Jaida's pre-op appointment was actually this last Monday (3/15), but I am just now getting to post about it. It sure was a busy, busy day for all of us -- especially Jaidy. We had to meet and greet with several different nurses, anesthesiologists, her surgeon, and several other medical personnel to discuss the procedures expected for surgery. We actually arrived at the hospital at around 9:00 AM and didn't end up leaving until about 3:00 PM. When we first got there we went straight up to the pre-op facility to check in. There we met Jaida's pre-op nurse Vanessa, who had a pretty difficult time getting Jaida's blood pressure and other vitals. Once she finally obtained the information she needed, she did a quick exam and urinalysis, and then we headed back into the waiting room to wait for anesthesia to come talk to us. Finally we met with Dr. Bland, the fellow anesthesiologist who would administer the anesthetic through a tiny mask, (laughing gas) and then place all of Jaida's tubes and wires. Dr. Bland explained every tube's purpose and name thoroughly so I would be prepared to see Jaida connected to all kinds of machines. She told me that Jaida would have two IVs (one in each hand-- peripheral lines), one IV in her neck (from the vein that pumps blood into the superior vena cava) in order to draw blood and monitor her rates, a ventilator (breathing tube), a chest tube to drain the excess blood away from her heart, two temporary pacing wires in case her heart began to go into failure, and several monitoring patches (EKG stickers) to watch her vitals closely. I was SO grateful to have such an informative MD who actually wanted to answer all of my questions! It was extremely important to me that I prepared myself mentally for this surgery. No one wants to imagine their child undergoing a major life-saving surgery EVER, let alone on a tiny 4 month old child! So after that I met with Jaida's surgeon (Dr. Ciethaml) and his assistant OR nurse (Pamela). Pretty much they explained the course of action they were going to take for Jaida. They were going to go in and patch the large hole in between the bottom two chambers of her heart, they were then going to remove the large arterial muscle that had formed below the ventricle, and lastly they were going to either repair or remove the pulmonary valve. According to Dr. Ciethaml, they wouldn't know whether or not the valve would be salvageable until they actually began operating. Again, I was so pleased that these professionals took time to answer each and every question (and I had a ton!) so thoroughly for me. Finally after that I took Jaidy down to get her lab work done. She needed blood work, a chest x-ray, and then finally an EKG. I was extremely irritated that the phlebotomist kept missing her vein, and in turn ended up sticking her in the opposite arm anyway! After all of that we went back up stairs to meet with Vanessa and get instructions for Jaidy's eating pre-surgery, and to ask any last minute questions. Finally we were on our way home after a long day. Jaida's surgery was scheduled for 8:00AM on March 16Th. I was excited and nervous all at the same time to just get the dreaded day behind us..but I knew it was going to be a long road ahead..
Thank you for all of your prayers! And if by chance you have anything left inside of you, please pray for the awesome surgeon, the incredible medical/cardiology team, the PICU/floor nurses, and everyone else that is/was involved in Jaidy's repair & recovery.
No comments:
Post a Comment