As you may already know, towards the end of the surgery on Sunday, Jake’s blood pressure became less stable. The surgeon gave him several hours to recover, hoping for the necessary improvement. When that didn’t happen, it was decided, out of an abundance of caution, to put Jake on ECMO.

While this is very scary to hear, it is the best and safest course of action right now. This is not completely unexpected; his body simply needs more time to adjust to his new anatomy and recover from the trauma of such a major surgery. We will continue to give him the time he needs to balance his hemodynamics.

Jake returned return from surgery Monday morning around 5 am. It was a stressful but wonderful day. Jake is still fully sedated, but we do see glimpses of him when the nurses do something he doesn’t appreciate. (He hates it when they suction his mouth and always has! He throws a grimace their way and tries to turn his head) While it is difficult to see him like this, it is so comforting to know that he will not remember any of it.

Even during these days when things feel overwhelming, we are full of so much gratitude: To God for the miracles he has shown us, for bringing Jake safely through surgery and for carrying us when things are hard.

To the selfless hero who donated the gift of life through organ donation to Jake and others.

To the extraordinary team of doctors, nurses, and surgeons who continue to work tirelessly to support Jacob.

To our community, who has shown us so much love during one of the most difficult times in our lives. If it were not for your huge outpouring of love, I do not know how we would have made it through the past few days or the days to come. We will never be able to put our gratitude into words; there are just no words that can express this. In the past 24 hours since returning from surgery, we have seen improvement in both Jake’s blood pressure and hemodynamics. While this may seem small, it is a huge step forward. We will continue to give his body time to adjust. Please continue to keep Jake, his medical teams, his hero’s family, and us in your prayers.