Merry Christmas everyone! What a wonderful holiday we all had this year. Everyone was healthy, which was a change from last Christmas. We celebrated with both sets of families this year too... and it was so nice seeing everyone (even though some of the celebrations happened early in the month). Ben got SO MANY gifts, and I think we are going to have to add a wing to the house to put them in! Ben is a very deserving little boy, so we allowed a little spoiling.
Ben is now a little boy on the go. He is rolling around like a tumble weed. For the first time, he has realized he can move and get wherever he wants. And, he has gotten rather quick too. He does this log roll and just keeps on going until he hits something (time for the coffee table to go downstairs). We are working on getting him to roll in both directions. He has perfected his left side roll and has a little more trouble on the right. We are just thrilled!!! (Although it does make being hooked up to an IV pole for feeds rather tricky).
Hope this holiday finds everyone happy and healthy. Love the Russo family. PS - Be sure to check out some of the new pics in the gallery!
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Home for the holidays!!
Home for the holidays!!
Yes, that's right - I'm home bound. I just found out that I'm going home on Friday (exactly four months after my birthday). Can you believe it? I'm so excited, I don't know what to do with myself. I will definitely miss all of my friends at the hospital, but I won't miss what they do to me (sorry nurses, no offense - I know it is your job). Mommy and daddy have been smiling from ear to ear since they found out, so they must be pretty excited too. All the prayers and warm wishes have helped! Thank you.
Love Ben
http://www.benrusso.com/
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Yes, that's right - I'm home bound. I just found out that I'm going home on Friday (exactly four months after my birthday). Can you believe it? I'm so excited, I don't know what to do with myself. I will definitely miss all of my friends at the hospital, but I won't miss what they do to me (sorry nurses, no offense - I know it is your job). Mommy and daddy have been smiling from ear to ear since they found out, so they must be pretty excited too. All the prayers and warm wishes have helped! Thank you.
Love Ben
http://www.benrusso.com/
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Saturday, December 3, 2005
G-Tube Surgery Went Well
Good morning-
Surgery went well - took a little longer than expected, but I'm recovering like a champ now.
Love Ben
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Surgery went well - took a little longer than expected, but I'm recovering like a champ now.
Love Ben
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Thursday, December 1, 2005
Thanksgiving
Hi!
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I definitely did. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. My health, wonderful doctors and nurses, great friends and family members, turkey flavored milk... the list goes on and on. So thank you everyone for being so supportive to me and my family.
I, like everyone else is putting on a little holiday weight. In fact, I'm over 10 lbs now! I've tripled my weight in my first four months of live. The doctors think it's great, but I'm a bit concerned that I have more rolls than the local bakery. If only I could walk, I'd work out... but until then I guess I'll embrace my new husky physique.
Tomorrow is a big day for me. I have surgery to get a G-tube (for feedings), Nissen (to prevent reflux), PE tubes (to drain the fluid from my ears) and whatever else the doctors decide to do to me when I'm under. My mommy and daddy were able to have both ENT and General Surgery work together and get everything taken care of at once so I didn't have to get anesthesia twice. It took a while to schedule, but the wait is over and the big day is now here. They plan on wheeling me to the OR around 1:00 p.m. I think I'll be in there for about three hours. I'm sure everything will go well, but I'll keep you posted. Oh, and I posted some Thanksgiving pictures in the Photo Gallery. Be sure to check them out and remember, the camera adds 5 pounds.
Take care!
Love Ben.
http://www.benrusso.com/
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I definitely did. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. My health, wonderful doctors and nurses, great friends and family members, turkey flavored milk... the list goes on and on. So thank you everyone for being so supportive to me and my family.
I, like everyone else is putting on a little holiday weight. In fact, I'm over 10 lbs now! I've tripled my weight in my first four months of live. The doctors think it's great, but I'm a bit concerned that I have more rolls than the local bakery. If only I could walk, I'd work out... but until then I guess I'll embrace my new husky physique.
Tomorrow is a big day for me. I have surgery to get a G-tube (for feedings), Nissen (to prevent reflux), PE tubes (to drain the fluid from my ears) and whatever else the doctors decide to do to me when I'm under. My mommy and daddy were able to have both ENT and General Surgery work together and get everything taken care of at once so I didn't have to get anesthesia twice. It took a while to schedule, but the wait is over and the big day is now here. They plan on wheeling me to the OR around 1:00 p.m. I think I'll be in there for about three hours. I'm sure everything will go well, but I'll keep you posted. Oh, and I posted some Thanksgiving pictures in the Photo Gallery. Be sure to check them out and remember, the camera adds 5 pounds.
Take care!
Love Ben.
http://www.benrusso.com/
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Need a G-Tube and Nissen
Long time, no talk! I have been one busy baby lately. After I recovered from my trach surgery, and successfully got taken off my vent... I got moved to my own room!! Yes, that's right - I'm no longer considered unstable and critical. I'm still in the ICU, but I think that's just because the nurses love me so much (check out photos of my new room in the photo gallery). My new room has a TV (to watch Steelers games), a phone, my own bathroom, a shower and a bed so my mommy/daddy can stay with me. It's even a corner room too... with two windows! Hmm, I hope we don't have to pay extra for the second window. They seem to charge you for everything in this place. I better check on that tomorrow.
Back to business - in order for me to go home, I have to be able to take full feeds. Since I'm still not sure about this whole bottle thing (I suck on it like crazy, I just don't get out much), I have to get a G tube (feeding tube in my stomach). My mommy and daddy will be able to work with me on the bottle, but I'll get all my nutrition through the G tube. That surgery is scheduled for December 2. At the same time, I will also be getting tubes in my ears. I wish the surgery could have been sooner, but I was told that some holiday called Thanksgiving is throwing everything off... have any of you heard of this holiday or am I being told a tall tale? Either way, I'm still hopeful that I will be home for Christmas. We will just be cutting it a little closer than we wanted. Santa, I'll keep you updated so you know where to go.
Take care everyone. I love hearing from all of you and can't tell you how honored I am to have so many kind, caring friends. Thanks for the ongoing prayers and well wishes.
Love Ben
http://www.benrusso.com/
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Back to business - in order for me to go home, I have to be able to take full feeds. Since I'm still not sure about this whole bottle thing (I suck on it like crazy, I just don't get out much), I have to get a G tube (feeding tube in my stomach). My mommy and daddy will be able to work with me on the bottle, but I'll get all my nutrition through the G tube. That surgery is scheduled for December 2. At the same time, I will also be getting tubes in my ears. I wish the surgery could have been sooner, but I was told that some holiday called Thanksgiving is throwing everything off... have any of you heard of this holiday or am I being told a tall tale? Either way, I'm still hopeful that I will be home for Christmas. We will just be cutting it a little closer than we wanted. Santa, I'll keep you updated so you know where to go.
Take care everyone. I love hearing from all of you and can't tell you how honored I am to have so many kind, caring friends. Thanks for the ongoing prayers and well wishes.
Love Ben
http://www.benrusso.com/
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Monday, November 7, 2005
Extubated!!
Greetings from the pod!
I am pleased to tell everyone that I have been extubated and I no longer need my vent or any kind of breathing support (for the first time ever in my life). And I must say, this is nice! Now I can get picked up without ten people helping (not that I didn't like all the ladies doting on me... it was just a little herky jerky). I have to wear a misting collar to keep my secretions loose, but I can go home with that. Once I get eating under control, I'll be on my way home. When do babies start learning how to walk? I'm thinking of working on that too so when I'm ready to go home, I can just GO!
Be sure to check out my photo gallery (under - before trach surgery and after). I have a picture of me without anything on my face (now my feeding tube is back on, but it was off for one wonderful day). For all the ladies out there, you can also check out a photo of me in the tub. Look out David Hasselhoff!!
Until next time - Ben
www.BenRusso.com
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
I am pleased to tell everyone that I have been extubated and I no longer need my vent or any kind of breathing support (for the first time ever in my life). And I must say, this is nice! Now I can get picked up without ten people helping (not that I didn't like all the ladies doting on me... it was just a little herky jerky). I have to wear a misting collar to keep my secretions loose, but I can go home with that. Once I get eating under control, I'll be on my way home. When do babies start learning how to walk? I'm thinking of working on that too so when I'm ready to go home, I can just GO!
Be sure to check out my photo gallery (under - before trach surgery and after). I have a picture of me without anything on my face (now my feeding tube is back on, but it was off for one wonderful day). For all the ladies out there, you can also check out a photo of me in the tub. Look out David Hasselhoff!!
Until next time - Ben
www.BenRusso.com
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
Trach Surgery a Success
Hello everyone. Just want you to know that Ben's trach surgery went well. He is recovering and is already on low vent settings. The doctors will try and remove the trach vent tomorrow to see how he does. They are confident he'll be just fine.
I just wanted to send a quick update. I'm getting off now before Ben realizes I'm using his laptop.
Mike(aka Dad)
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I just wanted to send a quick update. I'm getting off now before Ben realizes I'm using his laptop.
Mike(aka Dad)
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Trach In The Works - Again
Good morning-
Boy is it nice to get an extra hour of sleep (I hope everyone changed their clocks back)! Well anyway, I am doing well. I've had my stents out for five days now and I feel much better. It's very nice not having to breathe through those straws anymore. The docs tried to extubate me on Wednesday and I dropped quickly - so in went the tube again. On Friday, I had a pulminary scope and found out that I have malesia in my upper airway (malesia means floppiness, it just colapses when I try to take a breath). No wonder I was having so much trouble.
So, I'm getting a trach on Tuesday and I just need to grow and build up those muscles over time. I just know that I will feel like a whole new baby once I get the trach. I just have to be very, very careful about not getting sick (especially during these winter months when bugs run rampid). But, we think that once I get the trach, I can be weaned off the ventilator and all I'll need to be hooked up to is a misting colar.
Then, my next mission will be eating! Mommy and daddy think they will definitely have me home for Chirstmas though... what a nice present for all of us.
Take care everyone. Lots of love!
Ben
www.BenRusso.com
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Boy is it nice to get an extra hour of sleep (I hope everyone changed their clocks back)! Well anyway, I am doing well. I've had my stents out for five days now and I feel much better. It's very nice not having to breathe through those straws anymore. The docs tried to extubate me on Wednesday and I dropped quickly - so in went the tube again. On Friday, I had a pulminary scope and found out that I have malesia in my upper airway (malesia means floppiness, it just colapses when I try to take a breath). No wonder I was having so much trouble.
So, I'm getting a trach on Tuesday and I just need to grow and build up those muscles over time. I just know that I will feel like a whole new baby once I get the trach. I just have to be very, very careful about not getting sick (especially during these winter months when bugs run rampid). But, we think that once I get the trach, I can be weaned off the ventilator and all I'll need to be hooked up to is a misting colar.
Then, my next mission will be eating! Mommy and daddy think they will definitely have me home for Chirstmas though... what a nice present for all of us.
Take care everyone. Lots of love!
Ben
www.BenRusso.com
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
OR Loves Me
The OR (Operating Room) just loves me! They love me so much, they insisted on me coming back right away... so I obliged.
Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at 9:00 a.m. I will be making my regular trip to the operating room. This time, the mission - REMOVAL OF THESE NASTY STENTS!! I'll also get my throat scoped and ears looked at via a microscope. Depending on how the doc feels, I might get my nose re-dilated but I was told "no stents", so I'm holding them to it. Once I recover (maybe later that day, maybe the next day), the plan is to take my breathing tube out again and see if I fly. I have a feeling that this time I'm going to do it once and for all. I'll keep everyone posted.
Russo - out
P.S. My Steelers pics have been added to the website.
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Monday, October 24, 2005
Still Recovering Well
Good morning (and way to go Steelers) -
I wanted to let everyone know that I'm recovering quite well from my heart surgery. I've been taken off my nice drugs (goodbye pink elephants, I miss you) and I'm slowly being weaned down on my ventilator. I'm still a little shaky from the morphine, but feeling really good. Yesterday, I had an especially nice day. I was sitting up in a Boppy and the nurses were having a photo shoot - my daddy will post the pictures tomorrow morning. It's amazing how a Steelers victory can make everything better. And thank you Grandma for the Steelers quilt I got to lay on yesterday. I felt just like I was at the game.
Today we will find out what the next plan of action is for me. Hope everyone is doing well.
Love Ben
http://www.benrusso.com/
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
I wanted to let everyone know that I'm recovering quite well from my heart surgery. I've been taken off my nice drugs (goodbye pink elephants, I miss you) and I'm slowly being weaned down on my ventilator. I'm still a little shaky from the morphine, but feeling really good. Yesterday, I had an especially nice day. I was sitting up in a Boppy and the nurses were having a photo shoot - my daddy will post the pictures tomorrow morning. It's amazing how a Steelers victory can make everything better. And thank you Grandma for the Steelers quilt I got to lay on yesterday. I felt just like I was at the game.
Today we will find out what the next plan of action is for me. Hope everyone is doing well.
Love Ben
http://www.benrusso.com/
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Recovery going well
Good morning -
I just wanted to let you know that my surgery went well yesterday. I'm now in recovery and getting the best care from the best nurses. The next 72 hours are very important for me and I'm being told to take it easy (so this email has to be short or I'll get in trouble). I've been feeling quite well with the help of a Morphine drip and a Verset drip. I actually saw a pink elephant for the first time!
Thank you for all the calls, emails and prayers you sent my way before surgery.
Love Ben
Go Steelers!
www.BenRusso.com
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
I just wanted to let you know that my surgery went well yesterday. I'm now in recovery and getting the best care from the best nurses. The next 72 hours are very important for me and I'm being told to take it easy (so this email has to be short or I'll get in trouble). I've been feeling quite well with the help of a Morphine drip and a Verset drip. I actually saw a pink elephant for the first time!
Thank you for all the calls, emails and prayers you sent my way before surgery.
Love Ben
Go Steelers!
www.BenRusso.com
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Trach Surgery Canceled - Heart Surgery Instead
Hello -hello,
I only have a few minutes left before the doctors come around, but I just wanted to let everyone know that my trach surgery for today has been canceled. Instead, I will be having heart surgery on Thursday to close my PDA. For more information on PDAs, here's a link. They explain it better than I do. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001560.htm
Thank you again for all your kind emails and prayers.
Love Ben
PS - I added a "Statistics" tab to the website so all those interested in my day to day updates can check it out.
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
I only have a few minutes left before the doctors come around, but I just wanted to let everyone know that my trach surgery for today has been canceled. Instead, I will be having heart surgery on Thursday to close my PDA. For more information on PDAs, here's a link. They explain it better than I do. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001560.htm
Thank you again for all your kind emails and prayers.
Love Ben
PS - I added a "Statistics" tab to the website so all those interested in my day to day updates can check it out.
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Trach Surgery
Bonjour to all my adoring fans (I'm working on my French this week).
This coming Tuesday is a BIG day for me... I'm going to be having surgery to put a trach in. The doctors think it is the best option for me right now, and I have to agree. At first I was a little scared, but after hanging out with another boy in the RCNIC with a trach, I feel much better. He just seems much more comfortable than me and he doesn't have to deal with all the tape on his face. Also, I was told that when I go home I will get a night nurse for eight hours a day (so Mommy and Daddy can sleep). I guess I have to be watched all the time to make sure the trach doesn't fall off or I don't pull it out. I'm looking forward to the constant attention... talk about the royal treatment!
Well, au revoir for now. I'll be sure to send you a message and let you know how my surgery went. I'll also have Mommy and Daddy take a lot of pictures of me with the tube gone. If you thought I was hunky before, watch out!
Love Ben
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
This coming Tuesday is a BIG day for me... I'm going to be having surgery to put a trach in. The doctors think it is the best option for me right now, and I have to agree. At first I was a little scared, but after hanging out with another boy in the RCNIC with a trach, I feel much better. He just seems much more comfortable than me and he doesn't have to deal with all the tape on his face. Also, I was told that when I go home I will get a night nurse for eight hours a day (so Mommy and Daddy can sleep). I guess I have to be watched all the time to make sure the trach doesn't fall off or I don't pull it out. I'm looking forward to the constant attention... talk about the royal treatment!
Well, au revoir for now. I'll be sure to send you a message and let you know how my surgery went. I'll also have Mommy and Daddy take a lot of pictures of me with the tube gone. If you thought I was hunky before, watch out!
Love Ben
Thank you very much for your support, however if at any time you wish to stop receiving my super cool newsletters, feel free to unsubscribe by clicking here.
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