First of Many

Well tomarrow is Christmas and its had to believe that It would have been Kimball's first Christmas but instead it's our first Christmas without him. We did still hang his stocking this year. We'll this month marks 5 months without Kimball. Afew days ago I took down all of his clothe's I had hanging in his closet. I don't really know if I was ready to do that, but I know it will have to happen eventually. I did tell Eric he will have to be the one to take the crib down I just can't make myself do it. I guess It makes it feel to real. I know once the crib comes down that its for real we wont just wake up one day and have him in our arms. I feel like Im going through a ruff patch right know so please feel free to pray for me I would appriciate it. We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. I'm just greatful to know that Kimball is spending this christmas with Christ this year. If he can't spend it with us Who better. We love you all who have shown us support even if its just reading our blog following our story. We couldn't have know we would have been so blessed to have so many people who are looking over us.
Thank you, Tracy Fuhriman

I Believe

A Birth Certificate shows that we were born.
A Death Certificate shows that we died.
Pictures show that we lived!
Have a seat . . . Relax . . . And read this slowly.
I Believe...
That just because two people argue,
doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I Believe...That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.
I Believe... That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I Believe...That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I Believe...That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe... That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I Believe...That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe...That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe...That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.

I Believe...That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe...That my best friend and I can do anything, or nothing, and have the best time.

I Believe...That sometimes the people you expect to kick you When you're down,
will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe...That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had,
and what you've learned from them.....and less to do with how many
birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe...That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe...That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life Forever.

I Believe...Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I Believe...That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I Believe...That even when you think you have no more to give, if a friend cries out to you........you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I Believe...That you should send this to all of the people that you believe in. I just did.
I Believe...
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; They just make the most of everything.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who help us throughout the journey of life..
I recieved this as an email and I sounded good to me so I decided to share it will all of you.
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I love this time of year

Christmas is coming and we have so much to be thankful for this year. I love all of the excitment building for christmas day. I wrapped most of alissa's presents and put them under the tree. She was so excited when she seen them. It was funny she asked if they were for her and asked if it was a toy I told her maybe it was a box of rock. She ran around the house yelling in a very excited way that I got a box of rocks. It was so cute know I think I need to go and buy her a box of rocks since she got so excited. What great and simple joys we have when where 2. We hope that everyone has a wonderful christmas. Please remember to pray for all of the family's who might need it this time of year. I know we have several family's in our thought and prayers these days. Thanks to all of you who are keeping up with us and we are doing pretty good. I think this holiday will probably test us a little.

Pictures

We recently had alissa's pictures taken she had so much fun I think it shows in most of the pictures.

a not so good day

Today was not a great day for me Kimball would have been 4 months old today. I don't really know if told anyone what his actuall heart defect was so here it is pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum, Severly Hypoplastic Pulmonary valve, Coronary Sinusoid, flow reversal of the proximal right and left coronary arteries, mildly lilated right atrium, moderately hypoplastic right ventricle, moderate right ventricular hypertrophy, hypoplastic tricuspid valve, moderate secundum atrial septal defect with bidirectional flow and moderate size patent ductus arteriosus with prominent left to right flow. He also had complex rearrangements involving chromosomes 4 and 22. The deletion on chromosome 4 is consistent with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. The deletion on of chromosome 22 has not been previouslly described in medical literature so less information is available. There was a translocation of chromosome 22q material to chromosome 4p with a susequent adjacent deletion of chromosome 22. He was De Novo which means Eric and I are not carriers. All of these genetic complications played a roll in Kimball's growth restriction and possable his heart defect.

Updates

We haven't blogged in a while and every one probably thinks we fell from the face of the earth. We are still here and doing good. We have so much to be thankful for this time of year and I don't even know where to start. I do know we are so very thankful for all the prayers we have received and are still receiving. We needed them and still do. Each day I wake up get ready for the day and never know what it will bring. I know that as all of the holidays roll around I find myself staying very busy. I try not to just sit, because I find myself getting up set about Kimball's passing. tomorrow will have been 4 months since he was born and it still seems like just yesterday. We have had a few bad weeks Alissa got a virus and ran a low grade fever for 8 days straight and then it spiked and went to 103.8 very scary. Then a few days after that she broke out in a bad rash all over her body. The Dr. said children her age sometimes have a reaction to the virus when it stays for so long and brake out. She was so miserable. I'm glad she is finally starting to feel better and look better. I know that you are all busy but we would like for you to pray for some very good friends of ours as this holiday season will be had for them as well. They are getting ready to have a beautiful baby boy next month and they know that his life will be very short. He has a rear defect called anacephaly's and when he is born he will pass away they don't know how long he will live. Anacephaly is when the baby is born with only a brain stem and not the brain. So please remember them in your thoughts and prays this holiday season. No word can ever be enough. I feel for them. I don't even know what to say. We love them and wish they did not have to go through this. We just want them to know they are not alone.

Today

today I went to see Kimball only for the 2nd time since he's been gone. It seems so weird to be there looking at this tiny little piece of ground that isn't as green as the rest because it has been taken up and put back down. I don't really know what to say or think when I'm there because there's something missing it seems like. I don't know if he's listening or if I should talk to him like he's there but I know that I feel his love when I'm there. Today eric was talking to his brother and found out that they know someone who is pregnant and there baby has a heart defect and a genetic disorder also. My heart goes out to them and there family and I would love for everyone to pray for this family and there baby. We are doing well and would again like to thank everyone for there thoughts and prayers.

Thursday

today is the day I dread  every week. I have become very accustomed  to hating thursdays. For those of you  who don't know our beutiful little boy Kimball has know been gone for 3 weeks  it is the hardest 3 weeks I've ever had to face.  Every day I wake up and think was it just a bad dream and start to remember that It has really happened. I know that on wednesday  Im gonna have a bad day and on Thursday  I know that I'm gonna have a really bad day. Kimball was born on a Thursday one of the best days of my life. Kimball also pasted away on a Thursday one of the worst days of my life. We also barred Kimball on a Thursday thats why Thursdays are no good for me. I also open the mail box everyday and find one of 3 things 1. a sympothy card 2. a bill for me or kimball or 3. a statement from the insurance company for kimball's services. I hate checking the mail. I also hate going into big crowds because I know that someone hasn't yet heard the news and I always seem to find them and they make me relieve the events all over again. We truly appreciate all  of the prayers and cards and thoughts. I also would like to get on with things and stop having people telling me how sorry they are for my loss and if there's anything they can do. If you know what you can do for me feel free, but I don't know if there's anything anyone can do for me. I am having a tough time with the loss of Kimball and it really hurts me because Alissa keeps crying and when I ask her whats wrong she says she doesn't know she is just sad. It breaks my heart to know that she doesn't truly understand. I also have her ask if things are for Kimball or say that's Kimball or when she ask me wheres Kimball. I know she doesn't know that it makes me upset. I try not to cry in  front of her because  it makes her upset. When all is said and done its hard for us to wake up and not feel sad It will be along road ahead of us but we are doing well and will continue to feel  better everyday and we love Kimball and will honor him by talking about him and remembering him. I know he is in a better place and we will see him again someday. We thank god everyday for the time we had with Kimball and the joy   he has brought to our life. 

Arrangements and Services

To all who would like to attend, we will have the service for Kimball on Thursday August 7th at 11:00 in the morning at the LDS church on Nelson Drive. I have included a map to the church if any have questions as to its location: (Click to enlarge)

We are doing well and again are amazed at the support and responses that we are getting. It is very touching to know that so many people care and are thinking of us.

The Day After

The day started off with us going to the funeral home to make arrangements. Not something you would want to end the week with.....well there is never a good time to make funeral arrangements. My grandpa has two extra plots which he has offered us one of them to us, until we can afford our own. This has helped out tremendously. For those who would like to attend, the service will be Thursday August 7th, at 11:00 am. The location will be given out once a building is reserved.
It has mostly been a normal day, though our thoughts constantly play back the last couple of weeks and sometimes last couple of months. We have received a few visitors and are grateful to them for stopping by and either talking or bringing us dinner. Reading the many who have commented on our blog has led us to thank Heavenly Father for so many wonderful friends and family and even occasional strangers who have offered their condolences.
As some of you know I have recently taken up photography as a new hobby and have finished touching up a few photos. I have taken over 200 in the last 2 weeks and still have many more to go before I feel comfortable printing them out. Here are the finished ones:

I will be creating a memorial blog in Kimball's honor. This is where I will have a slide show and all pictures relating to this manner. I feel it necessary as a father to help with the pain. It will be my way of spending cherished time with our son. Please be on the lookout for this site, as it comes alive I will have a link so everyone can view it.

Thank you all for supporting us in so many ways. We truly are doing well and are handling this very well. I believe it is due to all of your prayers. We love all of you and hope to see you!!

Sorrow

Kimball Ryan Fuhriman passed away today in the arms of his mother. With peacefulness the veil between this world and the next opened up and welcomed our son around four o'closk in the afternoon at our home. Kimball, we love you and miss you dearly and cant wait to see you again. It is with much pain that I write the remaining of this post and the moments leading up to his passing.

Wednesday July 30th,
We had family visit today to see Kimball for possibaly the last time. We have talked to the doctors to find out if there is a chance the we can have Kimball transported to our house to have his last moments or days with us in a more comfortable setting. Once the medicine used to keep his artery between the Aorta and the Pulmonary open is shut off, the doctors told us that they are not sure how long Kimball would have. It could be hours it could be weeks.
So we spent as much time with him today as we could and so did family. They have all come from great distances and by different means but we appreciate these visits all the same. The Nurses have been so kind to us, especially under these circumstances. Sarah, who is one of Kimball's nurses took it upon herself and made a little scrapbook for us with pictures and cutouts. It turned out really wonderful and appreciate it. They also created a memory box for us filled with items that we could use to remember Kimball by.
It was also a hard day because we were not sure how Alissa would handle the news and how we were going to tell her. We had contemplated this for days and felt that the right things would be said to her. Tracy and I tried to explain, but we think that she is too young to fully understand. We will continue to remind her of her little brother so one day she can finally understand and know about him.
Later in the day we were blessed to find out that we would be able to transfer Kimball to our house where we would then take him off of the oxygen and his medicine to be with us until the end. This was pleasant news to hear. We found out that we were handling things fairly well considering and know that it is from the numerous prayers and blessings that we have received. Thank you everyone for these prayers, we appreciate it so much that we truly feel loved and thought of.
The transfer would be early the next morning, so many things had to take place. I had to learn how to replace a feeding tube (which is inserted through the nose down into the stomach) just in case it happened to be removed. I learned how to feed him with the syring and how to administer his "comfort" medicine, which consisted of Adivan (a light seditive) and Morphine for discomfort. We were also informed of the signs that would be present when time was winding down for him. All of this seemed a little too much but had to be done. Because of legal issues Kimball's care would be transfered to a Hospise facility who would come to our house and help give additional medication if needed. It was very hard to sleep that night. Tracy woke up at 1 in the morning and began to pack up (since there was nothing better to do).

Thursday, July 31st

Today is Kimball's 2 week birthday. We are glad that he has made it this far. We got ready and headed to Kimball's room bright and early. We did not want to be late, and wanted some time with Kimball before the nurses and crew would be there to transfer him into the ambulance. Again, we all felt calm and peaceful about things and were excited to go home. Tracy was going to be riding with Kimball in the ambulance and I would drive with Alissa back home.
Since being in front of the Ambulance, I ariived in town around 12:45 and the ambulance was about an hour behind me. I got settled in and got everything ready for Kimball.
Around 1:30 the Kimball finally arrived home. (One of two homes that he would be visiting that day). We brought him in and held him for about an hour and a half all while on his medicine and oxygen. My mom and a few of Tracy's family were present and were able to hold Kimball during this time. But we knew this could not last, so aroun 3:00 we let the nurse know that we were ready to take the oxygen off and remove the medicine. We had felt that once this happened, even though the doctors said it could be weeks before he passed, that Kimball would go quickly. Tracy sat down and took him in her arms and over the next 45 minutes we watched Kimball pass away. This has been the hardest thing that we have ever done and hope that we do not have to experience letting one of our children go again.
We wanted have some more time with Kimball, so we held him and hugged him. I couldnt help but take him up to his room and show him his place that he would have slept and played. Where he would be when he would awake at all hours of the night to be fed. Where he would be rocked to sleep during the day for his naps. Where he would learn to love the Seahawks to eventually watch them play with his dad. All these memories, even though they did not really happen, played in my head as we stood in his room. All of these memories even though they do not exist play in my head now as I cry, typing this memorial to him.
We then called the corroner who came to take Kimball away from us....to take him away for the last time. It was very hard to hand him over.....to release him from our arms.
Kimball we love you!!! Even though the doctors could not fix your broken heart.....we pray that you can fix our broken hearts!!

Our Little Angel

I dread opening the laptop up tonight to try to put into words the emotions that we are feeling at this time. But first to recap the last few days as it has been a roller coaster:

So Wednesday as mentioned before came and we met with the Geneticist. There were many questions but one that really stood out to us was how was our baby doing. He was in having a catheder to check the anatomy of his heart. After our meeting we hung out in the lobby and was notified when the procedure was over. Now the part about waiting for the results......took forever. We were actually not notified of any findings other than "we dont see anything that we hadnt already expected," which was a big help...not really. We figured things were still ok until that night a doctor came into explain the findings from the procedure and basically told us that there wasnt anything they could do for Kimball. We were to prepare ourselves to take Kimball home and care for him until he passed away...or take the first surgery and we could have 6 months with him. Oh this just didnt feel good. It was a very emotional evening. We had some friends up here with the same diagnosis as Kimball. They took us out to dinner that night to celebrate their childs successful surgery. We were very grateful for this family who took us under their wings and helped us, even if it was for a moment, get things out of our mind.

After dinner we discussed the options and came to the conclusion that we would wait to here from the surgeons and cardiologists in the morning to hear their opinions. We also had called to ask if family could bring up Alissa to see Kimball before we made any decisions as well...seeing that time was a factor.

Thursday came around and found us in Kimball's room early. We had been praying for an answer but did not have anything yet. The doctor came in and quickly explained that Kimball could be on schedule for surgery the coming Friday!!  We were blown away and confused....so there was something that could still be done!!

My brother Scott was up in Seattle on a business trip so he was going to stop by to visit and also help me give Kimball a name and a blessing as we still didnt know what the official outcome would be. Scott arrived at the same time as Tracy's mom and dad who brought Alissa with them. It was great to see Alissa again, but hard under these circumstances. We all went into Kimball's room where I gave Kimball a blessing. It was good to have family around at this time. We were grateful for Tracy's parents for bringing our daughter up, who would be staying with us for a couple of days, and to have Scott be able to stop by.

The next 3 days were filled with waiting and more waiting. We found out that Kimball was still on schedule for the surgeries, but we would have some meetings with the Geneticist and the doctor again followed by a meeting with the surgeons at some point. The weekend was a pain to go through with all of this waiting. 

We met again on Sunday to review the final findings of the genetic studies and to also merge the two conditions to get a better road map. We found out that we had won the genetic lottery. Neither Tracy or I were carriers of the translocated chromosomes. This is called a de novo......which means that we dont have to worry and test Alissa, or that any possible future children are less likely to follow suit. The heart information I will discuss below since there is no use repeating myself. The big wait now was for Monday July 28th to hear what the surgeons had to say.

July 28th - We were quite anxious to hear the report from the surgeons, who are the real experts at this stuff. We werent able to get a hold of them until around 3 o'clock.......... If you are brave, you may read further.........

The surgeon began to tell us the way the heart normally functions. Blue blood coming into the heart, red blood coming from the lungs exiting the heart to the body. Then he proceeded to explain to us Kimball's heart anatomy. Kimball has a very severe case that resulted in some cyanoids forming in the heart that are needed, to get blood, to the heart muscle in order to pump. With Kimball being the size he is and the abnormal coronary arteries the surgeons gave him less than 50 percent chance of surviving the first surgery. Our next option would be to continue with the first surgery and take Kimball home where we could have some time with him,even if it is only momentarily. This bubble was only bursted when we were told that Kimball would never be able to leave the hospital with such a risk of sudden death from the surgery. The hardest part came when we were told that the biggest factor is the genetic issue would not allow Kimball to be active enough to help blood flow. This is necessary for these surgeries to be a success.......The surgeons then explained to us that Kimball would have a near zero chance of making it after all surgeries were completed. Thus I am writing this blog as an official word that our son will not be able to come home a stay with us alive. We are very grateful for all of those who have given their time, money and prayers for Kimball and our family.......dont think that your prayers were not answered and dont think that your prayers were wasted. Although very hard as it is, we have been comforted in this decision and know that Kimball is going to a place where he wont have pain and suffering. we love you Kimball and you will always be in our hearts..........

We dont know today when we will finally take Kimball off of his medicine that is keeping him alive or how long he will last once we do. We will let everyone know when this will take place......but know that Kimball will always be our little angel.

The following is a poem that was given to us by the family mentioned above who's child also underwent surgery. I find it very appropriate and I love this poem (Believe me you will need a Kleenex):

Once upon a special day....

In heaven up above....

The tiniest of souls sat at God's feet...

Surrounded by his love...

The time was coming ...very soon...

God said ..."Do not be scared"...

Your family awaits your arrival...

Now let us get prepared..

And so ...God looked upon these souls...

In mute consideration...

He knew the life each one would live...

He weighed each situation...

The souls chatted amongst themselves...

And wondered who they'd be...

They knew the day grew closer...soon...

They'd meet their family.

"How would you like to change the world?"

God asked each soul in fun...

"The chance to make a difference..."

is held by only one.

I'm going to make the world laugh...

One soul said with a smile...

For laughter heals a broken heart...

And helps us through each trail...

Then take with you the brightest smile...

And share your laughter well...

The soul thanked God immensly ...

And down to earth he fell.

"And I'll remind the world to sing...

A sweet little soul told the Lord...

I have the gift of a beautiful voice...

I can hit every note...every chord.

You'll have the gift of music then...

A voice ...lovely and strong...

Share your gift with others...

And let them hear your song.

I will show compassion...

The next little soul raised his hand...

Some people only need a friend...

Someone to understand.

Compassion is a good thing...

God said with much delight...

To you... I will give mercy...

You'll perceive wrong from right.

And so each soul ... shared every thought...

Their plans, their hopes, their dreams...

As God explained that life...it is ...

Much harder than it seems.

And as each soul began to leave...

In a scurry of laughter and fun...

Heaven became quiet...

Left...was only one.

Come sit with me my little child...

God said with just a sigh...

Do you know how many you will touch...

In a world left wondering why?

From the moment your life begins...

You... will know strife...

But you'll teach  those who know you...

To cherish the small things in life.

And some may only know you....

Through a simple photograph...

They'll never hold you in their arms...

Or memorize your laugh...

Some may only know you...

through the words they read each day...

But you'll do something wonderful...

You'll make them stop to pray.

The tiniest soul... raised up his head up...

To touch God's fir, strong hand...

Father... I am ready for...

The life... that you have planned.

And I will do the best I can...

Without a word or deed...

For you Lord...are the planter...

And I will be your seed.

He could already hear many praying...

And although they had not seen his face...

They were praying for his safe arrival...

They were asking for mercy and grace.

What talent do I leave with Lord?

What gift do you impart?

All that you will need, God said..

I've placed within your heart.

And so God kissed this tiny child...

Knowing all that he would be...

And whispered as he watched him go...

You'll teach them...to see me.

-Stephanie Husted, Mother to Braeden (HLHS)

No Title

We were scheduled to have the catheter procedure done on Monday around 1 pm. The weekend went by well and Tracy and I were talking about how well things were going and how we felt calm and comforted. Sunday was just a waiting day. We visited Kimball as much as possible and held him to pass the time. We were also looking forward to having Alissa come up for the day on Monday so this made the wait even harder.
When Monday came around our nerves were getting the best of us knowing that his procedure was today. Alissa, Tracy's mom and sister both made it up to see Kimball before his procedure. It was great to see Alissa and her reaction to our families new addition. She loved it and we could tell that she loves Kimball. She was so excited to touch his head and hands.

We left to go get lunch so we could make it back before the doctors came back to take Kimball. After lunch we went into Kimball's room and noticed that he was still there, so we waited and waited. Around 2 o'clock the doctors came in and informed us that they were not going to do the procedure today because of some possible genetic complications. Man did this just hit us like a ton of bricks. We were told that with some genetic outcomes that surgery would not be beneficial and that there would be nothing that they could do. The room was now closing in on us......we had prepared ourselves for the heart defect so well and knew what was going to happen.......but this new news was a curve ball that nailed us square between the eyes. Monday ended with our spirits depleted of an energy. We visited Kimball late tonight and even though the emotions were overflowing we had a calm peacefulness as we held him.

Tuesday July, 22nd

With more strength, we tackled today with more visits and we were able to get Kimball into his MRI that was needed before the doctors could complete the catheter. Kimball looked so good today that again we were just amazed that he has any complications at all. We took every opportunity to hold and visit with him. Because of the genetic questions at hand we were asked to give blood to uncover any linking of the genetic issues to one of us. We were informed that there was a translocation of chromosomes and this could mean an unbalanced or deleted chromosome structure. This leads down a very unknown path of possible outcomes. We would get more information on this issue Wednesday the 23rd. Kimball's MRI came back good with good brain structure and no issues of any abnormalities. We were also informed that he was scheduled for his catheter on Wednesday!!! This was good news to end the day. Today was a much better day and a day we needed after the news we received on Monday.

Wednesday July, 23rd

Well today started on a good note. We woke up ready to meet with the Geneticist at 9:30, to find our pager beeping at 8:30. When we called they had informed us that Kimball's catheter procedure had been moved up and he was being taken back at any moment. So we rushed down to see him off. He looked so great and peaceful.

We waited in the lobby for the Geneticist to meet with us while Kimball was in with the doctors. We were nervous about the findings and were hoping for the best. When the Geneticist arrived we met in a conference room and there she explained to us that Kimball had a rare genetic disorder called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. This is caused when chromosome (4p) to be exact, is deleted or is not present. This disorder has many symptoms such as heart defects, malformed ears and kidney malformations all of which are seen in Kimball, with many more significant symptoms that we would not like to discuss now. We don't know much and it feels like we can't even think about this syndrome yet because we need to focus on the heart for now. Because we thought we were so prepared for the heart defect, this curve ball has placed us back to square one, not knowing where to turn or go. Right now we are just confused, but need to focus on Kimball and the surgeries at hand. Please again pray for Kimball and for once please pray for us. We need it at this time.

The Horseshoe and the Mask

Well most of you are probably thinking this is a strange title. Well it is, but it has its relevance. We visited Kimball to day and found out that early this morning they had placed a mask on him to help with the medicine he is on. The PGE medicine is used to help that ductus to stay open, but it has its side effects. It also can cause aptnia, where he will stop breathing. 

We also found out from yesterdays ultrasound that he has a Horseshoe Kidney. What that is is his kidneys have fused together so it appears to be one kidney in the shape of a horseshoe. Although this is not uncommon among even healthy children it could also mean that he has some genetic abnormalities. It was also noticed that he has some cysts on his kidneys as well. Not to worry at this point thought that the kidneys despite the horseshoeness (you like that word) and the cysts his kidneys appear to be functioning well and there is no need to worry at this point. We again were also told that Kimball's left ear is slightly irregular, nothing real noticeable, but all of these things point to some sort of genetic defect.So we are just waiting to hear from test results and to find out if these defects have any implications to any of his treatments that he may need.

Tracy's mom went home today and will probably come back this Monday for Kimball's catheter. She will hopefully bring Alissa up with her, which we are so anxious to see her. We were able to speak with her today through Skype and see how much we miss her. Enjoy more pictures:

The Schedule

Well yesterday started out great!! After Tracy's c-section and my visit with Kimball at Children's, I went back to UW to stay with Tracy for the night. She was doing so well so fast. She was able to keep food down, which wasnt the case for the first c-section and was also able to get up and move around (which was a surprise). In the morning (18th of July) things were looking even better. All the nurses and doctors were so surprised at the progress she was making that Tracy was actually discharged fron the hospital 1 day after her c-section. This brought Tracy's spirits up knowing that she could visit Kimball anytime she wanted now.
Many people have been of great help to us and we appreciate everyone and their generosity. Tracy's uncle brought up his 40 ft. fifth wheel for us to stay in during our time here. Children's has a RV section that the fifth wheel is parked in, which is helpful being so close to the hospital.
We were able to meet with Doctor Jones yesterday who is the cardiac surgeon. He has studied the ECG's and ultrasounds to make some determinatins as what steps should be taken. We are scheduled for Monday to have a cathader procedure to look at Kimball's heart and see what exactly the inside structure of his heart looks like and to perform some procedures to allow his heart to go through less stress. Dr. Jones informed us that he is going to a international convention for heart surgeons on this very diagonsis that Kimball has. He will be leaving on Saturday and returning on Sunday to prepare for this procedure on Monday. He will be performing this procedure live in front of the worlds leading heart surgeons that will be broadcasted back to the international convention. This is a great opportunity to teach other surgeons the course of action to take to help out more new borns who have this diagnosis. Dr. Jones was the first to perform this cathader, and what it entails is the following:

• First the scope will be placed in through a vein at his hip and follow this vein back to the heart.
• Once it reaches the heart, they will widen an opening that already exists in the heart to help supply the left side with more blood.
• Then the scope will go into the Right Ventricle (the one that is underdeveloped) and check the coronary arteries that might be malformed. These are propbaly malformed since the valve exiting the the right ventricle has closed up.
• If there is no blood leaving these coronary arteries (which there shouldnt be and which we are hoping for) they will continue to the pulmonary valve which has fused shut and burn a hole with the scope and open the valve back up.
• If this step looks good they will proceed up to the Patent Ductus Arteriosis (the artery that connects the Aorta and the Pulmonary artery at birth and over time disappears). If this Ductus looks ok they can balloon the ductus open which will allow blood to flow freely without medicine.

These steps if all could be completed would be the most beneficial. If they could perform all steps there would be no need to perorm the more invasive open heart surgery but would wait for 3-7 months to perform the next Glenn procedure which would be open heart surgery. If one of these steps doesnt look good they will pull out and have to schedule Kimball in a couple of days for the open heart surgery.

Childrens Hospital is a great place and we really like the care that is being given. This weekend will hopefully give us more rest than what we have had the last week.

Thank you for all of your prayers, we are doing fine to this point and Kimball looks strong to this day as well. More to come so check back in.

New Arrival with Pictures

Today we woke up at 4:30 am to leave our hotel room to travel to the UW hospital. Traffic was bare at this time which was a relief and after getting checked in we were scheduled to have the baby around 7:30. This time was changed however when another patient needed an emergency c-section. This only postponed things for an hour before we were really ready to get things on the road. Tracy's mom, two brothers and sister in law were able to make indown for the delivery. We had a good laugh before Tracy was taken back. When her family had arrived they told us the story of the "Star Trek" elevator. Apparently Tracy's mom had entered the elevator and told the elevator, "Sixth floor please......." I am not sure the last time she had actually been in an elevator, but Tracy's brother's had told her that she needed to confirm her entry by pressing the number. Ahhhhh.........great stuff. Sure helped to lighten the mood.
So the time came around finally go in and take Kimball out. This was Tracy's second c-section, so things seemed to go well. It was actually very quick and smooth. At 9:28, with me at her side, Kimball Ryan Fuhriman entered this world. I was able to peek over the separation cloth as the doctors held him up to see his first moments. I was sure to sit down fairly fast, so I didn't see anything that I really didn't want to see. Shortly after, I went in to take my first full look at our new son. Here is his first picture:

He weighted 4 pounds 1 ounce, and had a good set of lungs on him. Which was a good sign since we were here on the fourth of July and that was the only reason they did not take him then was to have his lungs develop a little bit more.

After both Tracy and I returned to the post op room, Kimball would be transfered shortly after to Children's Hospital to have multiple tests ran. I would be the one to follow the ambulance and to check him in. Before the transfer, we were able to see him and Tracy even got to hold him for a few minutes:

Kimball has since had a few tests ran. His Eco-Cardiograhm was completed today along with a cathader which will be used to issue medicine and food to him. This medicine keeps a small blood vessel connecting the Aorta and Pulmonary arteries open. This vessel closes off shortly after birth, and allows oxygenated blood to be placed back in his lungs. to be pumped out to his body. For those who don't know his right side (which pumps unoxygenated blood to the lungs to be oxygenated) does not function. Tomorrow we should be able to have the results of these tests, which will give us a better foresight as to what will happen down the road. Will the surgery happen in two days or in a week.

Kimball looks very strong right now and it is amazing to look at him and know that his heart doesnt work when he looks perfect.

We will keep this updated as we know more. Keep praying, we are no where near the end of this, and really there is no end. I have a few more pictures here for everyone to view. Enjoy!

New Arrival

Well today we had a new addition to our family.Kimball Ryan Fuhriman arrived today at 9:28 am and was 4 lbs 1 oz. He looks great and healthy. They have been running some tests and monitoring him all day to day. I just wanted to update everyone and let you know that I will be posting some pictures later tonight. Please visit this site soon to see the pictures.

We are OK

Well I first must apologize to all who have been checking in. Everything so far is ok and we are doing fine. We got discharged from UW hospital on the 4th of July because the babies lungs were not developed enough for delivery or else we would have a baby right now. We have had to have daly monitoring of the Kimball and doing non stress tests. We are scheduled to have the baby this thursday (the 17th of July) so we know when it will happen. This is still 2 weeks early but the doctors know what they are doing and we trust them and their knowledge.


It has been a crazy week since then, with daily doctor visits and the passing of my Grandpa. Since the schedule of the babies due date has changed and will be two weeks different it has put a strain on me at work to get things all prepared and ready for me to leave. I have a good group of people that are responsibel and wiil do a fine job, I just dont want to leave them a mess of work while I am gone.


We found out that our doctor at Childrens hospital was infact the daughter of Mike Holmgren, who is the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks for those that do not know. She has actually accepted another job and has since left but it was cool because we are one of the biggest Seahawk fans in there are. Here is a picture of Kimballs room. It is not quite finished yet but we are getting there. You can see that we are true FANatics.

For those who would like to learn more please watch this video. It is very touching and has some very good information.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers and all of the comments that we are receiving. We will keep you posted a little better than we have this last week. Look for more this Wednesday......

Today's Ups and Downs

Well today is the fourth of July. Independence day!! Last night's stay in the hospital was a busy one (a little uncomfortable too). Lots of monitoring and check ups. We woke up with some possible good news that we might be able to go home today since the baby readings were coming out so well.
Around noon we were then told that they were going to perform an amniocentesis to check the babies lung development. If the lungs look good they will schedule the c-section, if the lungs are not fully developed we would be able to go home and come back in a couple of weeks...which we were both leaning toward.
Our hopes were crushed when Tracy had an ultra sound before the amnio to check where the best possible place would be to take the sample. During this investigation they found that Kimball has some fluid in his abdomen which means that we will have to stay in the hospital until the baby is born. Fluid in the body is common among people with heart failure. This is a new development that we nor the doctor was expecting. We also know that Kimball is a small baby. He is around 35 weeks old but is measuring around 30 weeks which is around three and a half pounds. This just makes any kind of operation even harder.
Right now we are just waiting on the test results from the amnio check and we will know more in an hour or so. We will continue to send updates as soon as possible. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Little Scare

Today Tracy had noticed that the baby wasn't moving as much as had been for the past few months. Since we were told to see the doctor if this situation occurred, Tracy went into the clinic to get a check up. While there, her doctor had noticed the the babies heart rate wasn't where it should be so they did a stress test to monitor the baby. They decided to check the babies responsiveness, but the baby was not responding. Due to these conditions the doctor had contacted the University of Washington hospital to report their findings, and we were informed that Tracy had to be air lifted to the hospital. Tracy said she had a great window seat on the plane from Moses Lake to Seattle but she was too low to see anything but sky........oh well.
So here I am in the hospital writing this up. The latest news seems to be that the baby is OK, and the vitals are fine as well (for now at least). It does sound like we will be here until the baby is born though.
I would like to thank all of those who have called to check in for the latest news and who have let us know that the are praying for us and our baby.
I do have Internet access in the room so I am able to easily and quickly update the blog and let everyone know any news that may come along.

Back to the Stomping Grounds

Well I just had the opportunity to go back to Germany, my old stomping grounds for a business trip. I was excited to get this chance as our families plan to go back have taken a back seat lately. I needed to give some presentations to our customers in Germany and Austria over a week in a half.

I flew out of Spokane on Monday June 16th for a flight to Seattle then jump on a 9 and a half Luftansa flight to Frankfurt. The one thing about flying is I cannot sleep on a plane. Iknew this would be a rough flight but atleast there were plenty of movies to watch. After this grueling flight we landed in Frankfurt on June 17th, but it was not over just yet, a conecting flight to Dresden was still in store. When we finally got to Dresden, I was just too tired to see anything so I went to bed.

Wednesday, June 18th - We met with our customer in Dresden this morning, after which we drove to Freiberg to meet with another customer. After out second visit, we returned to Dresden with the rest of the day to finally get out on the streets and take some pictures. See the following pictures of Dresden below. Dresden was actually a very interesting city with some great buildings to see.

Thursday, June 19th - Well we needed to fly out to Vienna Austria today and meet with one more customer. Unfortuanetly they had cancelled the meeting so we were flying to Vienna and driving back to Salzburg all in one day. It would have been quicker to just drive to Salzburg from Dresden, but since we had all of our reservations for the plane and rental car, and the expences it would have taken to change everything we still took the trip. Upon arriving in Vienna (only a 1 hour flight) we decided to see a little of Vienna before making the 3 and a half hour drive to Salzburg. The pictures below were taken from Vienna. This is such a beautiful city, with so much going on. This is actually the place where the Euro cup 2008 was taking place, so it was exteremly busy and crowded.

We arrived in Salzburg around 5 in the evening to check into our hotel. One of my co-workers that I was travelling with had family in Salzburg and actually ran the hotel that we were staing at and they wanted to take us out to dinner that night.....finally some real German food that I had been waiting for for years. We went to a local favorite restaraunt, were you can only get in with a reservation. After looking the menu over I noticed that the food here is a little different than the german food that I was used to on my mission. So I just picked one that sounded good. Whe the food arrived it looked good and tasted pretty good until my co-workers family had asked me how it tasted. I said it was pretty good and their next comment was if I wanted to know what I was eating.........Oh great something that I did not want to hear. I told them that I did not want to know until I was done eating. The food that I was eating was wispered to bothof my co-workers that were traveling with me and their noses turned up and I just about lost it. I had imagined tat I was eating cow kidneys or brains or.....jus tabout every possible part of the cow had come to mind.....but I finished it anyway. The moment finally came when I was told that I was eating heart and lung.....eeeks. I could understand heart but not lung!!! Later I found out that I was lucky...this dish is normally served with an intact Aorta,which I would have really lost it if that was in my plate.

Friday, June 20th - Salzburg has got to be my favorite city ever. We took the first half of the day and walked around in the "old" city (which is the original part of town that was first built). The shops and cafe's were great, with alot to see and do. In the evening after shoping, we hiked on top of a small mountain (Big Hill) to get an overview of the City. These were the pictures taken from this viewpoint:

Saturday June 21st - It has been soooo hot here in Austia and Germany the whole time here, and to mention that there is very little to no air conditioning, you cannot escape the heat. I could not sleep last night because of this heat. I was sweating and uncomfortable. This morning when w got up and went to eat beakfast, one of my co-workers asked if I slept well, to which I responded that I did not. "That explains the huge purple bags uder your eyes," she said. I had explained that It was so hot that I could not get to sleep. She then asked why I didnt use the air conditioner.........If I had only known that therewas an air conditoner in my room!!!!!

We wanted to take some tours around Salzburg because there is so much to see. We deceided to take the Sound of Music tour today and w would go see Hitler's Eagles Nest on Sunday. The Sound of Music tour is based off of the film and not the true story but here are a few pictures from this great tour that I would recommend to anyone who visits Salzburg.

Sunday June 22nd - I slept so much better thanks to the AIR CONDITIONING in my room!!! We had to be ready by 8:45 to go on our tour to the Eagles Nest. This was Hitler's man hide out and retreat. This thing is perched on the edge of a 9000 foot mountain overlooking the German and Austrian border. This was one of the most amazing views and places to be. We had to take a bus on shear cliff roads all the way up to the entrance of the Eagles nest. The views were great but it felt like we were just going to careen off the edge of every switch back that we took. We would then go up an evelvator 600 feet to the inside of the Eagles Nest. The view again was unbelievable. See pictures below from the Eagles Nest:

After we made it back to the buses, we made a trip to a small town to have some lunch. We were on a strict schedule and were told to be back at what I had heard was 1:05. Well it was actually 12:55 that we were suppose to be back, and as you can imagine we were late....so late in fact that the bus just about left us in this Kuhdorf (Cow Village meaning a very small town) on a Sunday where it would have been very hard to get back to Salzburg. Luckily w made it and the tour guide wasnt too happy with us.

Monday June 23rd - We had a schduled meeting with another customer in Regensburg Germany this morning. We drove the two and a half hours on the autobahn (which I was driving at some points to 100 mph) to Regensbrurg and met with out customers. After our meeting we again took a brief tour of the city and got some more pictures before leaving for Munich. See pictures of Regensburg:

Tuesday June 24th - This was the day to fly home. I loved the visit back to Germany, but was ready to see my wife and kid again. We arived at the Munich airport borded our plane and then were told that we had to wait on the tarmack for another two and a half hours......!!!!! there was no way we were going to make our next plane in Copenhagen Denmark. There we would catch our plane bound for Seattle. This mae us think that we would have to stay another day in Copenhagen because there is only one flight to Seattle a day!! I was so upset.....!! The captain again came over the intercom and let su know that things had changed for the food and we would leave in a half hour.YES!!!. Upon arriving in Copenhagen it just happended to be our luck that our terminal for our Seattle flight was a mile away and we were running the whole time just to make our flight. Finally boarded, the trip back to Seatte was just as long and excruciating. But we made back and got back to Moses Lake around 11:30 that same day (Which for us had been over 24 hours since we got up). Bakc at last from a trip that I enjoyed very much and ws also glad that it was over.