Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Surgery Date

A few weeks ago, David had a heart cath. Everything went pretty well, They said his pressures were good and low (necessary for the next surgery). Once he got back in his room (he was on 6 hours of bed rest - yeah right! He's 18 months old!), his incision site started bleeding. Not just a little, either. I don't usually flip out with David. During the last 2 surgeries, I saw blood and his heart, they stuck him with a bazillion needles, and it wasn't a thing. However, when they pressed on the site and it bled worse, I got a little woozy. It was awful. They always tell you that if the site bleeds to press on it for 10 minutes. I always thought, "yeah i can do that". I was NOT prepared for the amount of pressure needed, or the pain it would cause David, or the bruise that would result. It's finally almost gone, only 2 1/2 weeks later.

Speaking of preparing for surgery...I just got off the phone with the surgery group. David's surgery (the Fontan, for all those playing at home) is scheduled for Monday, August 6th. We've been preparing for this for the past 18 months. But now that we have an actual date - not just "sometime this summer" - it's real. And scary. As soon as the date was set, all we wanted to do was hug David and cry. Maybe it's too early to be stressing, but it's what we do. :-)

Here is a picture that shows a before and after drawing of the Fontan. They're pretty much going to graft a new section of his Inferior Vena Cava to bypass his heart and connect to his Pulminary Artery. This will send the un-oxygenated blood from his lower body to his lungs to get oxygenated, then out to his limbs.


So, here are more pictures!


David loved playing in the playroom while we waited for his heart cath!



Right before they took him back, they gave him some "happy juice" to help with any separation anxiety. About 5 minutes later, his head just got too heavy for him to hold up. He was super loopy and it was hilarious.
 


The next week, we went to pick up Drew and some kiddos from church camp. While we were there, our amazing friend, Lisa, took some awesome pictures of David. We're hoping to get down to Memphis before surgery to get some family pictures made. Here are a few of the ones she took.

Man I love this kid!


This is David's new favorite place to sit and watch Sesame Street. I remember when he was barely big enough to see over that ottoman!



David loves blowing kisses and waving bye! Well, he kisses his hand (and by kiss, I mean open-mouth licks it - those are awesome on your cheek, too. :-P). We haven't mastered the "blow"  part yet...



When my mom and sister came to visit, we painted the living room and dining room. It's an awesome dark tan. We were wiping down the walls before painting and David wanted to help. :-)
 


We got one of those little plastic pools for the backyard. David loves to splash around! He can't leave the house without his hat, though. He likes to wear it backwards like his dad.
 


Well, it's naptime for David. And since Ms Sandra is coming today, that means cleaning time for mom!
Thanks for reading!