Sunday Night

Well, it is Sunday night and we are packing for our trip tomorrow. After a lot of thought we decided to stay at the hotel that is on the upper floors of the Washington Hospital Center, which is right next to Children’s National Medical Center. That way, we don’t have to worry about driving and we can be very close to Harlie. We will stay there the first week and then play the rest of the stay by ear. Originally, we planned to leave tonight so we wouldn’t have to worry about getting to her pre-op appointment on time (10am). But the hotel didn’t have any available rooms, and to be honest, Tom and I didn’t have the energy to load up tonight anyway. Harlie has had a couple of rough nights, and we haven’t gotten much sleep. We are keeping our fingers crossed that she is well enough for surgery as planned, but I guess tomorrow we’ll find out for sure. (There is a link to CNMC under my favorite links just in case you want to check it out).

For her pre-op appointment they will run some tests, x-rays and blood work, etc. It will be an all-day thing. We should be able to talk to her cardiologist and surgeon about what the plan is and what we can expect as far as duration of the surgery and recovery time. We are very nervous and scared, but we just need to put our blinders on and put one foot in front of the other till we get through this. I keep looking at the potential positives -(besides better heart function) possibly getting her off oxygen, losing the pulse ox monitor, better growth, etc.

Well, this weekend Tom’s family was in town. Since Saturday was such a nice day (although very windy) we decided to go to the park. Our day nurse (Brandy) went with us, which was SOOOO helpful. She took care of Harlie so I could run around with Murphy. Murphy and I needed a little fun out of the house together. I have to admit that I felt like such a dork having the stroller at the park! Well, I’ve got to go. I will update the site as I can. And we will be checking messages and e-mail throughout the week if you want to reach us.

Take care and we’ll be in touch soon,
-Christy