For those of you who have asked:
In lieu of flowers we are asking for donations be made to the benefit fund on the blogsite. We will be making a donation in David's name to Stanford in the field of Cardiology/Heart Transplant Research.
Thank you
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
At Home With Jesus
Today at 12:15 pm our sweet boy, David Allen Kennedy, went home to be with the Lord.
His body just could not take the trauma and all of his organs started to fail.
It has been a very hard day... please keep our family in your prayers.
For service information please contact a family member or us by email.
His body just could not take the trauma and all of his organs started to fail.
It has been a very hard day... please keep our family in your prayers.
For service information please contact a family member or us by email.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Side Effects
Some of the side effects of being on the Bypass Machine for too long are starting to rear their ugly face...
Over the night and morning Dave started bleeding from the leg which the bypass is hooked up too, because of the blood loss they started having to do transfusions. They can't do transfusions for too long so this morning they did an in room surgery/procedure to start repairing that damage. That damage is now under control, but his kidneys are now starting to fail and they have started dialysis.
We just talked to the doctors and they have told us that David is failing and fast, he is not responding to the measures they are taking, and the next 24 hours will be critical. He is less likely to handle a transplant today then he was yesterday, and tomorrow the chances will be very slim.
Today we need a heart... today.
Over the night and morning Dave started bleeding from the leg which the bypass is hooked up too, because of the blood loss they started having to do transfusions. They can't do transfusions for too long so this morning they did an in room surgery/procedure to start repairing that damage. That damage is now under control, but his kidneys are now starting to fail and they have started dialysis.
We just talked to the doctors and they have told us that David is failing and fast, he is not responding to the measures they are taking, and the next 24 hours will be critical. He is less likely to handle a transplant today then he was yesterday, and tomorrow the chances will be very slim.
Today we need a heart... today.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Back at Stanford
For those of you who don't know....
On December 22nd at 4am David came into our bedroom and woke us up complaining of swelling and shortness of breath. Shortly after that he began vomiting and said he needed to go to the ER. Doug drove him to the nearest ER while I arranged things with the kids and my job. While at the ER in Stockton, Ca David was told he was in heart failure and Stanford sent a helicopter and life flighted him back.
We arrived shortly after the helicopter and Dave was in grave condition.The doctors told us he was in severe rejection and he needed to be repaired right away. They prepped him for a biopsy to see how bad the rejection was. While in the room Davids heart stopped and they brought him back fairly quickly. While in the biopsy room he coded during the procedure and the team of doctors did chest compressions for 63 minutes before deciding to put him on a heart and lung bypass machine.
He has currently been on the bypass and in a medically induced coma since Tuesday night at 9pm. Today we were told that his heart is too damaged to repair itself and retransplantation is the only option. They have relisted him at 1A severe status as of this morning. The chances are slim that he will live to receive a new heart as the doctors only want to keep the machine going for a total of 5 days, survival rate and other complications become worse after that point. Right now he does have brain function, and his other organs show no damage.
So our prayers are this, a new heart quickly, for him to be able to survive the surgery as he is so weak, and for him to recover after transplant, he is much weaker this time around.
At this time he is not awake and as I said before in a medically induced coma, for his own protection. Please pray for us, love us, and do not judge us. We love all of you, your continued support means so much to us.
On December 22nd at 4am David came into our bedroom and woke us up complaining of swelling and shortness of breath. Shortly after that he began vomiting and said he needed to go to the ER. Doug drove him to the nearest ER while I arranged things with the kids and my job. While at the ER in Stockton, Ca David was told he was in heart failure and Stanford sent a helicopter and life flighted him back.
We arrived shortly after the helicopter and Dave was in grave condition.The doctors told us he was in severe rejection and he needed to be repaired right away. They prepped him for a biopsy to see how bad the rejection was. While in the room Davids heart stopped and they brought him back fairly quickly. While in the biopsy room he coded during the procedure and the team of doctors did chest compressions for 63 minutes before deciding to put him on a heart and lung bypass machine.
He has currently been on the bypass and in a medically induced coma since Tuesday night at 9pm. Today we were told that his heart is too damaged to repair itself and retransplantation is the only option. They have relisted him at 1A severe status as of this morning. The chances are slim that he will live to receive a new heart as the doctors only want to keep the machine going for a total of 5 days, survival rate and other complications become worse after that point. Right now he does have brain function, and his other organs show no damage.
So our prayers are this, a new heart quickly, for him to be able to survive the surgery as he is so weak, and for him to recover after transplant, he is much weaker this time around.
At this time he is not awake and as I said before in a medically induced coma, for his own protection. Please pray for us, love us, and do not judge us. We love all of you, your continued support means so much to us.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A New Beginning
Hello all!
I just wanted to post an update to all of you that still check out David's Journey... even though we have stopped blogging on this site we all still think of each and everyone of you always and what your support has meant to us this past year.
For more updates please feel free to go to our family blog, where I will posting from now on. http://www.familyofkennedys.blogspot.com/
In Christ,
Bronwyn and Family
I just wanted to post an update to all of you that still check out David's Journey... even though we have stopped blogging on this site we all still think of each and everyone of you always and what your support has meant to us this past year.
For more updates please feel free to go to our family blog, where I will posting from now on. http://www.familyofkennedys.blogspot.com/
In Christ,
Bronwyn and Family
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Adjustments....
I logged onto the blog today to finally update because it has been so long since I have! I feel badly because so many people have emailed me and called me for updates and I have been so bad about doing that!
So moving on.... it has been quite a month of adjustments for all of us! Starting with David! He is doing great by the way! I am so proud of him and this new leash on life that he has taken by the hold. He is feeling good and has had no medical upsets since July. As a matter of fact as I type this I am sitting in the Stanford waiting room with him at his 6 month post transplant check up. He is still in San Diego going through the process of being retired from the military, and that is taking a long time. He is enjoying his time there and is passing the time catching up with his old ship mates. He is very anxious to get home though, and is looking forward to that day. He has really taken a hold of this new life with a new outlook, and we are so proud of him. He has started making some great goals for the future. He hopes to start college in January and he is just started some early training for the World Transplant Games. He really wants to compete in the 2011 games in Sweden! Thanks Joe for inspiring him!
As for the rest of us, it has been anything but easy to come back home and get back into the old routine. We love being together as a family again, but that did not come without some adjusting! Doug and I lived apart from each other for 8 months! That is a long time, so it has almost been like dating again, or early marriage days! Which has its good points and bad! The kids are loving me being home, and school started for them a couple of weeks ago. It has been hard for me to be home all alone after having a constant companion for the last 8 months, but in a lot of ways it has been good for me as well. I am finally starting to really grieve for all that we did lose, but at the same time use the quiet time for self reflection and appreciation for all that God has given us.
With all that being said, I have to say that the transplant was the easy part. It is the after that has been the hardest to deal with for all of us. I think we all expected to wake up on March 12th the day after transplant and just have life be totally normal. That has so not been the case, it has been hard for each one of us. Somedays it is just easier to smile and say everything is ok, then it is to really relay the truth. I just ask for constant prayers that the Lord will continue to protect and love our family.
Again, we are all so grateful for everything everyone has done for us, even if it wasn't ever said out loud, those of you who really know us, and really know our hearts know how appreciative we are of everything you have done for us.
So moving on.... it has been quite a month of adjustments for all of us! Starting with David! He is doing great by the way! I am so proud of him and this new leash on life that he has taken by the hold. He is feeling good and has had no medical upsets since July. As a matter of fact as I type this I am sitting in the Stanford waiting room with him at his 6 month post transplant check up. He is still in San Diego going through the process of being retired from the military, and that is taking a long time. He is enjoying his time there and is passing the time catching up with his old ship mates. He is very anxious to get home though, and is looking forward to that day. He has really taken a hold of this new life with a new outlook, and we are so proud of him. He has started making some great goals for the future. He hopes to start college in January and he is just started some early training for the World Transplant Games. He really wants to compete in the 2011 games in Sweden! Thanks Joe for inspiring him!
As for the rest of us, it has been anything but easy to come back home and get back into the old routine. We love being together as a family again, but that did not come without some adjusting! Doug and I lived apart from each other for 8 months! That is a long time, so it has almost been like dating again, or early marriage days! Which has its good points and bad! The kids are loving me being home, and school started for them a couple of weeks ago. It has been hard for me to be home all alone after having a constant companion for the last 8 months, but in a lot of ways it has been good for me as well. I am finally starting to really grieve for all that we did lose, but at the same time use the quiet time for self reflection and appreciation for all that God has given us.
With all that being said, I have to say that the transplant was the easy part. It is the after that has been the hardest to deal with for all of us. I think we all expected to wake up on March 12th the day after transplant and just have life be totally normal. That has so not been the case, it has been hard for each one of us. Somedays it is just easier to smile and say everything is ok, then it is to really relay the truth. I just ask for constant prayers that the Lord will continue to protect and love our family.
Again, we are all so grateful for everything everyone has done for us, even if it wasn't ever said out loud, those of you who really know us, and really know our hearts know how appreciative we are of everything you have done for us.
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