Disney World

Disney World was amazing and fabulous and wonderful. The trip couldn't have been better. It really was a wish come true for Joseph and he was able to do everything he dreamed of. To hear more details of our trip check out the Disney World Vacation blog that you can link to from this site.

Make A Wish Party

On Monday Joseph had his Make a Wish send off party. He invited the teachers quorum, aka really loud, obnoxious boys, and Brother Shelley and his family and Grandma and Grandpa Talbert. We all went up to the Make a Wish building in Murray and there he was given stuff for our trip. We received things like games and puzzle books for the airplane trip; lots of snacks for the airplane trip; ponchos and sunscreen for Disney World; and the info and expense check for our trip. Afterwards, Joseph etched his name on a star and raised it to the ceiling to stay there forever. We finished off the party with cake and ice cream. Joseph had so much fun. He couldn't stop smiling and his eyes sparkled so much. It was wonderful. Next is our vacation!

Disneyworld here we come!

We are going to Disney World for Joseph's Make a Wish Vacation! We will be leaving on the 18th of July and returning on the 24th of July. We will be staying at the Caribe Royale hotel and our trip will be coordinated by the people at Give Kids the World - they are volunteers that have an entire village set up just for wish families. We will have access to their village which includes a pool, an all you can eat ice cream parlor, a theater, and some game rooms among other stuff. Our hotel's pool includes a 75 foot water slide and looks very sweet. We will also be going to all of the Disney World venues that we can, including the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, MGM Studios, and two water parks. It will be crazy but it will be an absolute blast. We will post pictures after the trip.

Lfie is Great!!

Well, it has been a couple months since I last wrote an update but life for Joseph is Great!!! At the end of April Joseph was released from his isolation time and the first activity he did was to go to scouts and bike 10 miles. It was really hard and he didn't keep up with the other boys even a little but he made it to the end and he was never as tired as he was before the transplant. Joseph's biopsy in May was good - no rejection - and since then life has been all uphill. Joseph has gone to only seeing the doctor every three weeks - this was mostly due to our need to be other places when he should be going to the doctor, the first time was for Kent's graduation and the second time was for Diane's wedding, and the third time was for scout camp. Normally he should still be at every other week visits. Some of Joseph's other accomplishments are that his longest bike ride has been 14 1/2 miles. He can swim so much better than before - his body likes the water better and he doesn't get as shivery and he also has a lot more energy and swimming doesn't wear him out as much. Joseph is also a lot more bouncy and energetic and has a smile on his face far more often. It is amazing what feeling good can do for your attitude. Joseph will have his next biopsy before he goes back to school in August, but for now life is more normal than it has ever been and it shows in his personality and in the way he enjoys his friends and family more. Life is certainly great!!!

Recording

This is a recording Joseph did to help Primary Children's with their radiothon (hope it works!)

Joseph's Recording

update 4/17/08

Right after I posted the last update Joseph had a biopsy that showed mild rejection. This was not a happy day for Joseph. All the good things he was looking forward to had to be postponed. He had to increase his steroids, add a medicine that he had already finished and continue on one that he was looking forward to stopping that day. He also was not allowed to go to young men's as had been the plan and we had to continue our twice weekly visits. Time makes everything better and 3 weeks later Joseph is back down on his steroids and looking forward to getting off of some medication and we are only seeing the doctor once a week. He has had no physical signs of rejection except for the biopsy results and that means we are catching it early. He continues to have so much energy and to be extremely active. He is running and biking and doing pretty good at keeping up with his friends (who have been wonderful to spend so much time with Joseph, it makes his days go by so much faster). Overall we feel very good about his health. His next biopsy is on May 2nd and we don't expect any rejection because the doctor also changed one of his long term meds and hopefully that will keep it from returning.
Wendy

March 26

Wow time flies! Life for Joseph just couldn't be better. It has been three weeks since I posted an update and life is amazing. The protein losing enteropathy has completely gone away. His belly is flat like it should be and we are working our way off of the medications to treat this. One medication is gone and the other is getting the dose cut every Monday. We cut it down today and will do so again next week and then we should be able to stop it. Joseph body is also adjusting to his new heart. The measurements that they take with the ultrasound when they do an echocardiogram are all in the normal range and we are looking forward to his biopsy on Friday to see if the pressures in his heart are in the normal range as well. Energy wise Joseph is doing great!! Last week we started walking a mile to see how he did and since that was no problem this week he has permission to begin running, biking, or any other exercise that doesn't include physical contact. Overall they would like him to avoid physical contact sports like football forever but they admit that many patients do not. However, until he reaches the 6 month mark he cannot participate in sports where his chest could get injured. Today we also learned that when he finishes the rest of the medicine called Valcyte that we have already purchased he gets to be done with that. This is fabulous news because it is the medication that costs us $600 a month after insurance. Sunday will be the last day he has to take this medicine. We will now only have to pay about $400 a month for medication but since this will continue for the rest of his life we will adjust and budget this in. All the other medications that will go away in the next year are cheap but Joseph is just happy any time he has one less to swallow. We are also excited to have the biopsy on Friday because if it goes well then Joseph will be allowed to go to Young Men's on Wednesday nights. He can only go if they are doing activities that don't require going somewhere where there are a lot of people and if one of the other boys is sick then Joseph will have to leave but we are excited to have him get back out in circulation a little bit. Hopefully soon he will be able to go back to church as well.
Another fun thing that happened for Joseph is that he got to go to the Make A Wish Foundation and make a wish. This is an amazing program for children ages 4 - 18 who go through life threatening medical experiences. They get the chance to wish for either something to be, somewhere to go, something to have, or someone to meet. They actually get to make 3 wishes with only the 1st wish being granted unless they are not able to make that wish happen then they go to one of the other wishes. Joseph was referred to the Make a Wish foundation in October and his first wish was to meet the BYU football team but that wish came true a different way so by the time we were able to finally go and make his wish last week he had decided that he wanted to go to Disney world because it was a place he had wanted to go and because he could ride in an airplane and ride roller coasters. We are looking forward to going to disney world this summer (after July 7th - his 6 months of isolation will be over). Make a Wish provides for the entire family to go for a 6 night 7 day vacation and they pay for everything including souvenir money for all the kids except for Kent who is 18 and will have to use his own money for souvenirs. Needless to say Joseph has one more reason to be excited for the summer.

Wendy

3-4-08

So far March is off to a great start!! Last week Joseph had a stent put into a blood vessel near his heart. We will be adding pictures of the before and after now that our computer is working again after a major hard drive crash. The procedure went great and I think it makes him feel a little better. Also, the rejection from a couple weeks ago is gone and the pressures in his left and right ventricles are decreasing. He won't have another biopsy for a month and he is certainly not complaining about that! Yesterday Joseph went in for his normal Monday visit and we were thrilled to find out his albumin and protein levels in his blood are not only up but they are the best they have been in two years. Since the 10th of February he has lost 9 pounds of fluid in his body and he still has more to go. However, he is looking a lot more like his old self and his energy level continues to go up. He had an especially fun Saturday this week when first he played the WII with his cousin, Diane, and then later had four friends come over to hang out and play video games. The best part is that afterwards he wasn't so worn out that he couldn't cope with things happening around him. The hardest part for him now is the isolation that will continue for another couple months. He is restless and wishes he could go to young mens and to church and even to the store. By the time he is done with this he will have gained a lot of patience. We are just thrilled to have the protein losing enteropathy resolving and to have him enjoying things he hasn't really enjoyed for the last year.
Wendy
__________

2/22/08

Wow! It has been two weeks since we added an update on Joseph. Needless to say we have been busy. Joseph is doing very well. The weekend I wrote the last update he ended up dumping the albumin and protein in his body and had to go in for IV albumin. Since then he has done very well and we are hopeful that he is holding on to it this time. He seems to be and the fluid in his belly seems to be decreasing some, definately not increasing. You know we have become obsessed with this issue when we changed our scale to read kilograms instead of pounds since that is what they use at PCMC. Joseph is having a major increase in activity. He is now going up and down the stairs at our house whenever he wants, we play the wii sports game quite a bit and he enjoys the opportunity to get some form of exercise. We went for walks last week but this week the air quality has been too poor to wander outside. Hopefully that won't last and we will be able to be back outside in March. Last Friday Joseph's biopsy showed some mild rejection and some cell breakdown. They don't normally treat mild rejection if he is having no other symptoms but because of the cell breakdown he had to increase his medications over the weekend but he was able to drop all but one back down on Tuesday. Today is the first Friday that we have not had to go to SLC for a biopsy. We are enjoying our week off but his next biopsy is next Thursday and it is going to be a little more involved. They will be putting at least one stint in an artery that is a little bit too narrow. It is still a same day surgery procedure through a catheter (Joseph has had two stints previously) so we are not to worked up over this procedure. I think that about sums up what is happening around here. Thanks for the prayers. Friends and family make all the difference in trials.

Wendy

2-8-08

Yesterday was the one month anniversary of Joseph's transplant!! We cannot feel more blessed than we have been. Joseph continues to improve. He is gaining more strength and is having more energy all the time. Yesterday he even managed to go downstairs and hang out with me and he was able to get himself back up the stairs later on. Joseph is still struggling with fluid in his belly though. This week the fluid came back at least as bad as before the transplant if not worse. We are still hopeful that this time it will be only temporary. His body is starting to create albumin again and that is an important step to having the protein losing problem resolved. He is currently in the middle of his fourth biopsy. So far all the biopsys have been normal and we believe this one will be also. They are also going to drain a little fluid off of his belly so it is not so uncomfortable for him. This is all same day surgery procedures so we will be home again this evening. Being at home has been the best thing for Joseph. (and for our whole family) He finds a lot more to smile about and is just a lot more at peace with the recovery process. His main goal in life now is to be "a normal person" by summer. I am not sure that anyone in our family will ever be completely normal but we can hope for it anyways.

Wendy

1-31-08

Yesterday Joseph came home from Primary Children's Hospital! We are excited. I think it was a bit of a let down for him to realize that at home things are just about as boring as they were in the hospital. He still feels the same, the same stuff still hurts, and he doesn't have 24 hr access to whatever he wants to eat. But he's home, and that has to count for something.

Thank you all for your kind wishes and prayers for him and our family. He can have visitors at home where we can control better the sickness that might come in. Visitors must be healthy and they can't have even been around sick people at home, school, work, etc.

He will go up to Primary's three times a week for check-ups. Fridays will also include a biopsy to test for rejection. After three to six months he will be down to once-a-week visits and biopsies every month or two. A year from now his check-ups will likely only be monthly and biopsies every three to six months apart.

The real kick in the *** is his medicine. The attached picture shows all the medicine bottles he came home with. What you see is a one month supply. We paid $1000.00 for that pile. That is our after insurance cost. There are some state programs that might help us pay for it all. I think that some of the more expensive meds are only needed for the first three to six months. We've learned that the spot on your state taxes (like right at the end next to your signature) that asks if you want to donate a few dollars to a 'transplant fund' goes to help families pay for the cost of medications after transplant. So start doing it if you haven't been or didn't understand what it was (like me).

Brad Talbert

1-30-08

Today was a wonderful day for our family. At noon Joseph's doctor came by and asked if he felt like going home today. The answer was yes and so here we are tonight our whole family together at home. Joseph was in the hospital for 24 days. There is still a lot to do. He will need to take it easy and continue to recover, along with staying away from crowds. He also will have to have regular biopsys and see the doctor twice a week besides. We already are going back for the next biopsy on Friday but it is good to be home for a day of relaxing before that. Joseph has already had some friends drop by tonight and it is easy to see how friends and family make a difference in his recovery. We are grateful for all the prayers in our behalf, it has certainly made a difference in all that Joseph has been through. Now we will work on the routine of taking a ton of medicine and checking blood pressure, temperature and pulse twice a day, but oh it is so good to have him home with us!!!!

Wendy

1-29-08

On Monday this week, after his check-up, Joseph's doctor mentioned that they are still monitoring a few chemical levels in his body, but that if all went well this week, they would send him home on Friday. This is of course only tentative, and still may change. They also took out the last of the drainage tubes from his stomach on Monday. Needless to say, he felt better almost immediately. Things are looking up for him.

We have also learned the rules for visitors after he does come home (this week or next).He can have any visitors at home as long as they are healthy and they have not been around any sick people, like at home. This is very important because any sickness minor to us would be terrible for him. We are supposed to call the hospital if he has a cough, a sneeze, a runny nose, etc., etc. We will also ask all visitors (for Joseph or anyone else in the house) to wash their hands and/or use hand sanitizer when they enter. Otherwise he can have any number of visitors at once..and he really wants visitors. He cannot go out to places where there are groups of people where we can't control the potential for random sickness. So he will not be going to church, the mall, school, etc., etc. for quite a few months. He can go to the park, around the block, camping, and even the theater if he only goes during the 'off' time like the middle of a week day four weeks after the release.

Everyone is excited for him to come home, nobody wants him to get sick, so we will be somewhat cautious.

Brad

New pictures 1-27-08

a few new pictures are up from when we went and visited him on sunday. click here

new pictures

well here are some more pictures for those interested click here

1-23-08

Our latest update continues with good news for Joseph. He had his second biopsy yesterday and the result is that there is no rejection happening. We are very excited about that. He also has his anti-rejection meds just about set to the levels they want him to be on. This is a major step to being able to come home. The only big thing left to address for him is that he has a tube draining fluid from his abdomen and it doesn't seem to want to stop. The doctors are looking at ways to aggressively treat this problem. Today they started a new medication and gave him some IV albumin (to help with the protein deficiency in his body). They are hoping to be able to try clamping off the tube for a couple of days just to see what his body does. We are hopeful that this will be resolved soon and Joseph will be able to come home. He is in better spirits than over the weekend but he is still pretty homesick. However, he has gotten really good at bossing the nurses around and telling them what to do and how to do it. We are hoping that this weekend they will also let him out of his room to walk around and get some exercise. If they get the anti-rejection meds at the right point this will happen and this will help his attitude also.

Something else that we have learned about is a way to email Joseph. He will not get it directly and it takes about a day to get the message to him but if you go to Primary Children's website ( http://intermountainhealthcare.org/xp/public/primary/ ) there is a link to email a patient. He would really love to hear from everyone, especially his friends. You can also email him at his own email address stickboyjoe@hotmail.com but he can only check that if the COW(computer on wheels) is in his room and that varies depending upon which patients want it. He has had it the last two days so his turn is about over for a while. They only have one COW at Primary Childrens and several patients who are interested in it.

I think that about sums up what is happening on the hospital front. We appreciate all the love and support and prayers from friends and family. This is an amazing but very difficult journey for our family and you make a huge difference in our lives.

Love, Wendy

1-20-08

Here we are at the two week mark. AS I write this I notice that it is 3:50, two weeks and 5 minutes from the time we got the call. It is hard to believe all that has happened since then. One of the most remarkable things is the difference Joseph is starting to notice in himself now. Last year when his protein losing problem was first diagnosed, it began a long chain of events that has led us to the transplant. The protein problem is what first alerted doctors to the general decline in Joseph's health. The transplant was really their last option to reverse it. Because his body would basically flush protein out rather than use it properly, Joseph's physical energy declined, his body started collecting fluid in his abdomen, his heart had an even harder time keeping up, and his mental and physical reflexes slowed down. He couldn't play video games that required very much eye-mind-hand coordination, for example, or perform mental calculations to keep score in a game. One of our family favorite games is a version of rummikube; Joseph could not play more than two or three rounds before the effort of concentrating on the game wiped him out. Possibly the worst part was the fact that Joseph recognized the difference but couldn't change it.

Now two weeks later, Joseph is noticing the difference again. His heart works like never before in his life, it delivers oxygen and nutrients more effectively than ever to his mind and body. As a result, he feels better than he has in a long time. Best of all, however, is that his mind has regained its sharpness. He corrects Wendy's math when she keeps score during a game. Joseph has always been bright, but now he is getting hard to beat at any game that requires strategy. He can play his favorite video games again with only minor inconvenience from the steroid-induced shakiness in his hands. And he is discovering that he likes reading, never his favorite activity. He notices that it doesn't take the full effort of concentration that it used to for him. I'm excited to see what a new heart does for his physical energy. If it is like the transformation in his mind, nothing will stop him.

Keep the prayers going. We are confident that they help. Between our friends and family, people in your church congregations, and the temple prayer lists, a goodly number of people prayer for him several times a day. Thank you all for all you have done. In addition to the benefits for Joseph, the rest of our family is reaping the benefits as well. Wendy and I have the energy to spend time with Joseph and yet to work out a schedule that lets one of be home with Kent, Laura, Heather, and Nathaniel each day as well. It has been important to maintain as normal a life as possible at home. As a result, the others are dealing with the stress better than I expected.

Brad

January 17

Joseph continues to amaze us with how well he is doing. He still tires quickly, but he wants to do stuff. He sat in his chair most of yesterday, went for walks, and ate like a 14 yr old boy. The tiredness will wear off as he fully recovers from the surgery.

Yesterday he had the first of many heart catheter procedures to assess and keep tabs on the amount of rejection his body is subjecting the heart to. They put a longish iv-type tube in his neck and insert tools to measure blood prssures in the heart and in the lungs. They also take a small sample of heart tissue to biopsy. One of the cardiologists on the transplant team didn't like the pressures, an indication of rejection, and they started him on a higher dose of steroids almost immediately. Then everyone (i.e. Me, Wendy, and Joseph) sat on pins and needles all day waiting for the biopsy results to verify the level of rejection going on. We always thought that rejection was a fact, it was just a matter of degree and treatment. We were still pretty nervous all day while we waited for word. I didn't hear anything all day until Wendy got home at about 8 pm. She had just gotten the results a few minutes before leaving for the night. There were no signs of rejection. Joseph was given a clean bill of health to move out of the ICU and into a regular room upstairs. He will still have to stay at the hospital for another biopsy or two (one each week) before he will get the all clear to come home.

I've included drawings made by the heart catheter doctor at the time he did the procedures. These are based on ultrasounds and dye injection x-rays of Joseph's heart. The new heart is basically the text-book version, the old heart, however... well you can judge for yourself. To view pictures, click here

We don't know the rules about visitors in his new room yet. It is in a protective isolation area because of the immunosuppresives and heightened risk of infection. But his health and spirits are as well as can be expected. This is all an answer to our prayers and yours in his behalf. Thanks

Brad

Pictures..again

Well I have gone and redone the way the pictures are done so that there is a link back to this page (somebody was complaining) so now to view pictures click here

January 15

This is todays most current update on Joseph

I'm happy to report that all is going well for Joseph. The procedure on Saturday that I already described was a smashing success. He is up and about, eating well, and generally in good spirits. At this point he is recovered from the surgery in the same way anybody else would be after a week. He got up three or four times for a walk yesterday, he doesn't need hardly any help getting in and out of bed, and only minimal support while walking. The support is more because it makes us feel better than because of any real need on his part. He is only taking a pain pill infrequently and then it is Tylenol w/codeine and not the stronger stuff. They got him off the morphine drip pretty fast. He had a morphine addiction when he was a baby, so we were glad to have him off of it quickly. It is hard for me to describe how well he is doing and how well he looks. There may yet be setbacks, but none seem likely.

The main thing now is that they need to monitor him for a couple of more weeks to be sure that there are no signs of rejection. The drugs that he needs have mostly all been switched over to pill form that he swallows. They all need to be that way before he can come home. And then there is just the long monitoring process to be sure all is well before they let him out of sight. They want to make sure that the medications levels in his blood are correct and that they aren't messing up his liver or kidneys. After he comes home, he will still have to go back for tests two times a week for another six months or so and then it calms down to once a week and then one every two weeks and then only once a month. So we have a year of driving ahead of us. Thanks, to Mom & Dad and Helen & Neil for gas money.

Brad

Archives 4

This is an update from January 12th

Well, It has been a good week overall for Joseph. His new heart seems to be very healthy and strong. The first few days after surgery, even though he can answer questions and interact with us, are mostly a blur. Today he was feeling well enough to sit up and work on a puzzle book that a friend gave him, and watch a movie. The last couple of days he has wanted to do those things, but has dropped off to sleep pretty fast. Its amazing to me that less than a week after this kind of procedure that Joseph can be up, walking, sitting, and eating whatever he likes.

No stay at the hospital would be complete for Joseph with out a set back or two. He has never been the textbook 'easy' recovery patient. When his pacemaker was first installed, the surgeon put in an extra lead wire just in case one of the other two didn't work properly for some reason. This turned out to be a good thing because a year or two later one of the leads did indeed stop functioning. So plugging the spare wire into the battery was a relatively simple procedure that only required a small incision to get access to the pacemaker. Implanting new leads requires major surgery through the ribcage to gain access to the heart and that wasn't needed in order to use the extra lead wire. Well, the point of this little story is that the surgeon doing the transplant was unaware that the faulty wire was still inside of Joseph, so when he removed the pacemaker, he only removed the two wires he could see, not the other one. When this extra wire was noticed on his x-rays after surgery, it was in the chest cavity and didn't seem to be causing any problem so the decision was made to let it be. It been in there for six years or so now without problems. As long as it stayed put it wasn't likely to be an issue. However, on today's x-ray, they noticed that the wire seemed to be shifting around. Not a bad problem this minute, but potentially, it could perforate the bowel or cause other problems in the future. So Joseph went back into the operating room for about two or three hours today to have that wire removed. It is a blessing that taking out the wire is not nearly as big a deal as putting it in would have been. The doctor was able to remove it using the laparoscope tool that just needs two or three small holes. The is the same thing they use to do gall bladder and appendix operations that are common out-patient procedures. So no real big deal at all, just a small molehill in Joseph's recovery. It shouldn't add any extra time to his overall stay.

When I talked to Wendy at 4:30, she said Joseph was up fine with minor tenderness in his abdomen. Compared to the setbacks Joe has had with other operations and stays in the hospital this one is pretty minor.

I want to thank all of you for the prayers, kind words, gifts, etc. that you have been sending our way. I am confident that the reason things are going so smoothly is because of the combined faith of all of you in Josephs behalf. If you want to send a card or package for Joseph, it would be best to just send it to our house and we'll take it up to him. One of us is with him every day. Our address: 701 North 900 West, Orem, UT, 84057

Brad & Wendy

Archives 3

This is an update from somewhere between January 8th and 12th

Sorry if it feels like we are a little slow letting you know how Joseph is doing. Life has been crazy for us. Joseph is doing great!!! Today he had his chest tubes removed which is a major step in recovery. He was also able to get up and sit in a chair this morning and later on this afternoon he walked next door to a new room in the ICU. This room has a window that leads to outside instead of the hall like his last room. I can't say it is a room with a view though. It looks out onto the roof, but he will be able to tell what the weather is like every day. He should be out of ICU in a few more days. Joseph's new heart is working perfectly and there have been no complications, which is a first for Joseph in many ways. We are grateful for all the prayers in our behalf and so appreciate the love and support from family and friends. It really does make a difference. Another thing to note - the phone # we gave you was the wrong one (we were given the wrong one) I would give you the new one but it changed again today and I forgot to find out what the newest # is. We will let you know. Also, the question has been asked if you can send him things such as cards and flowers, and other such stuff. The answer is yes to any and all. The only thing not allowed is latex balloons - all balloons must be mylar. Otherwise, he can have anything he wants including any food he wants. Hope your day is going as well as ours.

Love, Brad and Wendy

Archives 2

This is from January 8th

Hi all,

Just thought we'd drop a line every couple of days to give an update. At some point we'll cut back because progress will be slower, but for now we'll try to keep you posted.

Last night went very well. Joseph woke up a little and was able to answer a couple of easy questions. You can imagine that the opportunities for conversation are limited with a respirator tube stuck into his throat. The nurse told us that they were going to try and remove it this morning. For a while, having conversations with him will be like talking to someone with a concussion. He'll wake up, ask what time it is, how long he'll be there, what everything is, etc. and then go back to sleep. When he wakes up again we'll have the same conversation. Once they taper off a couple of the pain medications, that will also stop and he'll remember better between naps.

The big thing they watch for now are signs of rejection. They monitor his blood chemistry very closely so they can adjust the anti-rejection drugs as needed. It is given that his body will try to reject the new heart. It is a foreign object and will be treated as such. Normally that response saves our lives before we even think we're in danger. In the case of a transplant, the opposite is true. So they watch his liver and kidney function and pretty much anything else. He will be on strong doses of immuno-suppressive drugs for a while. Eventually, most will be discontinued, but he will always take some form of anti-rejection medication.

That's kind of the long way around to saying that he looks good. We got to see him at about 4 pm yesterday. His color is good. His abdominal swelling from before surgery is reduced, his hands and feet were warm to the touch. So far everything is as good as could be hoped for. Thank you all for your continued prayers. They make a difference.

If you don't want to get these potentially longish ramblings, send me an e-mail and I'll stop sending them to you.

While Joseph is in intensive care, we must turn off our cell phones. You can call (801)662-2406. That is the phone in his room. If we are there, we will talk. If we are not, the nurses won't be able to give you any information about him. If you can't find us by his bed, try us at home (801) 374-9687 or on our cell (801) 372-2073. The intensive care unit really doesn't want a lot of visitors except parents and grandparents. They're not really even too excited about brothers and sisters. So, please don't plan to go visit Joseph without talking to us first.

Thanks again for everything,
Brad

Archives

Well this here is a past update that my parents wrote, it was written on January 7th, 2008.

Just a quick note and update. For those who may not have heard, on Sun Jan 6 at 3:45 pm we got the call for Joseph's heart transplant. We arrived at Primary Children's Hospital at about 7:00 pm and they took him into surgery at about 1:00 am Monday morning. All has gone very well. The heart arrived at approximately 5 or 6 am and has been transplanted. He is off the by-pass machine. It is 2:00 pm and they are still waiting for some bleeding to stop before they can close him and move him into the ICU. That should happen relatively soon (that's hospital time, however, not normal time). At this point everything is positive and we expect him to be moved this afternoon.

Thanks for the prayers and concern. We'll write or call again when there is anything more to know. Until then we just get to wait (and wait, and wait, and wait, and ..........).

Brad

Pictures

For those of you interested in current pictures of Joseph at the hospital click on the link below
Pictures of Joseph

Joseph is doing great. He had a Heart Transplant early Monday morning and has since then been in recovery. Everything has gone wonderfully. His body and the heart are doing great together. Today his Family went up and visited him and he looks great, better then ever. Color has returned to his face and he is awake enough to hold a decent conversation. He has enough tubes and wires coming out of his body to give Darth Vader a decent competition. He has been recieving various gifts from people which are greatly appreciated, it makes his day to know others are thinking of him. We are hoping he is moved out of ICU to another room soon, it will make the visits a bit less chaotic. Joseph is doing well, we thank you all for your prayers.

-Kent Talbert