Jabulani Jonny: My Morning Jacket at the Fox

Born July 24, 2007; diagnosed with HLHS and restricted Atrial septum; completed Norwood procedure 7-30-07 and Glenn procedure on 11-30-07.

What is HLHS? HLHS stands for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and is a congenital heart defect where the left side of the heart, usually the left ventricle, is underdeveloped. The left ventricle is tasked with pumping blood to the body, whereas the right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs for oxidation. This condition is usually caught at the 20 week ultrasound, as was our case, and a game plan is put into place for treatment just after birth.

The Wiki page is found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoplastic_left_heart_syndrome

Elliot had an additional diagnosis of having a restricted atrial septum, often called Restricted Septal Defect or RSD. The problem with this secondary diagnosis is that the HLHS repair procedure counts on passive blood flow to the lungs, which is dependent on having low pressure in the lungs. Having RSD creates a high pressure environment in the lungs which can nullify the effectiveness of the 3-stage HLHS procedure. The treatment for RSD usually calls for immediate surgery upon birth to open up the atrial septum to allow blood flow to the lungs and body.

So for Elliot's birth, that's what we were prepared for; birth, then immediate heart surgery to open the atrial septum, followed by the first of his 3 surgeries to repair HLHS. All the while not knowing if the RSD would even allow his lungs to function properly after the repair.

Where are we now? Elliot's doing great, getting big and developing normally. He's still on oxygen right now, about 1/2 liter 24 hours a day, and still gets most of his nutrition through a feeding tube. However, he's a happy baby...and we're happy to have him.

Well my posts are a little delayed right now. I've been lacking the discipline to blog when there doesn't seem to be a lot going on.

This past Wednesday I met up with college roommate Danny, and guitar playing buddies John and Jeremy in Atlanta. About 2 months ago Danny sprung for 4 tickets to the My Morning Jacket show at the Fox and told us all to make it happen. Make it happen we did and we had a phenomenal time.

We met up at the Holiday Inn Capital Grand in Atlanta and I set up my recording equipment for what would be a late night acoustic jam session back at the hotel room. We played a little guitar that afternoon then headed to the show. MMJ rocked it. I mean, this was an excellent show and the crowd was waaaay into it. If you've never heard of My Morning Jacket then you need to check them out, definitely one of the best bands out right now. Go here and listen to I'm Amazed. Then go here, which is a live album, and listen to Gideon, Off the Record and It Beats 4 U. Awesome show, awesome band.

We left there about 11pm and headed back to the hotel for our jam session. This happens everytime we all get together. We basically stay up til the wee hours playing guitar and singing some of our favorite old songs. I usually record the event for posterity's sake. Here are a couple songs from that night. Audio is embedded for those using a reader. Come 'on to the site.

This Ol' Cowboy

Wait a Minute

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

Posted by: |

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Your comment could not be posted. Error type:

Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.