Thursday, January 15, 2009
Surprised and relieved… the surgery actually went through without a hitch. An anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, physicians assistant, two nurses, and two doctors (who showed this time) attended to Evie in surgery. The doctor team met with us to confirm that all had gone well. Her lungs look better than expected. There is slight compression on the left side, but it is believed that this is due to her original heart defect. Biopsies of both lungs will be cultured and should give us more information.
I got to be with her coming out of anesthesia in the post-operative care room. She woke up throwing her weight around and promptly kicked off most of her leads and nearly pulled her PH probe that is supposed to stay in overnight. From the probing of her left duct, she was crying blood-tinged pink crocodile tears! Oh so sad!
We were told to expect her to be back to herself by this afternoon, but she is far from that. Judging from the 7 hours she has slept today, I think she’s still feeling the sedation. She is most upset about the restraints they have on her arms to keep her from grabbing the probe in her nose. She has developed a fever which has made her heart rate spike and she’s thrown up several times. I think we’re in for a long night. She’s a tummy sleeper (which is covered with EKG lines) and loves to cuddle her blanket (which is impossible in this “straight jacket”).
She was feeling up to a couple visitors this evening. Levi (aka Scooby-Doo) is a “therapy” dog (a whopping Great Dane who weighs more than I do) that makes rounds in the children’s wing. Our favorite Richland nurse Judy (who actually worked on Evie in the ICU the night we almost lost her) came by for a visit this afternoon. The precious Butcher family brought me dinner and Wyatt was Evie’s honorary big brother tonight and even got a couple giggles out of her while playing peek-a-boo. Grandma and Mrs. Brenda came by with a beautiful birthday balloon for the princess. So here we sit, holding court:-)
So many memories in this place…kissing her and the overwhelming smell of medical tape on her face, the constant beeping of monitors, dry hands from harsh antibacterial foam, a tangle of wires and probes that quickly form a jumbled mess and that sad little face that doesn’t understand why she’s going through so much. What a day.
Thank you for praying her through another valley. God has again been gracious and we have felt carried today through your prayers and support! May her tiny life continue to bring glory to her Creator!
…and may this year be a bit easier on the little munchkin!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Look what I found amongst my pots and pans this week:-)
Tomorrow will be a second attempt at surgery.
Tomorrow I will hand my baby over to yet another Doctor.
For them, this is procedure.
Its routine.
…To me, its my precious, helpless girl, and yet I know that the Hands that have held her all along will be cradling her.
Tomorrow, she will go to sleep under heavy medication.
The surgery will be invasive. Of course medically, statistics are in her favor.
…To me though, Ill spend the hour while she’s in surgerey wishing away every minute and longing to have her back in my arms
Tomorrow, we’ve been told to expect fever.
To expect vomiting.
To expect coughing up blood (the procedure involves squirting sterile fluid into her airways and lungs to clear mucous out of the way for the probe. When she wakes, it will feel like pneumonia and she’ll have to cough up all the junk in her lungs.)
…Im expecting Evie to be a fighter. To be tough. To be resilient.
My daughter is my hero!
Psalm 91:11 “For He will command His angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways”.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Finally getting around to an update after Evies Cardiology visit this week. Her heart function is great – PRAISE THE LORD! Dr. Shuler did an ECHO and said her leaky valve appears to have mended (leaky valves can sometimes lead to future surgeries in TGA patients). Also, her VSD (hole in her heart) is almost closed. The good news is, the valve is not becoming more leaky…the bad news is, this leak is what allowed them to measure if Evie’s pulmonary hypertension is getting better or worse, so we no longer have a gage.
The only real concern from a cardiology standpoint is her constant elevated heart-rate (resting, rate is 130 and should be 80) This could be a internal pacemaker that over time will reset itself, or could be indication of anemia or a thyroid issue. The Dr. wants an EKG monitor on her for 24 hours to record her rates for him to evaluate. We will do that during her hospitalization next week.
The little darling is passing big milestones with her birthday fast approaching. She finally has her two front teeth, says “ma-ma” & “da-da”, gives kisses (big wet ones:-) and took two steps to me yesterday! What a joy to watch her growing!
Surprised and relieved… the surgery actually went through without a hitch. An anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, physicians assistant, two nurses, and two doctors (who showed this time) attended to Evie in surgery. The doctor team met with us to confirm that all had gone well. Her lungs look better than expected. There is slight compression on the left side, but it is believed that this is due to her original heart defect. Biopsies of both lungs will be cultured and should give us more information.
Look what I found amongst my pots and pans this week:-)