Surgery Day

Nicholas and Daddy working on a project before surgery

So here we are again...in the family waiting room at LPCH.  Funny that the first time we were here, I thought that all the families were here for open heart surgery, too.  But there are kids' families awaiting tonsillectomies, ear tubes, and other things. 

I started out today feeling annoyed because I thought we would accompany Nicholas to the O.R. like last time and say goodbye as they put him to sleep.  But this volunteer guy came as they were wheeling him out of the pre-op area and took us away, and I was pretty upset that I didn't get to be with him.  Hopefully Nicholas won't remember any of these minor details, but I guess I just thought that heaven forbid, something didn't go right, I wanted to be with my son until the very last moment.  Anyway.....

We talked to Dr. Hanley right before he went into surgery and we got the reassurance we were looking for, that yes, we are doing the right thing, and that Nicholas is in such amazing hands under Dr. Hanley's care.



Nicholas keeping busy before surgery

Nicholas and Mommy snuggling before surgery

So we went to grab a bite of breakfast after all this and just as we were finishing, Dr. Hanley comes walking through the cafeteria!  I waved him over and he sat down and explained to us that everything went very well, and that he would be getting transferred up to CVICU soon.  He said he was pleasantly surprised, though, because at the heart cath 5 weeks ago, Nic's LV was pumping at 50mmHg and today it was 70mmHg!  He said that Nicholas had "grown into" his first band since we were here in June and for that reason, he didn't have to tighten the band as much as anticipated.  He said that we would still be looking at waiting another 6 months or so to determine how everything looks for the double switch down the road.  Apparently Nicholas' blood pressure is 90mmHg and he said if we could reach that number in these coming 6 months, then he would likely be ready for the DS after this PA banding and wouldn't likely need another tightening.  Such great news!  (I think I have all the numbers right...I will try to find out if I have misunderstood...but whatever way it is, it is good news!)