This is a picture of me hearing Maddie's heart "beat" for the first time instead of "swish"! It is by far my favorite picture.Well, Maddie has been moved up to the Pediatric Critical Care Unit and is all set in her room. At the bottom of this post I am going to post some pictures. She looks great, but she did just have open heart surgery. I will put enough space at the end for the faint of heart! (no pun intended). All of the pictures are from when we first got to see her. She was taken off her ventilator about 4:30 PM. She had no problems breathing on her own. She sounds extremely congested as she is trying to clear out her lungs. Every time she coughs it clears them out a little more. It isn't comfortable for her, but it is helpful. She is very hoarse from having the tube down her throat, but seems to be getting over that fairly quickly.
Here is the final rundown from surgery. They ended up closing the large VSD (about 5 mm in size) and then they also closed up a small ASD. They removed muscle build up in her pulmonary artery and her pulmonary valve was not affected, which is VERY good. Her cardiologist is extremely happy with the outcome, and very happy that she was able to come off the ventilator so quickly. He said if she continues like this, we will likely be home on Saturday.
Currently it is 10:30 PM and Maddie is not a happy camper, to say the least. We have had continual crying since about 7:00 PM. No amount of pain meds seem to be calming her down, which has been very difficult. They said it will likely be like this all night. I haven't pulled an all nighter since college, and I am going on being awake 24 hours in just a few hours. I cant sleep with her crying and I cant leave knowing she is going to be crying. It is kind of like being stuck in between a rock and a hard place. They have guaranteed me that this is the hardest part and that tomorrow she will be much better. Until then I just sit here and type in between the crying and rubbing her head.
There are no words to express how appreciative I am for all of the love and support we received. God is good.
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6 comments:
As a mom I can't even imagine what you must be goiong through. I am so happy everything seems to be going well. Wish I could be there with you. It's neat getting to read all the updates. Hope you can get some sleep soon :)
It must be so hard watching your baby cry and know there isn't anything you can do about it. I feel for you both! I am amazed Maddie was able to get off the vent SO quickly. God truly loves her! I hope she is able to calm down and that you both get some sleep.
Im so happy that the surgery went well. Hang in there, she will be up and around in no time. :)
Oh Kristen...I am in tears seeing those photos. I just am so inspired by how strong you have been through all of this. She is such a brave little girl...and I can see where she gets it from.
I hope today is a better day...and that every day gets a bit easier on you all.
Kerry, Kevin, Cole and Tommy
I am so glad everything went well and that she is out of surgery. I am in tears thinking about what maddie is going through. I just want to hug you both. Thanks for the updates.
oh kristen, i can't imagine what you must be going through. my heart is going out to y'all at this time! praise god that the surgery was a success! i will now pray for a successful recovery and that you will have a healthy, energetic little girl! :)
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