Sunday, February 27, 2011

Search the Internet Using Good Search and Help Caiden's Hope


We all have a cause we care about - for us it's Caiden's Hope.

But what we don't all have is the time or money to support these efforts as much as we'd like. So, what if we could raise money for our favorite charities and schools by doing something we do every day — searching the Internet?

GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50 percent of its sponsored search revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers — the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!

  • On the GoodSearch homepage, and choose Caiden's Hope from our list.
  •  
  • Search the Internet just like you normally would — the site is powered by Yahoo!, so you'll get high-quality search results.
  • Fifty percent of the revenue generated from the sponsored search advertisers is shared with the charity, school or nonprofit organization of your choosing.


In 2007, GoodSearch was expanded to include GoodShop, an online shopping mall of world-class merchants dedicated to helping fund worthy causes across the country. Each purchase made via the GoodShop mall results in a donation to the user's designated charity or school – averaging approximately 3% of the sale, but going up to 20% or even more.

Start using GoodSearch today — there's no reason not to!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

"Plastics" Dr. appointment

Woo Hoo! Caiden's UCLA appointment went terrific! The Dr. is very pleased with how much the swelling has gone down. He wants to see him back in 3 weeks. Thank-you for praying.
Now please pray that his lungs re-inflate so that his o2 levels will go up.

Friday, February 18, 2011

"Caiden's Hope" - A Poem by Mike Dodson

The following poem was  written by Caiden's Hope supporter Mike Dodson.

Caiden's Hope

I'll tell you a tale of Caiden Call
born to early and way to small.
The doctors and staff whisked him away
and all his mom could do was pray.

There are many problems being born two months premature
but he had his mother's love, of that you can be sure.
Bill after bill started to come in
and she wondered, would they ever end?

Friends and family began to call
each promising to do their all.
A charity was founded in his name
so good hearted folks could do the same.

If you want to help other's cope
please give generously to Caiden's Hope.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Post-Op Check-Up

We had an 8:00 appointment at UCLA to see the plastic surgeon, so we had to leave by 6:30 a.m..  When we got there they told us that there was a mix up in schedule and the Dr. was in a 3 hour surgery!  They called him and asked him what he wanted to do about the appointment and he left surgery to come and see Caiden!  Caiden has quite a lot of swelling in his forehead that he didn't have when he left the hospital.  The Dr. says it may be fluid that has pooled, that his body may just absorb.  He cleaned his incision with peroxide and a Q-tip, and put Neosporin on it, and said to do that once daily.  He wants to see him back next Thursday to check on the swelling.

Then onto the next appointment back in Ventura at 10:45 for his shot to prevent RSV.  And another shot next month...

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A Bit of A Scare

Last night Caiden's nurse thought his lungs sounded a little congested, and today thought they sounded worse so he went in to see his pediatrician.  His pediatrician didn't think he had a lung infection, but gave him an RX to ward off pneumonia.  Caiden also has a runny eye and the Dr. said the RX would take care of both things.

The pediatrician said the reason he has a partially collapsed lung is because they didn't give him enough oxygen during surgery.

Caiden goes back to UCLA to see the plastic surgeon for a post-op check in the morning.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Caiden's Post Surgery Update


Caiden went for a post-surgery check up with his local pediatrician yesterday.  His Dr. was very surprised at how good he looked, and how active he was.  He weighed 17 lbs., 7 oz.  The Dr. wants to start him on regular milk with Carnation Instant Breakfast.  Pray that the transition goes smoothly, as he only liked to drink formula.  Caiden got 2 more teeth!  Another on the top, and another on the bottom


This picture was taken Saturday.  You wouldn't even know that he had surgery!

Terry

Monday, February 14, 2011

Toppers Pizza Fundraiser

Topper's Pizza and Caiden's Hope

Enjoy and evening of pizza and friends March 15th, 2011 at the Caiden's Hope fundraiser scheduled for Topper's Pizza in Ventura, California.  Located at 3940 East Main, Topper's Pizza is the Ventura Star's Readers Choice for the past 11 years!  Great pizza and an amazing salad bar!

Print a Caiden's Hope flyer at http://www.caidenshope.org/ and bring it with you 5:00pm-9:00pm on March 15, 2011.  Dine in, carry out and delivery orders within delivery area accepted.

Help support Caiden's Hope and have the best pizza in Ventura County!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Caiden Update

Caiden is all settled back in at home.  He had his in-home nursing evaluation this morning and has his regular nurses back.  He is happy to be home, and we are so happy that he is home.  He's all smiles and is back to his normal self except that he woke up at 4:30 this morning ready to play.  The Dr. said his sleep pattern would be off for a while.

Terry 

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

On the Way Home!

We are driving home with Caiden NOW!

This morning when we got to the hospital they had taken Caiden off of food altogether!  They said with the reflux, the milk coming out his nose, they couldn't continue feeding him until they knew why.  He was back on IV fluids!  After a few hours they decided they would send him home & set him up with a swallow study.  He had one in the NICU a year ago.  They want to repeat it.  They sent him home with o2.

He is currently sleeping in the car on the way home.  He never complains & never complained in the hospital.  He hasn't been on any pain medication for days.

Thank you for your prayers this past week & the past year.  Our journey continues.


Terry
  

Caiden Recovery Update

Tuesday was a long day in the PICU.  The nurse reported that Caiden only ate 2 oz. for her.  When Jennifer fed him he ate 8 1/2 oz. and when I fed him he ate 6 oz.  He eats better on a schedule.  It also helps that we have time to spend feeding him.  We are there for about 10 hours a day and do all of his care except for the machines.  The nurse that is assigned to him spends SO much time with the little baby girl next door that she has little time to spend with him which is why it is good that we are there.  Pray for that baby girl, she is waiting for a liver transplant.


Caiden continued to de-sat many times today.  (a little too low of o2) and would make his machine go off.  The nurse decided to put him back on 8 liters of oxygen. That is a very low amount, but it kept him in the range that they want him in. They took an x-ray Tuesday evening just to take a look at his lungs and said they look like they did the evening of the surgery.  The right lung is a little collapsed.  That sounds scary, but it isn't a flattened lung like it sounds, but has pockets in his lung that are a little collapsed.  That is common after surgery because of the anesthetic.  That is why he needs that added 8 liters of o2 that he doesn't usually need at home.  The added o2, and sitting up, and movement should clear all that up.  We wish we would have known that all day and we could have been working with him more.  At least once we finally got an explanation it made it all make sense.

When his night nurse came on we told her how much he had eaten for us and told her that if she doesn't take the time with him to feed him that she will be reporting to the Dr. that he only took 2 oz and that isn't fair to him or us.  She promised that she would get someone else to take care of the little girl next door when it is time for him to eat.  Pray that she does. Sometimes he needs to be coaxed, but he will eat.  He is so low maintenance, but he does need some every 3 hours.

Terry 

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Caiden Recovery Update

Much to our disappointment it looks like Caiden will be spending another night in the hospital. 

His O2 level isn't quite where they would like it to be, though he wasn't given the breathing treatment that was ordered for him last night & that could be the reason. The breathing treatment was ordered right at shift change, so the nurse that ordered it wasn't the nurse that would have seen that it was given. 

He also hasn't eaten for them the way he ate for me yesterday, but they don't have him on a schedule like he is used to.  They are going to try that. 

Terry  

Monday, February 7, 2011

Caiden Recovery Update


It looks like Caiden will get to go home tomorrow!  They are just watching for fluid build-up around the incision.  If it doesn't build up, he gets to go home.  The 2 IVs are out of his feet.  He has one left in the groin area for "just in case", but they have taken him off of fluid IV because he drank 5 oz. of formula for this grandma twice today.  He has been happy & smiling all day.  I got to hold him for 2 hours while his little "diva" friend as the nurse affectionately calls her, next door to him kept his nurse hopping.  That little girl has been here for 8 months!  They love it when family is here to take care of their babies & it's a labor of love.  Both of his nurses have called to check on him.  They are anxious to have him back.  His nurse here, Jennifer has been wonderful!  God has been SO good!  My heart is filled to overflowing.

Terry   

Caiden Recovery Update

Caiden got his head wrappings off, and his drain out.  They gave him Tylenol when they took his drain out.  No bandages now.  They want it to air out.  He is smiling this morning.  I fed him six ounces.  They are giving him less fluids so that maybe he'll get hungry.  His forehead isn't bruised, but is eye lids still are.  I cleaned up the front of his hair to give him his curls back.

He was given a mobile that he liked so much, his machine alarms went off!

Terry 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Caiden Recovery Update

Caiden continues to do well today.  He doesn't have much of an appetite, but he did drink 2 oz. of formula twice today.  He was awake much of the day, but just acts tired.  He watched the Super Bowl in his room.  The rooms in the PICU are private rooms.  It doesn't look like an ICU at all.  They are much more lenient than the NICU.  You don't have to leave during shift change, and can have several people in the room at the same time.  We try to visit him in shifts, so most of the time someone is there.  His nurse Susan from home came to see him tonight and brought him presents.

He hasn't had anything for pain since last night at 11:00pm.

Jennifer and Chris are driving home tonight.  Chris has to work tomorrow and Jennifer has a test in Anatomy. She will be back later tomorrow.  We have a room again for tomorrow night.



Terry

Leave a Note for Caiden

You can leave a note for Caiden by visiting http://www.caidenshope.org/ and clicking on the Caiden tab.  His family would love to hear from you!

And become a "Follower" of the Caiden's Hope blog.  To become a follower click the "Follow with Google Friend Connect" button on the right side of this blog.  Keep up-to-date with his progress and how Caiden's Hope is helping families in crisis.

Thank you,

Wayne Keller
Executive Director
Caiden's Hope

Caiden Recovery Update


We had a late night visit with Caiden last night.  He was in and out of sleep.  I tried to give him a bottle when he was awake, but he wasnt' interested.  I kept winding up his teddy bear that used to be his daddy's and laid it by his head so that maybe he could hear it.

Caiden is pinker again since his transfusion.  His nurse told us something interesting about how they get their blood donations.  The UCLA staff can earn vacation time by donating blood!  After they earn all the vacation time they can, they can earn points and can use the points for things like a big screen TV!  What do you want to bet that Caiden's blood transfusion came from a UCLA employee!  Very smart.  I think more companies should adopt this program.

Caiden's surgeon came to see him this morning.  Although he is pleased with his progress, he is going to keep him in ICU for another day and leave the drain in his head as it is still draining some.  So Caiden will not be going home tomorrow.  We are kind of in limbo now not knowing if we are staying down here or driving home.  We are supposed to check out tomorrow.

Terry 

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Caiden Recovery Update

A much better day today.  Caiden opened his eyes a lot which is so unusual for just having had surgery yesterday.  He looked around and could see all of us.  He shook his head no once or twice and played with his mom's necklace.  Jennifer read him his card that he got from his nurse Susan.  The ophthalmologist examined his eyes and so far is happy with what she saw, but is going to do one more test.  His nose still seems to be itchy, he rubs it a lot.  All in all, a much better day today.

Terry 

Caiden Recovery Update

Caiden seemed to have a very good Dr. last night after shift change.  She actually read his history before she talked to Jennifer and Chris.

Caiden  is still getting morphine and they are going to keep him in ICU again tonight.  His blood count is a little low and continues to go down a little steadily so they are giving him a transfusion now.  It is not uncommon after surgery for him to be a little anemic, and he is.  That is why his blood count is low.  They used the blood that his daddy donated during surgery so they are having to use someone else's today.

They removed his catheter and an IV in his arm this morning.  They unwapped his feet, but he still has the IV's in his feet and groin.  He isn't much more swollen or purple today.  Where he was flaming red yesterday he is white today.  His nose seems to be itchy and that may be from the Morphine, but his eye is also infected which could causing itching, and has spread to the other eye.  An Ophthalmologist will see him today.  They are suppose to give him some Benadryl for itching.

Caiden surprised us and opened his eyes through little slits to look around to see us!  It was a thrill.

Terry

Friday, February 4, 2011

Caiden Recovery Update

We all got to go see Caiden while he was in recovery, one at a time.  He was in some discomfort so they gave him pain medication as needed.  While he was transferred to a room in ICU we went to lunch.  When we came back he was settled in.  They let us all go into his room.  When I walked in I heard him make a noise that I had never heard before.  None of us had, and we realized we were were hearing is voice for the 1st time, but he was in distress.  What should have been a sweet moment turned to terror.  We quickly let his nurse know that he had never made that noise before, and the nurse let the senior resident know.  He was having trouble breathing.  Soon his stomach was sucking in like a person starving and then heaving it out again.  He was REALLY in distress and unbelievably someone in the room said does he usually breath like that?  We assured them, that no, he did not normally breathe like that so they called for help.  I did NOT understand why the senior resident, and nurse could do nothing, and just wait for someone ele to come.  No one was coming fast.  I went out to them and said "do you understand "this is an emergency?" And they said yes, and that they had called a R.T. (respiratory therapist.)  Thankfully we saw her running toward the room.  I thanked her for running as it seemed that everyone else's feet were cemented to the ground. She suctioned him considerably deeper than usual a couple of times and brought up a mucus plug which had been the problem.  He started breathing easier and I thanked her again for running to help.  The doctor said to give him a larger amount of Morphine, and the R.T. said to give him considerably less.  They went with what the R.T. said.  It felt like the dog and pony show.  As long as Caiden has his trach he will never be completely safe with the medical staff.  They just don't know what to do.  It's terrifying!

Caiden has started to swell, and his eye lids are turning purple.  Even his shoulders are swollen and red.  They will be testing his blood all night long.  I showed his nurse a picture of what he usually looks like.  She couldn't believe his beautiful blonde curls.  He looks a bit like a Sumo wrestler right now.  

Please continue to pray for Caiden, as you can see he still needs God's hands on him.

Terry        

Caiden is out of Surgery

Caiden is out of surgery.  The Dr. said everything went well. They also fixed his ear that needed to be tacked up.  He is awake, but groggy.  We haven't been able to go see him yet.  I think only his mom and dad can go see him today.  They can go up after they get him settled in.  He will spend the day and night in intensive care, he has a drain, and 2 IV's still.  The drain will come out in the next 1 or 2 days.  He will stay at least 3 nights.  They will evaluate as the days go on.  Thank-you for your continued prayers.

Terry 

Surgery Update

a nurse just came to update us & said the dr said it is going spectacularly well. 

Terry

Caiden at UCLA Medical Center Los Angeles

We got up before 4:00am this morning to drive to UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles for Caiden's surgery on his skull to make room for his growing brain. 

He woke up with an eye infection, so the doctors decided they will take a closer look at his eye while he is in the operating room and call a specialist if needed.  His eyes will be swollen shut after the surgery.

 The operating room staff will remove his trach and insert a tube to put him to sleep.  He will have several IV's in case of an emergency, all which will be inserted after he is asleep.  The doctors explained that the tube method was much safer.

Surgery will be close to 5 hours.

Now we wait.

Terry