Post-op Day 6

Overall, today went well. Actually, considering the way things could have gone, things went great and we are pretty happy.

I wasn't able to blog earlier, but after talking (for the 100th time) to ENT, we finally spoke to the actual doc who was going to perform the "procedure" of draining her BAHA site. What he said made sense. He said that there might be a blood vessel that isn't scarring down, feeding the area with blood. So he was going to open it up, going with the same incision that was originally done, and see what was going on. His main concern was potential infection of the hardware (the actual titanium implants) which would royally suck. He said if that was the case, he would have to remove them. Ugh! Please, don't even say such a thing! What a nightmare that would be!

She was scheduled to go to the OR at 12:30, but wasn't taken until closer to 2:00 I think. When we were down there, they went over the consent again (I had already signed it). And while I totally get it, sometimes I just don't have the patience for all that redundancy. And quite frankly, I already heard it (and understand it). I don't want to hear the risks again. I can't back out of it! Then I had to sign consent for anesthesia. Then one of the nurses asked a doc if we had to sign consent for the echo (I'll explain that in a sec) and before he could answer I said, "No." Of course she left to double check and came back and said that I didn't have to sign one.

Anyway, by the time they took her, we had discussed this ad nauseam, and I just wanted it to be over.

Okay, about the echo (echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the heart)... Yesterday, cardiology came in to speak with us. They had studied her history and wanted to talk over some things. Since she was overloaded with fluid, they were concerned that her mild leak around her tricuspid valve could have gotten worse. So, they ordered an echo to be done while she was in the OR. That way they could really take their time and get some good images while she was calm. With her single ventricle heart, when she cries really hard it affects her circulation, so the images aren't ideal. And apparently most kids hate getting echos. And since she now has a reputation for not being cooperative and being super self-protective, they didn't want to make it worse for her. Isn't that nice?

Anyway, she seemed to be in the OR forever. It took way longer than I thought it would. And we finally got back to her room sometime between 6 and 7.

The results were great. He drained the area and said all looked great in there, so no worries about the implants. Whew! He put a dressing on it with some kind of tube that's sutured into the dressing, so it stays open for now, but comes out when the dressing comes off. Of course I started to ask when we can go home. No one will say for sure, but it's possible we can leave this weekend (assuming all goes well, of course).

We never heard from cardiology about her echo, so I'm assuming it was fine and that there was nothing alarming. After they took her back into the OR, we went to go get some coffee. By the time we got back, the plastic surgeon was already done with his part (pulling the drains in her leg and neck and cleaning up her mouth and incisions). And they put a nice, pink cast on her leg. Then ENT did their thing and he came out to talk to us. Then the last thing was the echo, which probably took the longest. I was getting impatient (which is so not me) and I told Tom that I felt like we were at a car mechanic's - we went in for one thing and they found 3 other things that needed to be fixed.

All joking aside, this is a great hospital. But I'm ready to go home. And I know that Harlie will recover better, and faster at home. So that's where we need to be. I think plastics is okay with us taking her home whenever we are ready. And we are ready. So, it's up to ENT and cardiology. So, we'll see what they say tomorrow. I doubt very seriously that we'll get discharged tomorrow. But I think Saturday or Sunday is feasible.

So, I'll leave you with another picture of Harlie smiling. This was before the whole OR thing today.

She was such a champ, by the way. No drugs, they just took her back stone sober and she was so brave even though she was scared. I told her it would be over quick and to be strong, and she was!

Well, that's it for today. More tomorrow! Thanks for all your continued support!

Much love,

Christy xo

 

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