Sweet Baby Sam

Off the Vent

Sam is now off the vent! They pulled that out around 6am. They have also taken out his 'heart line' (like an IV into the heart), his NG tube, and some of his oxygenation monitors. We tried to get him to eat but he is still a little out of it. He has a really congested sounding breath, so they are doing some Chest PT to help him get it out. He is semi-awake at times, and then he'll be right back asleep. His nurse said that so far he is the easiest "Glenn" patient to work with...no signs of pain or headaches and he hasn't really been crying too much. His vital signs are very stable with minimal medication. He is still a little swollen but it is coming down with the lasix treatments. His chest tube drainage is minimal and those tubes may come out in the next 24-36 hours. We are so proud of his progress.

I took some great photos with our new camera. I will post them when I get a little more time. In case you are wondering, this hospital is AMAZING. They are truly miracle workers, and they are so kind and personable. Usually you are miserable in a hospital, but they have made it so easy for us.

~Kathy

Looking Great!!

I just checked on Sam. He looks GREAT! He is off the pacemaker, and his drainage is minimal. They started the Lasix to bring down the swelling and that is working great. He is still knocked out from the anesthesia today, but his nurse said he should wake up sometime tomorrow. When he gets closer to waking up, they will take out his NG tube, the vent, and an IV line that is currently directly in his heart. They have his arms restrained because they don't want him pulling out tubes once he wakes up. He will get to eat tomorrow but he'll have to wait 6 hours after the tubes come out. They said he'll be agitated (clearly) and hungry and he'll have a killer headache. They will keep him comfortable with pain meds for a few days. We should be out of the CICU and on the regular floor by Thursday!

Let's not get ahead of ourselves...for now he is doing great, and that's all that matters. Prayers are working!!!

~Kathy

Recovering

We got to see Sam in the CICU about an hour after his surgery was complete. He has chest tubes to drain off fluid, and an external pacemaker to keep his heart at a good rhythm until he recovers more. He is still on the vent, but they have been able to ween him down off of it a bit. He is holding his pressures and oxygen at wonderful levels, and is no longer on the heavy pressure medication that kept him alive over the last two days. For the first time in his life, he is truly 'pink' and his hands and feet are so warm thanks to the better blood oxygenation levels! He is swollen from the surgery, but they will start the meds to decrease that soon. They may take him off the vent tonight and wake him a little. Chris and I are going to try to catch a little sleep now, because once he wakes up, we won't leave his bedside.

The photos are kind of scary...but all of those horrible tubes and wires saved his life.

~Kathy

Out of Surgery!

Sam is out of surgery! We just spoke with the surgeon who said everything went as well as could be hoped for. He explained some of the details of the operation and said he thinks everything looks great. We won't get to see him for about another hour because they have to get him settled back into the CICU. We can't thank everyone enough for the prayers and positive thoughts! We felt your support and we know it made all the difference! THANK YOU!!

~Kathy

Update

The nurse in the OR just called. They were able to do the Glenn repair (the surgery that was scheduled for the 15 of April). They are about to take him off the Heart/Lung bypass, and will be done with everything in about an hour. So far so good. We'll update after we talk to the doctor!

~Kathy

Officially In Surgery

Sam is in surgery. They took him back at 730am. We got to follow them to the OR. All of the doctors, nurses, and surgeons are super nice. They will update us about every hour, and then when the surgeon is done (around 11-12), he will come out and talk to us. I'll update when I know anything.

Photos are from just before they brought Sam back to the OR.

~Kathy