Caiden Wuest Caiden John Wuest

Welcome to Caiden's CaringBridge site. It has been created to keep our friends and family updated about our little guy and our family.

My Story is the introduction to our CaringBridge site.


Be sure to read the latest in the journal, view the photo gallery, and drop us a line in the guestbook.


Our Story

Caiden was born 8/9 and was healthy and beautiful! He weighed 6lbs 3oz. We had a little trouble nursing in the beginning but he got hungry enough and figured it out. On Wednesday the 15th we had his 1st wellness check and he seemed to be doing well but he was a little dehydrated and a little yellow (jaundice). Dr. McIntire sent us to the lab at St. Francis and we found out his bilirubin (jaundice) level was very high. So they admitted us in St. Francis for jaundice and dehydration. We stayed overnight and he was treated at home for the jaundice. We continued to have blood drawn to check his bilirubin levels and he was having a hard time getting the level down. When the nurse called Monday the 13th with the results of the labs I told her I was concerned about a rash and his bellybutton was bleeding so even though they were seeing him Wednesday they changed it to Tuesday not knowing about the rash. We went to the doctor Tuesday thinking they would check out the rash, his bellybutton and do the wellness check but as Dr. McIntire was checking him over she noticed that he was having trouble breathing and noticed his heart did not sound normal. Of course she asked some questions and had Dr. Fox (another pediatrician in the practice) come in for a 2nd listen/opinion. She at this point called Riley and set us up to have an x-ray and echo (ultrasound of the heart).



This is where our story at Riley starts.

We arrived at 5pm on Tuesday, August 22nd and the ER was expecting us. They hooked him up to so many things, did the x-ray and the x-ray came back abnormal. The heart did not look normal. They then did the echo and determined at that point that he would need surgery right away. We were told that they would have to give him a medication to reopen a valve he used in the uterus to hold him off until surgery. His body accepted this medication and the valve opened up but this is only temporary. As far as the clear details that all came on Wednesday. We were sent to ICU on Tuesday night where they have been monitoring him very closely. He received a pic line (along with the IV he already had) on Wednesday so now they are able to draw his blood through the pic instead of poking him every time they needed blood. It is very difficult to put into words what is going on with his heart but I will do my best. He will have heart surgery (not open heart) on Friday, August 23 to repair a coarctation of the heart. A coarctation is a condition where the aorta (the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the body) is pinched or constricted. This obstructs blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body (basically he is not getting blood flow to his lower extremities). As far as the symptoms we did not notice them because they don’t normally show up until after the 1st into the 2nd week after birth. He has 3 other things wrong but may correct with time. These conditions would take open heart surgery to correct but they will watch over these conditions after the initial surgery. They will go in through his side under his armpit to fix the coarctation. After surgery we will follow up with the cardiologist for the rest of his life.



I will update our journal with new updates daily.



Brian and Bree Wuest