Greetings!

Max is almost seven months old, and is as happy and chunky as can be! He weighs over 20 pounds, and is wearing Henry's 12 month old hand-me-downs! He loves to watch the pets, and is enthralled by anything Henry is doing. He laughs easily, and has a big, gummy smile. We are committed to raising Max not defined by his diagnosis, but as a regular kid...and if you didn't already know he had PAIVS, you wouldn't!
A brief medical update:
As planned, Max was due to have Open Heart Surgery on May 19. The team at Boston Children's scheduled him for the procedure after following his monthly echocardiograms, and the Home Monitoring Program. Prior to the operation he had to go through several "imaging" visits at the hospital, in order to gather information for his surgical plan. His body was examined by MRI, sedated echocardiogram, x-ray, lab-work, and cardiac catheterization; the list goes on. On the final day of testing, the team was conducting their final cardiac catheterizaion when they discovered the leaflets of his pulmonary valve had fused together again, and would require a repeat balloon dilation (the same procedure he had when he was 3 days old). The intervention to correct the stenosis of the pulmonary valve was unexpected, and has caused his surgery schedule to be postponed. We weren't sure if this was a positive thing or not, but it IS! Even though his pulmonary valve had a setback, the rest of the right side of his heart is functioning magnificently well. Really, his entire team was shocked at how well he is doing! Everyone has reassured us that postponing his surgery will give him even more time to grow and strengthen.
This has been an eventful month, but one that we are closing out with feelings of encouragement and optimism. Max continues to impress his entire team with his attitude, tenacity, and overall development. Words can't describe how grateful our family is for the support of all of Max's caregivers, in and out of the healthcare system. ProCon has been taking wonderful care of us, and we are incredibly grateful for their support. Our friends and family have kept us wrapped in a warm hug of play dates for Henry, surprise meals, care packages, and lots of childcare! We've become involved with a few wonderful organizations, Conquering CHD and Mended Little Hearts (to name a few), that provide support groups, Webinars, and real-life resources. Boston Children's Hospital, Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD), and the Richie McFarland Children's Center (Occupational Therapy) have been amazing to work with. We know Max is getting world-class care!

We would like to mention a few Housekeeping Items:

-Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the "Tributes" part of this CaringBridge page. We want to be clear that these donations are going to support the CaringBridge platform, and not our family specifically. We appreciate the work of this non-profit organization, and are honored by everyone's generosity. Please be assured that our family is financially sound.

-Please donate blood! Max needed another blood transfusion, and it's through the charitable donation of others that he was able to receive it!

-Our family is participating in a fundraising walk for Boston Children's Hospital, specifically benefiting the Child Life department. Child Life has been active in Max's care in many ways. They even made Henry a custom book about Max's surgery, so that he could be appropriately prepared. We LOVE Child Life. If you'd like to support them too, here is a link to our fundraising page:

https://secure.childrenshospital.org/site/TR/Walk/Walk?px=2061884&pg=personal&fr_id=2090