Update on Calvin

Calvin was supposed to have surgery in Moscow last week. Sveta received word from the hospital that Calvin is still in the hospital, but has not had the surgery as of yet. There was the indication that perhaps some tests were being run before they could do the surgery. That is all we know so far. It's frustrating to not know more, but there it is.

Here is a list of all of Calvin's heart conditions:

Mitral Stenosis
Double inlet left ventricle
High pulmonary hypertension
L-aorta

If you have any experience with the double inlet left ventricle, high pulmonary hypertension, or L-aorta, please leave a comment or email me at jilldpierce at yahoo dot com.

New name for Elijah

Yesterday we went to see our fifth child here in Nizhny Novgorod. Elijah’s new name is:

Silas Richard Pierce!

When they brought Silas in yesterday, he was shy (again) especially with Tyler. He came to me which was super exciting. Over the hour, however, he started to really warm up and started smiling and making verbal sounds. By the end of our visit, Tyler was throwing him up in the air and he was L O V I N G it! I hope that with every recurring visit that he will become more and more comfortable with us.

Silas has a heart condition: Tetralogy of Fallot. There is surgery which can correct the problem. We will be looking into that upon our return from our first trip and can hopefully get an appointment in the works for Silas' return with us.

Calvin also has a heart condition: Mitral Stenosis. He has had one surgery and is scheduled to have the second surgery next week. The first surgery was a success and I am hoping the second will be be successful, also.

If anyone reading this blog has had a child with either Tetralogy of Fallot or Mitral Stenosis, please email me your experience(s) at jilldpierce at yahoo dot com