Surgery Day

Yesterday had to be the most difficult day of my life. The sitting and waiting, the waiting and sitting. For me, time just went by so slowly. The placing of the tubes/lines alone took TWO hours! It was definitely very, very difficult. And then to see her afterwards...this is what we saw when we first came into the room. Actually, this is just the machines that are on the right hand side of her. On her left side, there is another big machine (her ventilator). I've decided not to post her picture right now. It's very difficult seeing your child like this. I don't know when I will be posting her pictures up here, but I imagine it will be as soon as some of the tubes are removed..

We arrived at the hospital at about 6:20AM. From there we went into the waiting room and basically.. waited. I changed Jaida into her beautiful hospital attire, and then we sat and took pictures until they called her daddy and I back. Finally we went back into the exam room where they took her vitals and blood pressure and then we went BACK into the waiting room. This time we only sat for about 15 minutes before they finally called her name again. I am so thankful that I had a great support group there with me. Before they took Jaidy back it was Oscar and myself, Oscar's mom and sister, Haydee, and our beautiful Pastor. So right when they called her name we said a prayer and then walked back into the holding room with her. We waited there in the holding room for what seemed like forever. While in there we met again with the anesthesiologist Dr. Bland and her assistant, and the with the PICU floor nurse Donna. We met with one other OR technician and then we walked out with her into the hallway to say our see-ya-laters (NOT goodbyes!) The tech was so impressed with Jaidy's beautiful hot pink bow and leopard blanket that she insisted on taking them both back with her and Jaidy into the OR. After letting our precious baby girl go, we headed to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Family room. When we got there we saw Patricia there (a fellow heart mom) who has been through this procedure four times with her son that has this same defect. I was so happy to see her there! While waiting, we decided to do a little arts and crafts project and I wrote "Jaida's Poem" on a poster board so we could put it up in her room:

Jaida's Poem:

It's a beautiful day up in heaven. Jesus is rounding up his tiniest angels, to go live on earth, and be born. One of the sweetest angels says to Jesus "I don't want to leave, I like it here, and I will miss you". He reassures the scared little angel that everything will be okay, and that she is just going for a visit. She is still not swayed on this idea. So Jesus kneels down, and says, "How about if you leave a piece of your heart here with me and take the other piece with you, will that be okay?" The angel smiles and says, "I guess that will work." But the little angel is still a little scared. She asks,"Will I be okay with only half of my heart?" Jesus replies,"Of course you will, I have other angels there that will help out, and you will be fine." Then Jesus gives the angel more details about his plan. He says "When you are born, your mommy will be scared, so you have to be strong, and when you feel weak just remember that I have the other half of your heart". "Enjoy your time with your family, play and laugh everyday." "And when its time to come back to heaven, I will make your heart whole again. Always remember that you are not broken, just torn between two loves."

So then while I was doing that, at about 10:15AM Dr. Lacey (Jaida's primary cardiologist) came in to talk to me. She told me that they had just finished placing all the tubes in and Dr. Ciethaml was scrubbing in. She told me they would come in and contact me when they were putting her on the bypass machine. Well a lonnnng time passed and then Donna, (Jaida's PICU nurse) came in and told us the procedure had begun and everything was looking great. In the meantime, we did a little bit of Bible reading/class, we ate lasagna (thanks Patricia) and just sat there-- resting, talking, and waiting..FINALLY, doctor Lacey came back and let us know that they were finished with surgery but they still needed to close her, and that everything was a success! She came off of the bypass machine with NO issues (thank God!) and that she would be coming into the NICU in about an hour or so. After well over an hour we finally got to meet with the surgeon who gave us the details of her surgery. They placed the large patch inside the hole in her heart as planned, and they actually found another hole that was not seen during the cauterization that they patched as well. (thank God for such an amazing & skilled surgeon for finding that!!) They also saw multiple tiny holes in one of her ventricles, but they are so small that they are impossible to close, and they would eventually grow together as she gets bigger anyway. The only negative news we got was that they could not save her pulmonary valve. Instead of being a large tube-like structure, it was a small (abnormally small for her gestational age) piece of cartilage..so they put a patch over that as well. And apparently, some kids can go years and years without needing their valve replaced (some don't ever need a valve.. most do) But right now they are working on studies in cath labs where they want to do valve replacements through a catheter in the groin up into the heart so no chest incision would be necessary. Anyways, after speaking with Dr. Ciethaml, we were finally called back to see her. It was a good thing I prepared myself for that sight for so long. It was definitely a difficult time seeing her with everything and so sedated and out of it. On a positive note, I know she is comfortable and can't feel anything. I just wish she didn't have to have the breathing tube in. Pretty much the whole day after that Oscar and I just sat and watched her. Sometimes she would move or attempt to open her eyes.. other times she would just lay completely still. I have had so many doctors and nurses tell me how strong she is! She is a true example of a miracle baby. Thank God for all He has done! Thanks to Him for giving me such a precious angel, and placing her into the hands of such a skilled medical professional. Dr. Ciethaml truly truly saves lives and does miracles with just his two hands.