Back in the Cath Lab

Andrew did well overnight. Still asleep and on the vent. He is back in the cardiac cath lab now. Because of his heterotaxy, Andrew's heart is unique. As a result, his Fontan graft is longer and has a curve that is also unique. We knew it was likely that his new Fontan would need a stent to give it more support so it won't get a narrowing or kinked. We expect he will be in the cath lab for a couple hours. One nice thing about doing the cath so soon is that Andrew doesn't have to experience the pre-/post- procedure since he is still out from yesterday's surgery.

Back in the CVICU

Those cute fingers are a bit pinker than they were this morning.

We just got to see our sweet boy. He is back in the CVICU and will stay asleep and intubated through the night. It was a long day of surgery, but no major hiccups. Just a unique boy with a unique Fontan & new valve repair. Thank you so much for praying for Andrew & our family throughout the day. As you might imagine, Steve and I are exhausted. We are going back to the RMH to sleep while Andrew is sleeping too. Please continue to pray for his recovery. Surgery today was a big successful step and now we need to continue that journey as Andrew's body becomes accustomed to his new blood flow.

Andrew's Beautiful Beating Heart

Andrew is off bypass and you can see here, his heart is beating. A beautiful sight for our eyes. It will still be a while before he's out of OR and back on the unit, so we don't expect to get our sneak peek of him for, well a while. Feels like the day the sun stood still, but we are thrilled his repair looked good to the team and his heart is beating again. Thank you so much for your prayers today!

Andrew's Surgeon & Cardiologist

https://youtu.be/dnHZxX9TRTQ

Click the link of you'd like to 'meet' Andrew's cardiologist & surgeon.  Fair warning, there are some surgery clips in the video.

The Big Day

We are back in our room at the RMH. Dizzy was wheeled back to the OR just before 8am. Now we are just waiting and praying. We will be able to get quick little updates as the procedure progresses, we will post as appropriate. Thanks so much for all the love and prayers.

Andrew slept well--until just after 2AM!!

He had a (mostly) cheerful, and long, morning :)

Tech Tuesday Evening

Today has been a little up & down - a reminder of what life is like in the CVICU. Andrew has had some periods of discomfort & anxiety as well as times of laughing at his favorite iPad pastimes. It was so good to see Luke & Fiona for a brief visit along with both Machie & Grammie T this afternoon. Tomorrow the plan is for them to come get Andrew around 7:45am for surgery which will last several hours. While it is hard for us to face this, we are trying to be purposeful about putting our hope in God for Andrew's good. We are blessed with amazing doctors & nurses here that we trust will care for Andrew better than any other team could. We are so encouraged by all your prayers & support - Thank you!

Happy Technology Tuesday

 Daddy helped him through the night

 Found an angry bird pumpkin on our walk around the unit this morning

 Starting to smile again!

Enjoying tons of technology time

Andrew had a tough night. Hard to get comfortable and understandably upset that he wasn't home. In the past hour he has started smiling and laughing at his favorite show/movie clips again. We are all looking forward to a visit from Luke & Fiona this afternoon! Andrew had his pre-op chest X-rays this morning and is off the hook for any other labs/tests for the rest of today! Love you guys! Keep those prayers coming, we are so hopeful that this surgery is going to be a blessing in Andrew's daily life!

Pre-Surgery Cath Day

 Always such a good time in pre-op

 Mario Run to pass some recovery time in bed

Watching a show in the recliner

Today Andrew had a cardiac cath to close some collaterals before his heart surgery coming up on Wednesday. The cath went well and he is enjoying unlimited technology time to pass the recovery time. Four hours laying down, two more hours propped up a little in bed and then finally up in the recliner. He is upset about not going home tonight & not having a set day (soon) that we are going home. All reasonable things to be upset about. He chose Steve as the sleep over parent in his room tonight. Betsy will take the first turn sleeping at the Ronald McDonald House here on campus at Arnold Palmer Hospital. We got to Skype with Luke and Fiona (& my parents) this evening and they were both a trip. Tomorrow we are aiming to have a good, low key day. We appreciate all the prayers and support. Please pray for Andrew's sweet heart, both physically and emotionally during this journey. We are believing that it will all be worth it SOON!

Andrew has a Sister!

We figured that if we were going to use the blog for updates during Andrew's upcoming heart surgery & recovery we had better get up to date a little.  For example, Luke is now five years old.  And they have a sister, Fiona who is three.  Here are some photos to prove it : )

Baby Luke is One Year Old!