Kaden's CHD Journey!

From the beginning….

Kaden Anthony Insall was born Tuesday ,February 28, 2006. I had a wonderful pregnancy no problems what so ever! I was 3 weeks from Kaden’s due date and was going for yet another check up. They asked if I’ve been having any headaches. I said no…Well come to find out my blood pressure was sky high! They sent me over to labor and delivery to be monitored. After 3-4 hours my doctor came and said, “It’s your choice but whatever you choose you aren’t leaving…”, so I was thinking ok it’s time. He preceded to tell me that he could induce me and have a chance of having seziures because of the stress with my blood pressure and still have 50/50 chance of having a c-section or he could schedule the c-section for that evening. So Duh I chose the c-section. At the time my husband and I had no clue there was anything wrong with our soon to be precious little boy.

At 5:25 pm Kaden made his grand entrance into this world weighing in at 7lbs 8.6 oz and measuring 19 ins long and screaming his head off!

…Shortly after we were told that they heard a heart murmur but not to worry MOST of them go away. No biggie right? …Or so we thought. Everything continued to go well. Kaden had a round with jaundice and were kept longer in the hospital so they could treat him for that.



Sunday, March 5, we were able to finally take our little pride and joy home!



March 15, 2006, we took Kaden back for his 2 week check up. To our surprise his heart murmur was still there. So his pediatrician then referred us to a wonderful amazing woman we would soon get very close to…Dr. Lee Ann Pearse. On March 17th we were taking our little boy to see his cardiologist, that’s the day Dr. Pearse told us our son has Aortic Stenosis. From that moment on we would have more knowledge than we thought we would ever have about the aortic valve. We learned a month later that our son’s aortic valve was bicuspid and he could have surgery anywhere between 2-4 months old. God had a different plan though Kaden never had to have a surgery done…

Fast forward to April 10, 2008. We took him for a check up and to learn the balloon procedure would no longer work, because his valve was now leaking. So Dr. Pearse scheduled a catherization to get a better idea what was going on in his little heart. April 24, we took him to have it done. From the results we found out his leakage was mild and the valve was leaking between his leaflets which means when he will have to have a surgery it would have to be the ROSS procedure, but he shouldn’t have to get it done until he is a teenager. Praise the Lord!…

We continue to take him off and on anywhere from year to 6 months. Our last visit was on August 12, 2010. We found out that his valve is leaking quite a bit more. The wonderful thing about this is Dr. Pearse and us don’t agree with the ROSS procedure…so she is thinking his valve could be repaired. Wonderful news, but we have to find a surgeon we want to perform open heart surgery on our little boy. We take him back in 3 months (Nov 22) to have him reevaluated again since the two previous appointments (May 09 and Nov 09) Kaden didn’t corporate very well and was fighting us as well as the nurses, and Aug 12th he was a little angel didn’t fight what so ever so we are hopeing he does the same in November.





We were told it could be time for surgery anywhere from 6 months - 5 years. So obviously waiting until a teenager was out of the picture but at least they can repair it. So this is where we stand. Praying to God for a miracle but asking for guidance on our decision for a surgeon. We’ve been so blessed with the CHD community! Without the support of our “Heart Family” there’s no way I would still be sane through all of this. Lol. Kaden is doing wonderfully. From day one you couldn’t tell he had any heart problem, and still can’t. He started Pre-K this year going from 8- 3:30 Mon-Fri and he LOVES it!






We’ve learned so much from watching our child grow and learn with a heart problem, he just never lets ANYTHING get in his way.

If you want to talk more or if your child had a aortic valve repaired please let us know. We think we are going to be using Dr. Fraser in Houston, but we don't want to make any sudden decisions. He's just the one we have found so far with more experience. Thank you for reading about our little Kaden. Please keep him in your prayers! Take care and May God bless each and everyone of you!!

With love from the ♥
The Insall family,
Derek,Kaci, and Kaden.

Kaden's CHD journey...

Posting tomorrow!!
I've been working on it today and wasn't able to get it all done..
So stayed tuned. :)

With love from the ♥,
Kaden's mommy.

Some of the pictures from Kaden's Birthday Party!!...Spiderman!!!

Catching up...

Hey Everyone!

Once again, I'm behind! lol. I can't believe it's been 3 1/2 months since I posted the last update. Oops!...I update his carepage, but forget to update this one. So sorry for all of you who keep up with Kaden through here. A lot of things has happend since February 4th.

First of all February 28th, out precious little boy turned FOUR!!!...It just seems like yesterday since I was finding out I was pregnant with him, which would be 5 years ago next month! Wow!...As bad as I wish he was still that little newborn, cuddling him, smelling him, loving him, singing "Hush little baby" to get him to fall asleep...I want him to be the age he is now!...After all I can still cuddle him, smell his hair, love him....but only when he allows me too lol...and singing "Hush little baby" is a no go these days, because tell you the truth I think he still remembers it. It came on TV the other day off some cartoon, so I started singing it, and the first thing he did was just look at me like he knew what it was, and proceeded to tell me he wasn't a baby anymore. Now days, I take a hug every moment he offers one, cherish his "I love you, Mommy"'s with everything in me, and continue to love MY baby although he's growing like a weed!...We found out at his 4 yr check up that he's in the 90% for his height and 75% for his weight....going to be just like his daddy, who is starting to look more and more like!...

Then April 22nd, I went to register "big boy" Kaden for PRE-K!!! I get teary eyed just thinking of it. He will be starting school August 23rd, and will be going from 8-3:30: Monday-Friday!...I'm excited, but sad all at one time. But I know this is just another milestone in his life, but it's sad knowning that his first stage of life is over. While he probably won't cry his first day, mommy probably will be crying from the moment I wake up! lol... I won't be spending my day watching my baby grow and learn. Instead, I'm going to go to work for a while. becasue well I won't be able to stay home with nothing to do! lol...I'm going to work untill I get pregnant...Yes, we are going to be trying..again..come August!...I'm excited, hopefully and prayerfully it won't take us long. : )...I just decided we are going to raise how ever many kiddos the Lord will bless us with, then once they are all in school, that's when I will go back for my nursing. We've just decided, after having Kaden, how much I love doing it and how much I don't want them to be raised by day care. We didn't put Kaden in daycare becasue well at first it was because of his heart condition, but then we relized how much a blessing it is to be able for me to do that. Like I said before, there will always a college there, but kids won't stay little for long!...

April 30, my sister found out that she's having another precious girl! So the end of September sometime miss Chole Belle Thomison will be making her way into this world!...Hopefully Makalya (3 yr old,big sister) will do fine. We think she's going to have some jealously issues, beucase she already told my mom and dad that Chole can't go over to their house lol and her daddy can't play with Chole! lol...This to shall pass I'm sure lol.

May 7-8, we babysat my friend's little 3 mon old girl, Saydee! I think that's when we really decided we were ready for another one. :) Kaden did so well with her and was telling us to be careful when we were changing her diaper...it was priceless!..Then while sitting on the couch, while Saydee was sound asleep we had this convo:

Kaden: Mommy, what is 'Kayla' (thats what he calls Makalya) going to have?
Me: She's going to have a baby sister.
Kaden: Like mine?
Me:...*laughing*...no this isn't yours, baby, we are just watching her. She will be going back tomorrow. Mommy don't have a baby in her tummy.
Kaden: Oh...'Kayla' mom does.

LOL. It was too cute. Soon Kaden.. hopefully. :)....I'm sure Kaden is all confused and wonders why his mommy don't have a baby in her tummy, because Makalya is going to have a baby sister due end of september, and Garrett his other play buddy ( actually Derek's cousin but he's 8 weeks younger than Kaden) is going to be having a baby brother due the middle of August. lol. But maybe when September gets here we will get pregnant, because my sister became pregnant with Makalya around the time Kaden was born and just didn't know it at the time lol. But all we can do it pray that will all work out for the best! : )

Back track a little...Feb 28, on Kaden's birthday, we joined our new church. First Baptist Church in Whitesboro, Texas. :) Awesome church! Kaden loves it! In March, I was asked to be the temp 3-4 yr old Sunday school director because their teacher has breast cancer and taking chemo. Keep her in your prayers Donna Alsup. It's been a blessing. It gets crazy at times, but I love it! So it didn't take us well me to fall in place lol. God is Good!

With Kaden starting School in August, and since Kaden's cardio check up wasn't until November, I decided to reschedule his appt to some time before School started so I can get an ok and feel better about him starting. So He will be going back August 12 for a check up and hopefully, prayerfully, we will get STABLE!!...

Kaden gave mommy scare May 4th when we woke up. He took a tumble on the local school May 2nd, and I noticed when he woke up on the 4th that he had a knot behind his ear...well I knew from taking some anatomy classes...that it was possibly the lymph node, but it was HUGE and it had me worried becasue it was on the same side of where he hit his head on the track so I called and they got him in. Come to find out it was just an infected lymph node and probably was from his scrape on his forehead from when he fell...gave us some antibotics to give him...and if he didn't go away in a week, we would have to take him back in and they would probably have to drain it...Well I notice Monday morning it wasn't down all the way. It did go down some but I could still see it. So I gave it until Tuesday then Icalled and asked about it...wanted to be safe than sorry...well they wanted to see him. Come to find out it's Normal! The Lymph node just sit on top of the bone so therefore you can see it. We were told as long as it isn't tender to the touch, or enlarged like it was, then it's ok. Thank you God!....

Well, I think I've updated all I can think of anyways. I will try to get some pictures on here tomorrow or at least before Friday!...

Keep all the heart kiddos in your prayers as well as any sick kids out there!
Thank you for checkin in on Mr. Kaden!

Take care and May God bless you all!!
With love from the ♥,
Kaci :)

Prayers...

for two heart families dear to me...

Lyle Family: www.lylefamily5.blogspot.com
They found out Tuesday thier precious son, Zeb, will be facing surgery soon! They will find out sometime this weekend or next week when that date will be. Just keep this family in your prayers! They mean a lot to me! Kaden and Zeb have the same CHD I think thats why I'm so close to them and the fact they are loving and there to offer any prayers our family may need so its time to send prayers for them especially little Zeb! I know he will do great though, he's a strong adorable little man. :)

Jacks Family: www.whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com
Their son, Logan, just had another open heart surgery last month. He was home and doing good then a fever appeared. They don't know why it's sticking around. So just pray that they find out whatever is causing this and prayerfully its nothing serious. They are headed to hosptial again for an echo so just pray that his effusion hasn't reappeared and they get the answer they've been searching for...an explaination. Hang in there Logan!

Kaden is doing good...now. Some of you are on my facebook but for the ones who aren't, Kaden also had a fever they couldn't put a finger on. He started off Tuesday before last (jan 26) well thats when we took him to the doctor for his HORRIBLE cough...well we got the throw around about cough medicine between his pedi vs cardio and bascially just decided to let it take its couse.
Well Monday he was STILL coughing not as much but some enough that it was bugging him. So I finally called the cardio and asked what medicine could I give him. I wasn't put on hold this timeand was forward to his cardiologist right away...I was told anything that was just for cough was ok to give him...no cough and cold or cough and chest congestion...just cough....So I go to walmart and get the triaminic long acting cough...it seemed to help....
Tuesday morning when he woke up he vomited...at 10 he was running a 100.5 fever. Gave him tylenol it went away. at 1 took his temp again and it was 100.9 and was still a hour away before I could give him anything. So I called his pedi and they wanted to see him at 3....oh and he wasn't eating and barely drinking!...

They tested him for strep...negative....

Tested him for flu...negative....

Chest was clear

Ears were clear

So his pedi didn't know what he had. He decided to play it by ear and just go with a cold. He just didn't understand why he was having a temp during the day with a cold...So he sent us home told us if he was still having the same symptoms then they wanted to him Thursday (today) to do blood work and x-rays....Well he's temp hasn't got over 99.5...but when it does it usually goes down by its self and he's back to eating and drinking. So I guess it was cold. Praise the Lord! I really didn't want to take him to get the blood work done becasue I can't stand to see him in pain! lol...But by the power of prayer hes ok.
That's why I'm asking for prayers for these two wonderful families and their precious sons. Us heart families know what the power of prayer can do, so lets all get together and pray for these families for healing and comfort.
Thank you for checking in! I will post pictures soon!
Take care and May God bless each and everyone of you!!!

With love from the ♥,
Kaci

2010 It's My Heart Walk

Hello Everyone!
It's that time again where we try to get ready for wonderful Christmas! It takes talent to plan out a 3 day hoilday around both sides of our families.
Christmas Eve: Evening we see my dad's side of the family (that consits of 30 if we are all there! Fun times!).
Christmas Day: Morning we do our thing here at home, around 9 we go to my mom's house stay till about 1. Get to Derek's mom's house around 1:30 stay untill about 5, then we leave to go see Derek's Uncle's family and his grandparents getting there around 6 and stay probably overnight and then
Day after Christmas: Saturday going to my Memaw's house to spend time with mom's side of the family and then go see Papaw in the nursing home then taking down all Memaw's Christmas decorations since Derek and I usually help put them up. andwe haven't decided but plan on staying the night at Memaw's on Saturday and going with her to Church on Sunday. Then head home after lunch.So yeah I wasn't joking when I said we have a FULL 3 days to plan. Hopefully all will go to plan but I won't be surprised if it don't lol. I love Christmas time though!! We get to enjoy the greatest gifts God has given us..Family!...

Now the title. We are going to go to the 4th Annual It's My Heart Walk down in Houston, Texas on February 20,2009. Day after my birthday :). As some of you know we attempted going to this last year actually we had it all planned out but the car had to go in the shop and cost just enough what we put back for the trip!:( So we are trying again this year. Prayerfully we will be able to go this year...We have a page up for Kaden's team...Kaden's Warriors...same as last year since we didn't get to go...We set our goal at $500. If you all would be kind enough to donate...:)...you know you want to...lol...just $5 is all I ask..if 100 people donates $5 we will have our goal! Here is the page if you all are interested!

http://imhwalkforchd.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=320099&lis=1&kntae320099=4138678D269441929159149AFF406419&supId=279249858
Hopefully it will work. If not just copy and pasted it. Thank you in advance!

Now on to Kaden. We went today to get his second dose of H1N1 and mommy and daddy got the nasal spray as well today. Not to mention our tetanus and whooping cough. So we should all be set :) Kaden wasn't to happy to find out he had to get another shot but mommy and daddy got one to so he was satisfied with that lol...Other than that Kaden is doing Wonderful! He jog most of a mile the other day while we were at the local school...My Highschool I graduated from which by the way missed State Football by one game...Good Season though Wildcats!!...Anywho Derek was running I was walking and Kaden was playing then decided he wanted to be like daddy. That kid amazes me. He did walk some but jogged most of it. Them are the times I feel very blessed. and Derek calls him his pride and joy. He wants him to be a runner so bad he can taste it but doesn't want to push him becasue of his heart but he did all that by himself without anyone pushing him or telling him to come on. :) So proud if you couldn't tell. lol...

Oh! Anyone who is wanting a card and pictures from the wonderful Insall family and pictures of the amazing Kaden lol e-mail me your address or leave it on the messages and I will be more than Happy to send them out! We pick up the pictures on Monday. Can't wait Kaden did soo well this year!

I guess that is all...I hope all is going well with everyone. I don't know when I will post again.. but incase I don't update again before Christmas since its 8 days away!! I hope you all have a Very Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Keep all the heart and cancer kiddos in your prayers especailly all the ones that are in the Hosptial. As well as the families who have lost loved ones this year. Take care and May God bless you all!!

With love from the ♥,
Kaci

Enjoying Life!

Hello Everyone!
It’s been a while since I’ve updated. It’s not that we’ve been busy, its just been enjoying life together with each other and other family members. Since we’ve came back in touch with Derek’s uncle and his little family, we’ve been spending a lot of time with them on weekends and the week is spent spending time with just us and watching my friend‘s little boy for about 2 hours a day 2-3 days a week...

Mr. Graham
Kaden taking Graham for a ride.

Having fun!...Graham just woke up lol.

We’ve had some amazing times together and Kaden gets to enjoy some time with his second cousin, Garrett, that is just 8 weeks younger than he is. It’s also been nice having a couple close to our age to hang out with and just enjoy this life our wonderful Lord and Saviour has blessed us with.
Since taking the kids to the Science Museum, we’ve had soo many Saturdays in between then and now just having fun. We had planned on going to the Texas State Fair on October 10th, but we decided against it due the swine flu being so bad and thought we could use the money, we were going to spend on that on better things. Well, once Oct. 10th rolled around we couldn’t go because Kaden got sick, sicker than he has ever been. He was so bad we thought he had flu, but by the grace of God he didn’t. He just had a nasty lower respiratory infection. It took a good 5 days for him to get back to himself. We’ve been so blessed that Kaden doesn’t get sick hardly any but when he does, he gets it bad. Once he finally got over his sickness we went to the peanut festival in Whitesboro to have some family time....

Daddy and Kaden with his new hat.

He loves this train!

So cute!!

Hi Momma!!

Then we went to see Ronnie, Lara, and Garrett on the 24th of October. We all decided to go to Trader’s Village which is just like a huge flea market. We didn’t get hardly anything but it was nice just to get out. The one thing we did get was a poster of the boys that said double trouble on it. It so fits them! Lol.
On Halloween they came up to our place and had lunch which was Taco Soup…Thanks Rhonda for the recipe!…Then we took the boys to Zoo Boo that night. They had a blast, and got SOOO much candy! Lol. Kaden was a G.I. Joe and Garrett was one of the guys from Transformers. We thought we would have a hard time getting Kaden to wear his costume. He had no problem with wearing the mask but before they came down he absolutely refused to wear it, but once he seen Garrett was going to wear his and after I told him he could put his pants back on when we got home he decided it was ok to wear it. He’s so hard headed at times. Lol.

These small ones were from my phone:

I was waiting on Derek to bring batteries for the camera. lol.

Our pride and joy!

Kaden and Garrett...Kaden was yawning! lol..

Garrett, Kaden and Amy waiting to go in..

Lara, Amy, and Me..

Welcome to ZooBoo..at Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, Texas.

Ready to get some candy...

Amy, Derek, Kaden, and Garrett...looking at the gray wolf.

Derek,Kaden, and Garrett....Kaden was being shy and we had to basically drag him to get some candy from the people giving candy out!...Maybe next year will be better.

Mommy's little boy growing up!

Got him to look for a second! lol.

Two peas in a pot!

Rounding the corner!

I finally got him to look!...

Kaden wouldn't look of course!...Oh BTW mommy is holding his pumpkin!

Mr. Garrett...Look at that candy!!

Having Fun!

They got each other's back! :-)

Waiting for people to go...lol..there were a lot of kiddos there!

Looking at the kangaroos

Daddy and Kaden

Amy, Derek, Kaden, and Ronnie...Garrett was in front of them.

Garrett eating one of his suckers...Sorry Amy didn't mean to get you in the picture! lol

Kaden digging in on his candy

Later that night we were wanting to do something but had the boys so we really couldn’t being that it was so late. So Thanks to my lovely sister actually sis in law but she’s like a sister, she offered to watch the boys while us couples went out and played a couple games of pool. And the boys wanted to go to the cemetery since it was Halloween night so we like ok whatever but we aren’t getting out. So they got out and were being them crazy selves. They were standing in front of the car when I was thinking about getting out and driving off but they would hear me getting out so I decided to honk the horn while they were standing right in front…And Derek jumped! Lol. It was so funny and our laugh for the night. J…. It was kind of a last minute decision but it was nice getting out and we look forward to doing it again. Once we got back home about 2 ½ hours later the boys were sound asleep!…Thank you Amy!…Lara was wanting to see the Proposal so we watched it while the bigger boys lol…took Amy out to the cemetery to try to get spooked and it didn’t happen but with it being Halloween they thought they had to go. They ended up spending the night then went back home in the morning. It was fun!..But it’s always fun when we get together. Ronnie and Derek have always been close since they are 4 years apart and grown up together. Lara and I have been getting closer and closer. She’s awesome and is always there for me and keep me going when I need that extra kick! Lol. And Kaden and Garrett get a long MOST of the time unless one is tired or just not in the mood to share lol. But they are two typical 3 yr old boys what is there to expect! They used to get along great no matter what but now they are getting used to having each other there they are starting to act like brothers lol.
Now as for Kaden, he’s doing great if you couldn’t tell! Lol. We’ve been enjoying this beautiful weather God as blessed us with these last few days and are expected to last till Friday or Saturday I believe!…Yesterday I took him to get his seasonal flu and H1N1 shot so he is set there. Mommy got the seasonal flu shot as well…We are trying, well momma is, to get ready and set for November 16th which is our big Day!!. Which is Daddy’s 24Th Birthday as well as the day we take Kaden back to the cardiologist! So keep Kaden in your prayers. We need to hear that his leakage is stable!!! I’m praying and fully relying on God but I still can’t help but wonder and think about the what ifs now matter how hard I try to put them out of my mind! But whatever the results are we will take them and deal with whatever they are. Thank you for checking in on us! I will try to update more often…But no news is good news. :)

Keep all the heart, cancer, and just any child out there that is suffering in whatever way in your prayers. Take care and May God bless each and everyone of you!

With love from the ♥,
Kaci Insall