Day 119
Isabelle was supposed to not eat formula past midnight so I fed her at 11:30 last night. And then she could have pedialyte until 4:00a so I woke up and fed her at 3:30 and she went right back to sleep. And then I set my alarm for 6:00 so I could get ready for the day and snuggle her for a half hour.
I got to sleep next to her (only 1 parent allowed). It was a chair that unfolded into a bed... and luckily I am able to sleep anywhere as long as I am somewhat reclined but I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
They also came in to give her a surgical scrub twice during the night.
They came to get her for her heart surgery at 7:15a and we got to go down with her and give her last minute hugs. We also got to meet her surgeon - Dr. Chris Baird.
Then we went to the waiting room and set up shop! Both of us did work because it's the easiest way to take our minds off of what was happening. Neither of us are very good with down time and just thinking about it would've eaten us alive.
She got cut open around 8:50 and went on bypass around 9:50. She went off bypass around 11:30 and her little heart is working on its own and they closed her up. They updated us every 40 minutes.
Here are details on the surgery - if you have a queasy stomach I would suggest skipping this section.
Complete AV Canal Defect Info. So they bring her temperature WAY down to preserve oxygen. So they basically make an incision in the chest and then cut out some tissue that they will use to make the fixes. We were originally told they were going to use a synthetic gortex like material but they are not doing this. They are using her own tissue. Then, they cut her sternum/ribs with SCISSORS because they are still not super strong. GROSS. Then they begin to move her arteries over to the bypass machine and then stop her heart and the machine works for her. They patched the two bigger ASD holes and the very small VSD hole and repaired the very not so leaky valve. Then they put their arteries and stuff back on her heart and off the bypass machine and it just starts again on its own.
Here's our little fighter!
The surgeon was able to come out and see us briefly and told us that there were no issues, no leaking in her valves, everything looks good, there's not a lot of bleeding, they were able to close her completely (sometimes they have to leave the chest cavity open for a little bit). Her heart is pumping on its own and she only has 1 drain.
She is on a vent. And we can't hold her until that comes out.
Believe it or not... she is one of the healthiest kids at Children's... especially now that her heart is fixed. It is extremely painful to see all the sick kids in there every day :(
I got to sleep next to her (only 1 parent allowed). It was a chair that unfolded into a bed... and luckily I am able to sleep anywhere as long as I am somewhat reclined but I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
They also came in to give her a surgical scrub twice during the night.
They came to get her for her heart surgery at 7:15a and we got to go down with her and give her last minute hugs. We also got to meet her surgeon - Dr. Chris Baird.
Then we went to the waiting room and set up shop! Both of us did work because it's the easiest way to take our minds off of what was happening. Neither of us are very good with down time and just thinking about it would've eaten us alive.
She got cut open around 8:50 and went on bypass around 9:50. She went off bypass around 11:30 and her little heart is working on its own and they closed her up. They updated us every 40 minutes.
Here are details on the surgery - if you have a queasy stomach I would suggest skipping this section.
Complete AV Canal Defect Info. So they bring her temperature WAY down to preserve oxygen. So they basically make an incision in the chest and then cut out some tissue that they will use to make the fixes. We were originally told they were going to use a synthetic gortex like material but they are not doing this. They are using her own tissue. Then, they cut her sternum/ribs with SCISSORS because they are still not super strong. GROSS. Then they begin to move her arteries over to the bypass machine and then stop her heart and the machine works for her. They patched the two bigger ASD holes and the very small VSD hole and repaired the very not so leaky valve. Then they put their arteries and stuff back on her heart and off the bypass machine and it just starts again on its own.
Here's our little fighter!
The surgeon was able to come out and see us briefly and told us that there were no issues, no leaking in her valves, everything looks good, there's not a lot of bleeding, they were able to close her completely (sometimes they have to leave the chest cavity open for a little bit). Her heart is pumping on its own and she only has 1 drain.
She is on a vent. And we can't hold her until that comes out.
Believe it or not... she is one of the healthiest kids at Children's... especially now that her heart is fixed. It is extremely painful to see all the sick kids in there every day :(
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