Cam's Big Day

Cam's surgery began roughly around 7:30am on Friday. It lasted until about 5pm Friday evening. The doctors were great about updating us almost every hour. He came out of the surgery and went to the Pediactric Intensive Care Unit for Friday night. It took a little while to settle him down as he was coming out of the anethesia. Julie and I, along with my brother David, slept in the waiting room and took turns by his bedside. Katy did a great job of keeping Cam calm while in the PICU. He slept through the night, and has now been moved to the sixth floor. This floor focuses on infants and small children. He will be here for the next 5-6 weeks. The nurses here have a great deal of experience with exstrophy and have made Cam very comfortable. Today our families have been able to spend more time with him and Julie and I got a good nap. He is very heavily medicated, so he basically sleeps all day. We are hoping and praying that he will be able to eat again on Sunday. As you know he hasn't missed any meals until now, so he is pretty hungry! Thanks for all the calls, emails, texts, and cards. Thanks AJ and Divina for the postcard, the Youngs family for the wonderful gift basket, and the Mays family for the beautiful flowers and chocolate. We also want to really say a special thank you to both of our parents, David and Erika, and Jenn, Rod, and Kylie! They have been so great through this whole journey. We can't wait to share all the stories of love and support with Camden!

Love,
Chad, Julie, and Cam (and Jimmy, even though he is in Orlando!)

Cam's Surgery

Every hour the doctors or nurses will come out and update us on the status of our little man. The orthopedic surgeon has already been in and out. Dr. Gearhart is in doing his part of the procedure as we type. Each time we are updated they have been positive and encouraging. We don't know exactly how long this part of the procedure will be, but they have estimated 4-5 hours. Then, the orthopedic will finish up by putting him in his traction. He should be in the PICU for a night before his move from the seventh floor to the sixth. We have already met two other families that are having surgery for the same birth defect. One is from Indiana, and the other from Russia! It is a very supportive environment. We will update more as the day goes along.

Cam's Big Day!!!

Cam is back getting prepped for surgery. The family is here and we are anxiously awaiting every update from the doctor. We brought our computer to help us pass the time, and wanted to add a picture or two. His procedure could last anywhere from 7-14 hours, but we will update when he comes out.

Thanks again for all of your prayer and support.

Chad, Julie, and Cam

Pics from May 25-27

Our First Day in Baltimore

Hey everyone! We arrived in Baltimore last night. Camden had his first doctor's appt. this morning. Everything is on track for surgery on Friday at 7:30. Our familis are coming in town tomorrow and Thursday. We are getting settled into The Children's House. Here is our address for the next 2 months:

The Children's House
Julie and Chad McBane # 205
1915 McElderry Street
Baltimore, MD 21205

Our phone number is (410) 614-2560 ask for our room number 205

We'll keep in touch!

Julie, Chad and Camden

Our journey begins!

We have begun our trek to Baltimore! We left Deerfield Beach last night in the pouring rain and drove to Orlando. Jimmy will stay here for the 2 months that we will be in Baltimore. Cam is already awake, but Daddy is still sleeping. We plan to leave Orlando this morning between 9-10 and drive to somewhere in the Carolinas. We'll stop there tonight and then drive in to Baltimore on Monday. I have overpacked as usual and Chad can't see out of the back window. I may have to leave some stuff here! We will keep you guys posted!

Love,
Julie, Chad, and Camden