Surgery

Natalie had a peaceful night sleep last night.

They took her back for surgery around 8am. The gave her a little something to take the edge off, they said. This way when we left her, it would be easier. She however feel right to sleep and did not even know when I left her. I always hate watching her go through those double doors, but I know she will be okay.

The first hour and half is getting her ready, such as ivs. I will update you when we get our first update. Thank you for all the prayers and support.

Surgery Tomorrow

Since Natalie got discharged from the hospital after her heart cath, we have been trying to get organized and things in place before her surgery tomorrow. I made Larry's dad in Sulphur Springs yesterday to drop Carter off. He is going to stay with them for the week. Carter was so excited about getting to stay with Gran and Papa. He just loves them so much.

I really thought Carter would take a nap in the car on our way to meet Papa, but I was way wrong. Carter talked the entire time about Gran and Papa and what he wanted to do this week. He is so funny!

We spent the morning at Children's getting Natalie all ready for her 3rd surgery tomorrow. She will be having a Bidirectional glenn shunt done. They will be connecting the superior vena cava to the pulmonary artery. Natalie has two superior vena cavas, so the will connect both them.

The surgery should last around 5 hours. She will be placed on a hear- lung bypass machine for a time period. Dr. Forbess does not think he will have to stop her heart, but they will lower the temperature of it.

The bidirectional glenn shunt is where the blue blood from the head, neck and upper body is directed to the lung (pulmonary) artery through the superior vena cava. This allows the blood to flow into the lungs for oxygen. The bidirectional glenn procedure reduces the work load of the heart. They will also clamp off or remove the BT Shunt, she currently has in place.

Every case is different but we are hoping to only be in ICU until Thursday and then be on the 8th floor (Cardiac) for 5 to 7 days. Everything depends on Miss Natalie. I like to joke that she is the CEO of our family. She rules the roost!

I have a few small prayer requests for tonight and tomorrow. Please pray for Natalie tonight to sleep peacefully. I ask they you pray for her and the team of surgeons tomorrow. I have one last prayer request...please pray for Larry's health. He woke up Sunday morning with the stomach bug. He was suppose to fly down her tonight, but we both think it is best for him to wait until tomorrow when he feels 100% and is stronger. I know it must so hard for him not to be here with Natalie the day before and the morning of her surgery.

I will keep everyone updated like I have in the passed. She is first case, so she will go at 7:30am. The first hour to hour and half is getting her the ivs and preparations needed.

Thank you all for your support, we love and miss you all.

Surgery Date

Natalie's surgery will be on the 12th. She and I will check into the hospital the night before to start an iv, so she can begin getting the fluids she needs.

I will post more on the surgery later. I am waiting on our discharge papers now, so we can head home from the heart cath. Once I get those, we will stop by Dr. Forbess's office downstairs and get more information.

Everyone be safe driving wherever you are, because this artic blast that blown through is miserable.

Heart Cath

Natalie's heart cath went great today! Dr. Zellers said they got all the pictures and information they needed. Natalie does have to stay in the hospital tonight, it is pretty routine for infants to stay overnight after a heart cath. Her stats look great and she is eating pretty good.

We should know tomorrow a surgery date for the Glenn. I will keep you posted.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers today, we appreciate the support.

Pre-Catheterization

Natalie had her pre-catheterization visit this morning. She weighs 12lbs 1oz! She also had an EKG and an XRay all to get ready for her heart cath tomorrow.

Natalie will be asleep during the procedure. The cardiologist, Dr. Zellers and his team will inject some numbing medication into the area where the catheter will be inserted, probably her groin area. After the area is numb, small plastic tubes (sheaths), which are about the size of a piece of spaghetti, are inserted into the large blood vessels. Through these sheaths, long plastic tubes (catheters) are guided into the heart.

Once the catheters are in place, small amounts of blood are taken through the catheters from the various chambers and blood vessels in the heart to determine the amount of oxygen in the blood. The blood pressure in the heart is also measured at the same time. Next, a special dye (contrast) is injected through the catheters, into the chambers and blood vessels of the heart. The dye shows up as bright white shadow on the x-ray film, and allows the doctor to see the shape of the structures and the flow of the blood through the heart and lungs.

All of this will help the surgeon determine the best road map of her heart for the Glenn Shunt. We should have a date for the next surgery tomorrow.

Please pray for everything to go smoothly tomorrow and for the doctors to get all the information they need for the Glenn Shunt.

Exersaucer

We put Natalie in the exersaucer last night. We had to prop her up with blankets, she is still so tiny. She was not so sure about it at first, but she loves it now.

Go Hogs

We had a great weekend watching football with friends and family.