3:45 pm ~ Praise the Lord! Jethro is out of surgery, and in the PICU. We're just waiting now for them to get him settled in so that we can go see him. Dr. Worrall said that all went well. The Tricuspid Valve was so badly mal-formed that there was no way to repair it, which was what they believed to be the case from the echos. So they did the first surgery in a 3 surgery "series" to make his heart into a single ventricle heart. I am so thankful that the surgery is over, but the next 24 hours will be critical. I know the reason it all went so well is the number of prayers that have been said on Jethro's behalf. THANK YOU!! Praise God from Whom ALL Blessings Flow!!!
12:35 pm ~ Just got another update: Jethro is off the bypass, they are doing final clean-up and will watch him for another hour or so before surgery is "over".
11:45 am ~ They started to take Jethro off the bypass, but saw some bleeders, so they put him back on so that they can fix those. However, while they were taking him off, his heart was beating good!
10:50 am ~ Dr. Burg, our cardiologist, came in and talked with us. The surgery is about 1/2 way done. They have the shunt placed, and the valves closed off, the atrial material removed. Now they will be finishing off those things, and begin to take him off the bypass, which can be tricky. Please keep up the prayers!
9:43 am ~ One hour down. Jethro is now on bypass and surgery is going well.
8:23 am ~ The call just came...surgery has begun.
Today's the big day. It's 7:50, and we took him and left him in the OR about 45 minutes ago. Talk about hard. It's hard to process. He looks so healthy, and yet his heart is bad. After surgery he will look terrible, but his heart will be better. We took pictures ~ I'll try and get some posted in a bit. I wanted to get some last pictures of him without any scars. We probably have another 1/2 hour or 45 minutes before surgery actually begins. They told us it would take and hour and a half or a little longer to get him prepped for surgery.
This morning, all his numbers looked great, and he had a good night. He had already had some morphine by the time we got to the NICU, so he didn't wake up for us, but it was still wonderful to hold his hand and kiss him.
We just finished breakfast, so while I'm doing this, Mike and his brother were going to go clear our stuff out of the Ronald McDonald room upstairs, and then we'll go to the NICU and pick up Jethro's things, then to the waiting room...to wait.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
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Tracy, you and your family have been in my prayers frequently this morning. Praying for a successful surgery with an outstanding outcome for your little guy.
ReplyDeletePamela
We are praying! Based on what you said they wanted to do during surgery(pretend like the right side isn't there), are they going to do the 3 stage surgeries that they would if he was a hypoplastic right heart baby? Is this first surgery a BT shunt?
ReplyDeleteIt is a 3 stage surgery...next surgery will be at 4-6 mos. and final surgery at 3 years. I'm not sure...they are going to utilize the left side of the heart, thankfully, it formed well. They will put the shunt in, and begin closing off the right side of the heart, and they will take some of the right atrium so that there is more room for his lungs to grow/expand.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the same time period for the Hypoplastic right heart surgeries. We know how critical the first day is, so your family and sweet baby will constantly be in our prayers. Thank you so much for the updates.
ReplyDeleteTracy, Jethro has been in my thoughts and prayers today. God is in control, as you know, of every detail of that little man's life. I pray that He will bless the surgeon, the surgery, and every little detail today. I pray that He will draw near to you as you rest and trust in Him, and that you will have peace.
ReplyDeleteI just found out about Jethro through James MacDonald and wanted to let you know I'm praying for you all. Our Katie was born last February with a severe electrical defect in her heart and we nearly lost her, but she is a thriving 12 month old now, even though she still has heart issues.
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
Melanie Young
http://carepages.com/carepages/katiesheart
Mike and Tracy - please know you are in our prayer, as a family and as a church. May the Lord be merciful to Jethro.
ReplyDeleteTracy,
ReplyDeleteI've been following your updates throughout the day and will praise God with you that the surgery went will. Will pray for an uneventful recovery for Jethro as well as rest and peace for you.
Hi Tracy, I have been praying for you all today! I'm glad to hear Jethro is out of surgery now. My son also has a single ventricle heart. He has hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which means his left side didn't develop. He has had the 1st 2 surgeries of the 3-stage care. If you want to friend me on facebook my name on there is Zorphie Zorro :)
ReplyDelete