank Miyagi-Do Karate, the greatest fantasy football league ever. Mac Erickson, Zack Thon, Reed Smith, Ryan Jones, Brandon Mason, Jason Hardee, Jeff Reed and Jeff Godfrey put together a Christmas fund and gave it to us on behalf of Teagan. When I got home I handed the envelope to Amanda and tried to tell her why there was so much money in it but I just broke down and cried. What an amazing group of guys, thank you.
     We also have someone doing the 12 days of Christmas for our family. They are so creative in all they have done, our family loves it. We found out today that Kaylee and Emma have strep throat, so Kaylee has been down for few days. It is so neat each night to see her start to get excited, they love waiting for the knock at the door. Emma screams every time she sees what they have left, then we all huddle together to see what they have given us. We don't know who is doing it but you need to know how much it has meant to our family.
     Last week we had a friend, Tiffany Olsen, drop off dinner and groceries, that was so kind and thoughtful of you. You have enough hungary boys to feed at home, let alone us! Thanks again to all who have brought us dinner, we will get even!
     We know that donating any money this time of year is difficult with Christmas coming, and we know there are people donating who are struggling financially, so it makes it so much more meaningful to us. We have never asked for a penny, everyone has done this on their own. This is the kind of stuff the news doesn't show enough, that there is so much good left in mankind. This time of year people dig so deep to help others in need, Christ-like love is everywhere.
     Off the subject, we want to let everyone know that Teagan is doing really good. He is gaining weight, now weighing 9lbs 5oz. He is a smiling machine, we love him so much. This week he has had to be in his room as the girls are sick and we can't let him around them. But we know that this to shall pass, we just need to keep our noses pointed forward!
     Thank you again so much, we love and appreciate all of you.

Love,
Bryson, Amanda and family

2009-12-09T22:45:00.001-07:00

No more feeding tube! Saturday night we talked about taking out the tube but decided to leave it in over night, well about 4 AM we went in to check on him because he was coughing a little and he had pulled the tape off and the tube all but 4 inches out! We pulled it the rest of the way out it has been out ever since. He is doing really well, he actually slept through the night until 7:30 AM before he woke up looking for food. They told us we can keep it out, so we will see how it goes.
He turned 2 months on Tuesday, time is flying by.
As you can see, this pic was obvously taken before the Jazz game tonight... :(

Yea! First Doctors Visit

2009-12-05T21:28:00.004-07:00

So yesterday was Teagans 1st doctor visit back at primaries with the cardiologist. It went really well, they had him go and have an x-ray done so that they could check out his heart. They said it looked great, and that they have no concerns at this time for him. They were also impressed that he is doing so good on the bottle. When the nurse weighed him on Tuesday he was at 8lb 4oz and there he was 8lb 8oz, which is really good.The Dr. told us with how well he is doing, that he may be able to wait til he is a little closer to 6 months for his next surgery. Which is really good, so that his body can get a little bigger and stronger. But it all depends on if his heart function stays as good as it is. So we are praying that he just keeps growing stronger and healthier. They also told us that we can try to give him bottles through the night, and if he does good doing that, we can take his feeding tube out. We are so excited because that thing has got to be uncomfortable.
Also if you can tell in the picture he is starting to hold his head up pretty good, and he looks like such a big boy. This is a picture of him and Bryson watching the Jazz game tonight. Its hard to believe he is going to be 2 months on Tuesday, it seems like yesterday that I had him.We couldn't imagine our lives without him.It has been such a blessing to have this little angel in our home. Thank You again to everyone, for helping us get through the hard times. We wouldn't be where we are today with out you.
Love, Amanda

Thank You!

2009-12-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight someone did something very kind for our family. We are hoping that who ever it was reads this blog, so that we can thank them for what they have done. We know that you will be blessed for what you have done. We just want you to know that this will not be soon forgotten, and one day we will do the same for another family in their time of need. Thank You again. We Love you all!

ALL SMILES!

2009-12-01T21:02:00.000-07:00

As you can see Teagan is learning to smile, and is getting lots of practice at it. Every time he finishes his bottles he just sits and smiles, it’s so cute.

     He has a lot to smile about today. His home nurse came today and weighed him and couldn't believe that he has gained 6 ounces since Friday. That is really good, when most heart babies start bottles they lose weight. But our little Teag’s isn't like most heart babies, he wants to stand his ground here on earth and isn't going to let anyone tell him how to do it. He had a rough couple of days, he was really fussy and it had us worried. So I took him to his dr. and they said he was looking good but to watch him closely for any signs of n.e.c. And he also told me to change what I am eating like no milk, tomatoes and beans, just to see if it helps his belly.
     So I was talking to a friend today and realized that I haven't expressed my feelings to all of you. So I just thought I would give you a little insight into what I am feeling. I know a lot of you probably think that this is really hard to sit in my house with not many visitors. But it isn't, This is actually a blessing in disguise.
     I don't even know how to explain the spirit I feel when I am holding, looking or even thinking about Teag’s. He has such a presence about him that makes me want to never leave his side. When I do leave him to go to the store or somewhere quick I can't get home fast enough, I crave him. So I don't want anyone to think I have it hard, just realize that this may be hard on me but at the same time it is very rewarding. And I wouldn't trade it for anything. I only wish I could share him with all of you, so that you to could feel the spirit I feel ever hour of every day.
     Thank you to all of you for all your love and support. I hope that his little smile will brighten you day, like it does mine.

Love,
Amanda

2009-11-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been a busy couple weeks. On Tuesday we were invited up to Weber High to tell the Student Body about Teagan and his journey so far (pic above). They are going to do the Quarters for Cans to raise money for him, what an amazing high school. Makes me proud to be a Warrior! We want them to know how much we love and appreciate each one of them. Every dime they raise for him will go to a fund to pay for any bills we have for him in the future. After my presentation they showed Amanda how it feels to be a Warrior, she is ready to jump off the Fremont wagon!! :)
As far as Teag's goes, as you see below he had his 1st bottle Thursday and has had many since! He is doing so good, we love him to death. He has taught us so much, Amanda and I fight (not really;)) about who gets to cuddle him, we are happy to have him home. I have put a bunch of pics in below, thank you to everyone who has been helping our family, we love all of you!
P.S. He let out a scream of joy when the COUGARS BEAT THE UTES, looks like he is a BYU fan!

2009-11-28T18:56:00.002-07:00

Kaylee and Emma holding his hands, they love to take care of him and make sure he is comfortable.

2009-11-28T18:53:00.002-07:00

2009-11-28T18:52:00.000-07:00

He got his 1st bottle! On Thanksgiving we were able to give him his 1st bottle and he chugged it! They told us that if he did not finish it in 20 minutes we would need to give him the rest through his feeding tube so it didn't stress his heart to much, he finished it in 12 minutes! Amanda even stopped to burp him in the middle, he loved it. He kept his fist clenched the entire time, it was funny. Nice work little man!

2009-11-28T18:47:00.002-07:00

Finishing his bottle!

2009-11-28T18:46:00.002-07:00

Macie holding Teagan for the 1st time!

He's Home!!!

2009-11-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Teagan waiting for his dad and sisters to pick him up, he was very patient!

So we've made it. Little Teag’s is home and healthy. He is still on an NG tube which is feeding him breast milk, but hopefully that will change soon. He passed the swallow test yesterday with flying colors. We couldn't be happier, we have heard of so many babies taking a along time to pass the test. So with that being said, we couldn't more proud of our little man and what strength he is showing. We are planning on doing little bits at a time to get him so that he can take a bottle.
It was so fun to bring him home today. I dressed him in his first little camo outfit and he looked like such a cute little guy. Our girls came down with us this time to pick him up. They were so excited to see him, it was cute. On the way home Emma was sitting next to him and she wouldn't let go of his hand. I can already tell they are going to be best friends.
I want to thank everyone for all of the love and support you have shown to my family while I have been away. We have had so many people doing so much for us, it’s like I have had my own little nanny since I have been gone. We have had dinner almost every night and we have had so much help with people watching and driving our girls around. I wouldn't have been able to spend so much time with Teagan if I didn't feel comfortable leaving. So thank you again so much.
Love,
Amanda

2009-11-18T22:54:00.000-07:00

Teagan is back on food! They started him on an NG (feeds into the stomach) yesterday and he is handling it great. This is the 1st time he has had food in his stomach since the day he was born. Since then he has been on IV's or an NJ (by-passes stomach to intestine), so we're sure it feels good to have food in the belly again! They started him at 3 ml an hour and have steadily increased it as it is tolerated. Before he leaves he will have a suck test to see if he can handle a bottle, we will keep our fingers crossed!
We have received a little feedback that people couldn't comment, so I changed the format to allow all to comment, sorry it wasn't like that before!

2009-11-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

Quick updates on Teagan, he is doing good. The doctors told us today that the x-rays show his intestine walls are free of air which means the NEC is clear. They said if all goes well he should be able to come home next Friday, we will keep our fingers crossed!
Thursday morning Amanda went back down to be with him while I worked and took care of the girls, when she got there she said there were 3 nurses in his room trying to comfort him as he had been crying for a while that morning. When she walked in she called out his name and he immediately hushed. The nurses handed him to her and he stopped crying and just cuddled to her. Who says babies don't know there mom's! She has been with him every night since, it is getting harder to leave him alone down there.
We will get more pics soon, thanks to everyone who has brought dinner and helped out!

2009-11-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Before I update we want to thank my sister Brooke for taking time to take these amazing pictures. There are more listed below, thanks Brooke!
We also want to thank Dayle, Channa, Cherry (my mom, sister-in-law and her mom), when we got home tonight our house was cleaned spotless! We have been a little behind there lately :), they are good to us.
Alright - well, little man is back at Primary's. Luckily we caught everything early so it didn't get to serious, but easily could have. Tuesday evening around 5 Amanda was changing Teag's diaper and saw blood in his stool. She immediately called Primary's on call cardiologist and they told us to get him checked that night. We called several offices, they said they weren't comfortable seeing a patient with his complications, and our regular doc was out with strep throat. We had a previously scheduled appointment with with our cardiologist scheduled for the following morning (today) so we wondered if we should take him in or wait for our scheduled appointment. We thought it may be a food allergy because his oxygen levels and heart rate were so good, so we were leaning towards waiting. Well about 20 minutes after our initial call to the on call cardio doc, he called us back and said he felt we really needed to get Teagan seen that night as it could be complications with his heart causing the issues with the blood in his stool. We were so grateful he called, we immediately got him in the car and headed for Primary's. We also have a wonderful NICU nurse in our ward, Katie Money, who told us to get him in to Primary's. We got there and Amanda went in and explained his heart condition and they immediately got him back to a room. We were grateful for that as there were 3 kids in the waiting room with swine flu and we didn't want to get him exposed.
They did initial testing, then took him back for x-rays. When they got back they told us that he had air in the lining of his intestine wall and that it was a very concerning and potentially complicated setback. It is called Necrotizing Enterocolitis, here is a link explaining what it is. It can happen with any newborn child, but they were concerned with Teag's because it could point toward heart failure.
The cardiologist who called us and told us to come down came in and took us back to a room to do testing and an echo on his heart. His name is Titus Chan, he was SO thorough with his exam. He told us that his heart looked good, so about 1:30 AM they got us up to the 3rd floor and checked in to a room for the next 7-10 days. We got to bed about 3, but we were able to get a little sleep during the day while we were down there. While we were there they came in and told us that he is doing great. He is off food and on IV's to take the pressure off his intestine, they are doing x-rays every 6 hours and said that he is clearing up. He is also on antibiotics to kick any infection, we are glad he is in good hands.
Because we took nothing with us to the hospital (we were expecting to hear he has a food allergy that was causing the bleeding) we are home tonight to recharge the phones, get a shower and some sleep! Amanda is going back in the morning and I will have the girls, she will be spending most of the nights he is there sleeping in his room and I will be back and forth. Thanks again for all the dinners and things people have been doing for us, we love you!

2009-11-11T21:23:00.002-07:00

2009-11-11T21:23:00.001-07:00

2009-11-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

2009-11-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry this has taken so long, time is flying by! Little man is doing really good! Having him home really hasn't been bad, we are lacking in the sleep area but that is to be expected with any newborn. The first few days we had more issues with his feeding machine, but once we got that settled it has been smooth sailing. His went from weighing 6.15 when we got home to 7.55 a week later, so he is gaining the weight he needs. He still has his NJ (feeding tube), that will be in for a few more weeks. Right now it passes through his stomach and empties into his intestine, I am sure he will need it to feed into his stomach for a couple weeks to let his stomach adjust to digesting food before he can take a bottle.
We can't begin to express our gratitude to all who have been bringing us dinners. It has been so nice not having to worry about that, we will always be indebted to all who have helped us through all of this. We love and appreciate all you do!

2009-11-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

When Macie couldn't hold Teagan she grabbed the next best thing! Macie has been a Wonderful help, anytime we need a diaper or wipes she runs! She hasn't been 100% since he has been home so we keep her away as good as we can. She is hoping to hold Teagan soon, but until then she is being a good help!

2009-11-06T10:28:00.000-07:00

For a 2 year old Emma is so good with Teags. ANYTIME he makes any sound she runs and tells us. If we don't get right to him, she sits and holds his hand or talks to him. I wish I knew what she was trying to say, she hates to see him sad!

2009-11-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Kaylee holding Teagan for the 1st time! She has had a little cough since he has been home, Macie still has a little one so we are waiting to let her hold him. Kaylee and Teagan sat and stared at each other for 10 minutes, it was so cute. His sisters are so good about taking care of him, from the way he stared at her we know he loves them!

2009-11-01T19:25:00.002-07:00

Happy Halloween! Mom put him in his 1st costume tonight, even though we are a day late! I thought it needed to be a camo hunting costume, I guess we know who the boss is :)

Now we just need to figure out how to keep him awake during the day so we can all sleep at night!

2009-11-01T19:25:00.001-07:00

2009-11-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

He wasn't a fan of getting his hair washed!

2009-11-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

1st bath! He wasn't sure how he liked it...you can see the bottom of his scar, it is healing well. We should be able to take the bandages off the top soon. Not sure what Kaylee is doing with the scissors! Maybe that's what was scarring him :)

2009-10-30T19:54:00.000-06:00

Teagan's 1st pizza night! It is good having little man home, he is doing good. We have taken him all the way off his oxygen and he seems to be handling it well, so we are excited about that. Last night was a long night, but that is to be expected with any newborn. We are happy to have him here and the girls love him!

2009-10-30T19:52:00.000-06:00

2009-10-30T19:51:00.000-06:00

He's home!

2009-10-29T21:57:00.000-06:00

Well we made it home with Teagan and he is doing good. We had a nurse come help us set up his feeding machine, he is doing great. The girls were so excited to see him, they took turns holding his hand and talking to him. We are grateful for all the love and prayers that have kept him going, we thank each one of you.
Unfortunately we have a little bad news, before we left the hospital gave us strict orders to have no visitors for a while. His heart is still so fragile and the sick season hasn't even peaked yet, so to be safe we are going to follow their advice until the "sick" season clears a little. Thank you for your understanding, I know there are many that want to see and hold him and that time will come, just not for a few months. We will keep this blog updated with pictures and progress for those interested, again thank you for your understanding, this is a hard thing to ask.

2009-10-28T23:08:00.000-06:00

Sorry it has been a few days, we found out Monday that we will be bringing Teagan home tomorrow! We feel both shocked and overwhelmed, but we also feel prepared for the task at hand. We have had a lot of good advice, and the Lord has prepared us to bring this little man home. He looks so good, I have put some pics below. This is his new room, as you can see there is a lot more space. Amanda is spending the night on that couch tonight, they are teaching her how to use the feeding tubes and anything else she needs to know. I have the easy task of getting the girls dressed fed and off to school tomorrow:), then down to the hospital. We are so thankful to our families for all the help they have given us, we have been tired lately and may not have expressed it well, but thank you.

2009-10-28T23:07:00.001-06:00

2009-10-28T23:06:00.000-06:00

2009-10-26T21:45:00.000-06:00

Today has been a good day for little Teagan. He seems to be settling into his new room pretty good. Last night when we left it was a little scary for me and Bryson. We weren't used to seeing him lay in his room by himself. But today I was able to go down early this afternoon and he just seemed so calm and peaceful. It was nice, I was able to pick him up and put him down when ever I wanted, with out any help from the nurses. It just seemed like we were a lot more comfortable with each other, because it was just me and Teag's in the room. The whole time I was there it was amazing, they didn't have to come in the room once to adjust anything. His little heart is learning how to work without all the medications. Because of that it feels like we are getting closer to bringing him home:) They did a little study on his swallowing, and he was able to swallow the thick formula but not the thin like milk formula. So they are going to be working with him this week on swallowing. And hopefully this will help him learn to eat on his own, that would be a huge mile stone for our little guy. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers!
Love,
Amanda

2009-10-25T21:52:00.001-06:00

We got to hold him! It was a good day :) We got down there around noon because they told us they may release him from the PICU to the 3rd floor and they weren't quite sure when. We got there and his nurse Jean had him unwired and ready to hold! He sat and stared at us as we held him, you could tell it felt good to not be on his back. He looks so good, it was hard for us to put him down. At 4:00 pm they took him out of the PICU, it was sad to leave. They have been amazing to him and us, we especially want to thank Jean and Lizelle for taking care of him. The 3rd floor is not quite as intense, he will not have someone on his room 24-7. They still have him on monitors for his oxygen, heart rate and a few other things, they can watch them from the nurse station just outside his door. Of course we are a little nervous, but we know he is still in good hands. More pics below!

2009-10-25T21:51:00.000-06:00

2009-10-25T21:50:00.000-06:00

2009-10-25T21:49:00.000-06:00

This is Jean, she has been his nurse most of the days he was in PICU. She is amazing, thank you Jean!

2009-10-24T21:16:00.000-06:00

2009-10-24T21:08:00.000-06:00

We got to see him! He looks so good, it was nice to hold little man's hand again. He is off almost all of his meds, they are working him of his last pain meds now. If all goes well we should be able to hold him tomorrow. They said he is healing remarkable well, he is such a fighter. So many foreign objects attached to his body, yet he is patient and acts strong. He opened his eyes for us for a while, I put a picture below, we will keep our fingers crossed for tomorrow!

2009-10-23T21:26:00.000-06:00

So we received a phone call today about 10:30 telling us that they had taken out the breathing tube and that he is doing good with out it. They also told us that the tube draining any extra fluid has slowed down quite a bit. While I was talking to the nurse they told me that they might move him out of the PICU within a couple days. This is exciting but also scary just because its nice to have the comfort feeling of having the wonderful nurses in the PICU watching over him 24-7.
As for our girls, they are doing very good:) They haven't had any fevers since Thursday afternoon. Which means they are no longer contagious. Hopefully Bryson and I will maybe be able to go see our little Teags tomorrow. As long as we have no symptoms we are good to go.
This has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life. To leave my little baby at the hospital in the condition he is in and not see him for a whole week. But we made it and our wait is over. I can't wait to hold my little angel in my arms. It has been way too long. The wonderful nurses in the PICU have made it so much easier on me. Every time I have called them they make sure and calm all my fears. And they have also sent me pictures every couple of days so that I can see how good he looks. So if any of the nurses are looking at this today, Thank you for helping me get through this tough week. And thank you everyone for all of your love and prayers that have been sent my families way.
Love,
Amanda

2009-10-22T22:09:00.000-06:00

Today they had to put another tube into Teagan's chest to drain some blood that was around his right lung. They said it drained 45-50 cc's of blood in the 1st hour and since then it has slowed down to 4-5 cc's per hour. They said he is doing well, this is not uncommon after a big surgery. Getting this blood out has helped his breathing a ton, he should be off the ventilator sometime tomorrow. They sent us this picture from the cell phone, you can't tell but his eyes are open. His left hand is wrapped so he can't grab tubes, we were excited to get a pic, he looks great!

2009-10-21T14:43:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update, they had to put Teagan back on the ventilator last night, he was having a hard time breathing on his own. They are not worried about it, they said that his body needs a little more time to drain fluids and gain strength. He should be able to come back off of it within the week. Other than that he is doing well, they have been feeding a little of Amanda's milk everyday (through the feeding tube) and said he has been handling it well.
As far as the pig flu goes, it has been a lot more bearable than we thought it would be. Emma is still fevering and not feeling good, but the big girls are starting to recover. Hopefully we will be able to see him soon!

2009-10-20T10:27:00.000-06:00

We just talked to our nurse, she said Teagan is still doing wonderful! she said the surgeons made their rounds early this morning and are very please with Teagan's progress. What a comfort to us. They said they are going to try to situate him so they can put the phone to his ear so we can talk to him a little while we are unable to make it down. During this time we have had a lot of people ask how we are making it through this so positively. While having an incredible wife is a huge strength, there is no way we make it through this without the gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all mankind may be saved and that all little children who have not arrived at the age of accountability are saved in the kingdom of God. We have also drawn much strength from the Book of Mormon. The 1st day we went to Primary's was a hard day. We had no idea what Teagan's prognosis was or how long he would live. That night we turned to 3 Nephi 17 read it together, it is a touching account of the Savior of the world blessing children and healing those with physical disabilities. It brought such comfort to our hearts to know that these little children are safe in the arms of Christ and that he loves them enough to weep at the thought of what they will be called to go through in this life. Finally there is no way we make it without all of the prayers and kind acts of our friends and family. We feel so indebted to everyone who has donated their time and resources to helping ease our burden, it truly has been a witness of what Elder Holland called The Ministry of Angels. We only hope to be able to repay each of you in some way in the future. We love all of you!

2009-10-19T16:42:00.001-06:00

2009-10-19T16:32:00.000-06:00

Check out little man! Because we just found out that the girls have swine flu, Amanda and I can't go see Teagan for a week or so. So Amanda called down and asked the nurse if there was any way they could send us a picture, well they did even more and sent 4! I have posted the best 2, we want to thank them for doing this for us.

Notice he is no longer on the ventilator, he is breathing on his own! They said he is doing so good, he looks amazing too. He will have a nice "ladies man" scare down his chest, we are so glad to see him looking so good.

2009-10-18T20:47:00.000-06:00

Just talked to the nurses in Teagan's room, they said he is doing very good tonight! They are doing what is called spontaneous trials with his oxygen, it is when they take him off his ventilator for 30 min to an hour to see how he does breathing on his own. They said that he did very good, he should be all of the way off it within the next day or two.
The hardest part about coming off may be that he misses sucking on it, they said he uses it like a pacifier :)
Today was my brother Brandt's homecoming, he did an amazing job. We were able to see many of you in person and again were overwhelmed by your love and support. Thank you so much for all you have done for our family, we really do love each one of you.
Also, we wanted to tell Mac and Angie Erickson congratulations on their baby boy!
Love ya,
Bryson and Amanda

2009-10-17T16:07:00.001-06:00

His chest is closed! I put a picture below of how he looks, again it may be a little disturbing but he is doing great and is as calm as can be. To close his chest they actually use wire to pull it together, they will stay in there for the rest of his life. He has actually been awake quite a bit looking at us, he is such a stud. He has been holding our fingers watching the Florida game with us (he has 3 sisters, I need to get him liking sports early!) Amanda and I slept at home and woke up at 5 to get ready. On our way down Amanda called down and the nurse said that there was fresh blood in his drain tubes and he wasn't sure why...needless to say it made for a long ride down. When we got here the surgeon's had made their rounds and said that the blood was from his IV line that was going to his heart. It had moved a little but they weren't concerned at all, what a sigh of relief. They started at 8 am like they said and were done by 9. The surgeon said everything looks good, all the bleeding from the 1st surgery was stopped when he took off all the bandaging and gauze. He is still on a good bit of blood pressure medication, but they are titrating him off of it today. Looking good!

2009-10-17T16:05:00.000-06:00

Nice to know he is closed up...

2009-10-16T20:56:00.000-06:00

Well little man had a good day. I forgot to mention earlier that they took him off of the paralytic yesterday, he didn't really move until last night around midnight when he started moving his fingers and toes. He also started urinating (can't remember if I mentioned that in the last post) but that is good because he was able to drain a lot of the fluids out of his body allowing it to kind of decompress. They said he got enough out that they are going to close his chest tomorrow morning at 8.
We went down to see him today, but because we have sick kids at home we limited ourselves on our time. He looks so good without all those fluids swelling him up, and every time Amanda or I talked he would open his eyes and look around. They are keeping him on a pain med so he doesn't move much, but that is a good thing. He is a tough little guy, as we sat there staring at him I was amazed at the thought that I have never had to pass through anything close to that tough physically. What a special little guy.
On a separate note, we want to thank everyone for their kindness and generosity towards us at this time. We haven't had to cook dinner all week and our kids have been well taken care of in our absence. We love all of you, people are so good and amazing!

2009-10-16T10:37:00.001-06:00

Well Teag's had a good night last night. He started to release fluids that have been building up in his body about midnight last night, they said that is good and now they may be able to close his chest tonight if all goes well today. Will keep you posted.

2009-10-15T19:58:00.000-06:00

Well Teagan made it through another day. There were some ups and downs, but overall he is doing a little better. They started to slow some of the meds for his blood pressure hoping it would hold up, and it did for a while. But this evening they had to start it back up because his blood pressure was dropping. This is still normal, it takes a while for their heart to heal enough to have the strength to carry on by themselves. But overall our nurse said it was a good day, so we will take it! Thank you to his wonderful nurses, we know he is in good hands!

2009-10-14T21:41:00.000-06:00

Here is our brave little man, although it looks scary he is in good hands. In order to keep his heart rate down they needed to paralyze him so he won't move, they also sedated him so he doesn't wonder why he can't move. He is so peaceful right now, we know that the veil is thin and that he has many angels we love keeping him company from the other side. It was hard to see him like this but we know that each machine serves a purpose and that he will make it through all of this just fine.
...Just read through the last post, sorry for all the misspelled words...sleepy :)

2009-10-14T21:33:00.000-06:00

All of these devices are tied to Teag's through IV's. They have incredibly skilled nurses that watch EVERYTHING soooo closely. His nurses are all cardiology specialists, they are so amazing. We love them and are so grateful for their countless ours of sleepless nights and long days. They said their is no "recipe" for each patient, it is up to them to tweak these medications as they feel it is needed and as the monitors tell them. I know they are prompted to do what they do.

2009-10-14T21:16:00.000-06:00

Teagan has had a good day today. He is covered with wires and lines, I have listed a picture of everything keeping him going. Because he is stable we took the nurses advice and Amanda and I were able to come home to spend time with our girls and get some sleep in our own bed. We have been calling down every few hours to check on him, they are telling us that everything is going really good. Thank you for all your prayers.

2009-10-14T10:14:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update this morning. He made it through the night, but it was kind of a tough night. They said that it is very common, and our doctor said she sees nothing that makes her think he will not continue to improve. Modern medicine is miraculous, it is amazing how many tweeks they can make to adjust his levels to keep him going. She also explained more about his surgery, they did a Sano modification of the Norwood. Here is a link that helps explain. http://www.pted.org/?id=hypoplasticleft3
It is amazing to imagine the size of his little heart, no bigger than a newborns fist. We are grateful the surgens hands are guided as they work through the heart and fuse tiny arteries.
I know that the Lord guides all of these folks as they watch over these children as the Lord heals their wounds.

2009-10-13T17:19:00.000-06:00

Sorry this has taken so long, it has been a long day. First I want to let everyone know that Teagan has made it through the surgery! They took him back at 7:30 for anesthesia, it was hard to watch him leave. At 9:30 they came and told us it took a lttle longer than expected to get all the lines in him because his wrist and veins are so small and hard to find. They actually made a small insision in his wrist to find it, not uncommon but not ideal. We got updates every hour, Amanda took advantage of the time by catching up on journals. We want to try to record all of our feelings as well as the experience and the woderful people as we go so that we can remember it and one day help another in this situation.
We recieved hourly updates on his condition, it was amazing to think that Teag's heart was literally in the doctors hands! It is so small, about the size of one of his fists. I know that Heavenly Father gudes those surgens hands, they are amazing people.
At 3:30 the surgen, Dr. Birch, came in to talk to us and told us that he felt pretty good about the surgery. He said he had been done for a few hours but due to some bleeding they had to watch it and try to slow it down. They got it stopped but they were not thrilled with it so he is under close watch and in critical condition right now. But that said the doctor said the repairs went great, his heart is beating on its own and keeping him alive without the use of medications, we couldn't be happier. Our little man is a tough nut! He explained that Teag's case is not a classic case of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, there are a few factors that may make his recovery and quality of life a little tougher than we would like, but we feel that as hard as the future may be we have been trusted to take care of this amazing little person until he is called to the other side. Whether that is 3 months or 30 years or more we do not know, but we will never give up on him or his chance for life. We feel that every day he has had has been a miracle, so we will keep pushing ahead!
As far as an update of how he looks, it was really hard for me(Bryson) to see him in his bed. To put if frankly, it is a parents worst nightmare. But I just keep a prayer in my heart and I know that he is being strengthened by angelic beings on the other side of the veil. He is on the road to recovery now and we are going to be by his side every step of the way.
I know we have said this enough, but if you are reading this blog you have played such an important part of this miracle. Teagan is alive because of you and your prayers. I think Amanda and I are alive because of your prayers! That is not to mention all of the kind things people have been doing for us, we have A LOT of getting even to do...:)
We love all of you with all of our hearts, I know I don't need to ask but please keep a prayer in your heart for little man!
Love you,
Bryson and Amanda

Teagan James Stewart

2009-10-12T20:43:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and concern for our family. These are some pictures from Teagan's blessing. On Sunday we were able to bless Teagan, and give him his full name, Teagan James Stewart. All of our hearts were touched as we were able to share this experience as family.
We are pleased to share that through all the prayers and the priesthood, the right side of Teagan's heart has healed enough that we are able to proceed with surgery tomorrow morning, Tues. Oct 13th. This is what we've been hoping for, as this is the most desired way to treat his condition. The procedure is called the Norwood procedure and it is a very long, serious surgery, but the doctors are confident and we have hope!

2009-10-11T08:39:00.000-06:00

Where to start. We cannot put into words the gratitude we feel for family and friends. As you can see, we have an amazing bishop who set this blog up for us so that we can communicate to everyone what has been going on these past few days. Thank you Bishop Hall. The love and prayers and support we have felt has been so overwhelming, we wouldn't be able to make it through these times if it wasn't for all of you and your prayers.

Teagan is still holding strong through the aid of medication as we wait for for the doctors to decide which way we will proceed. We are going to add some pictures and again want to thank everyone for their love, fasting, prayers and support. We know that the Lord is on our side and that everything is going to be ok. He never said it would be easy, he only said that it will be worth it.

Baby Teagan Update

2009-10-10T15:17:00.000-06:00

Baby Teagan has arrived! He weighs in at 7lbs 4oz and is 20 inches long.

Our little man has developed a heart complication called hypoplastic left heart syndrome and is currently at Primary Children's Hospital. You can learn more about what this is at the following link. http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site502/mainpageS502P0.html

He is in stable condition with the help of medication. A team of physicians will determine in the next few days the best course of action and we'll use this blog to keep everyone updated.