We had a really rough night last night. Jack accidentally smashed his little finger in the car door and it hurt him really bad. He cried on and off all night and hardly slept at all. The only way I could get him to rest was to sit with him on the couch in the living room. We watched Jake and the Neverland Pirates until he fell asleep. I couldn’t sleep anyway so it didn’t bother me to sit up with him. I just hated to see him hurting and we couldn’t give him any medicine or even milk for comfort. I got up at 4am and got ready to go. We woke Jack up at 5 and took him straight to the car in his jammies. My Aunt Jeanie came to spend the day with Harrison.
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We checked in at 6am. A TON of our family was already here to see Jack this morning before he went back. He got to give most everyone a kiss and a hug before they gave him the Versed. We got to talk with Dr. Dabal about what to expect and ask any last minute questions. At 7:30 they came to take him to the OR. Josh and I stopped to pray for him and he giggled the whole time. They let me walk with him to the OR doors and then I had to hand him over. He clung to me but was silly headed because of the Versed so when I handed him over he wasn’t too upset. We watched them round the corner. It was not easy.
Once we got back out to the waiting room I ran to the bathroom to let some tears fall and then came back out to a sweet surprise… Two of Jack’s nurses from when he had his first surgery were waiting to see me! Heather was just heading out but Ashley was going to be in and out with us all day! That brought me so much comfort. She also reassured me that Jack’s nurse Amanda was going to be super sweet to him! This helped lift my spirits and get me back together.
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They took a long time to make that first call (that he was under and they were going to start the procedure) and I started to panic so I went to the desk and the sweet receptionist called them for me. It just so happened that they were about to make the first cut. It was time. So we settled in and waited. The second call came to tell us he was doing great and they got through the bone easily. The third call told us that he was going onto bypass. Next call- 45 minutes later on the dot- said that he was coming off of bypass and things were going great. Last call said that the hard part was over and they were going to close up. It was a long morning filled with nerves and anxiety but also peace. God-given peace for all of us waiting out there. He sailed through perfectly.
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Dr. Dabal met us in the conference room. He said that everything went wonderfully. There wasn’t much scar tissue at all. He said that Jack’s DKS was perfect and belongs in textbooks. He said that they didn’t have to do a fenestration because Jack’s heart function looked good. They didn’t have to stop his heart at all this time. He went on to say that Jack’s anatomy is ideal for the Fontan circulation and he thinks that Jack is going to do great in the future. He said that they talked about how great Jack’s anatomy is while they were in the OR and that if you have to have a kid born with a single ventricle heart, Jack’s is one you would want to have! He told us that even though Jack’s heart won’t last until he’s 80, he feels confident that it will get him well into adulthood and that by the time that he needs a transplant there is no telling what they will be able to do for him. What beautiful words to hear. He even joked and said that I didn’t look like I believed him. I just said that this is just a different ballgame than what we’re used to and its hard to take in all of the positive news. My human nature wants to doubt and find the negative but today it was all good news friends.
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It was about another hour before we got to see him. When Josh and I rounded the corner my heart sang. My baby. Finally. Alive and done with surgery. We’re not out of the woods yet but it sure is nice to know that they’ve closed his chest up for the last time, for a good while at least. We had really prepared ourselves for what he would look like. After his Glenn he was very swollen and hooked to more monitors and machines than I could count. This time he just looked like my Jack, asleep, intubated, but Jack. My heart.
Josh and I sat at his bedside for an hour or so until he started to wake up. He opened his eyes and looked at me. He was uncomfortable and seemed scared so they gave him some medicine to help with the pain and he fell back asleep. Later he woke up a little more and they got him ready to extubate. It only took a few seconds and the tube was out. Last time he was intubated for WEEKS. This time, hours. Wow. What miracles God still does. He was happy to have the tube out of his mouth and instantly started asking for juice. They told him if he could wait a while they would give him some ice chips. That’s not what he wanted but he said he would take it. He let the nurse give him one or two before he took the cup from her and started chomping down. I told Josh I’ve never heard someone’s chewing sound so beautiful! He got to drink some water a little bit later. Dr. Dabal said that we have to take it extra slow with Fontan kids because the new circulation of blood (bypassing the heart and going straight to the lungs) causes his other organs to have to adjust and drinking too much too fast might make him sick.
Right now it’s 4:30 and I can’t believe that all of this happened today. I couldn’t have written a better possible story for Jack’s surgery day. All of the stress, anxiety and tears leading up to this day and God knew all along that He was going to bless us with the best possible surgery day. It is my sincerest of hopes that ALL of the glory from this day bypasses us and goes straight to Him. Jack is strong because God is funneling strength into him. Josh and I are making it because He is pouring His grace over us every single second. He deserves every ounce of the glory.
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Pink fingertips today. What a beautiful day it is. Thank you Lord.
Isaiah 43:2
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