Heart Surgery ~ June 22, 2011

Ross' heart surgery 6-22-11

Nothing can prepare you for the sight when you first walk into the PICU and see your child hooked up to all sorts of machines, monitors and tubes running everywhere. You are just so thankful and relieved that the surgery is over and all went well!

It was so nice to be able to hold you again!

You took your bottle right away when you woke up, we were so proud!

Ross,

   The day we saw your heart defect on that first sonogram, we knew that one day in the future we would be facing something more scary than anything your mom and I have ever experienced. Your heart repair surgery.

   So we had a clear understanding of exactly what was wrong with your heart, we met with several doctors who specialize in heart health. These doctors are called cardiologists. The doctor drew us pictures of your heart and showed us where the two little holes were in your heart. He then went on to explain how they would use a special material to make a patch that would fix your heart. They told us about the surgery and exactly how all of it would  happen and when we should do it. So sometime after you hit six months old was the time window to do the surgery. Now we just had to wait.

   We were scheduled the for surgery May 5, 2011, but you caught an infection and we were forced to postpone the surgery the day before it was to happen. The doctors are really careful when you are getting ready for surgery so they don't take any chances if you have been sick or are not feeling well. This could complicate things and put you at a greater risk from the surgery itself so they want you to be completely well. So we had to wait and finally got your surgery rescheduled for June 22, 2011.
   The day of the surgery arrived and we took you into the surgery prep area. They changed you into a little gown and we waited for the time when they would take you into the operating room. You had so many people come to be there for your surgery. Aunt Sue, Aunt Mindy, Uncle Charles, Grandpa Bill and Grandma Jeanne and Marilyn all came just to be there for you and maybe mom and dad a little.
   When the nurses finally came to get you we all hugged you and kissed you so much because we would miss you so much while you were gone. We all followed you down to the doors of the surgery prep room and gave you one last kiss before you had to go. Then came the really hard part. We had to wait. Everyone went with us to the surgery waiting room and the nurses would call us every hour or so and told us what was going on and that you were doing super. We were so proud of you Ross. Then before you know it, the doctor came out and told us the surgery went perfect and that they had already taken you down to the PICU and we could see you in a little while. We were all so happy to have such good news! The doctor fixed your heart and you were asleep the whole time.
   We waited about an hour in the PICU waiting room before they would let us come to see you. It seemed like the longest hour of my life but finally they came to get us so we could be with you again.
   You were hooked up to all sorts of monitors and medicines so the nurses could make sure you were recovering from the surgery ok. The thing that seemed the most disturbing was the bandage covering the sutures on your chest and the drainage tube coming out just below it. The drain tube helped remove any excess fluid that was in your chest after the surgery. You can see from the pictures what I am talking about. It was pretty scary to see you like this. You were still completely sedated so you would not feel any pain from the surgery and to keep you from pulling any tubes or lines out which is something you like to do! You made really good progress that night and the next day they were able to take you off the breathing ventilator and let you breathe on your own. This was a really good sign that you were getting stronger by the hour. We could hardly wait until we could hold you in our arms and finally after 3 days we were able to. You were still pretty sleepy and on some pain medications but they were weaning you from something every day. On day four we actually started feeding you again with your bottle and you did really good with it. I remember telling mom that you were sucking harder than I had ever seen you do before. It was so encouraging Ross. We were only in the PICU one more day and they moved us to a regular room which was another step towards getting to go home. After a couple of days of recouping you were back to your normal self and we got to go home. Eight total days in the hospital for your heart surgery and we were back home. Ross you are a ROCKSTAR!!!!
   Being at home after the surgery was a little scary. Dealing with the incision was so tedious and I was afraid that any movement was causing you pain or that it was going to start bleeding but it never did! Thank goodness! Another few weeks and the sutures came out and your scar healed up really nice. You were pretty much back to our normal but heart healthy baby boy!

Daddy Loves you Ross!