If someone had told me while I was growing up that I would give birth to a little boy who would go through two heart surgeries by the time he was a year and a half, I don't think that I would have wanted to have kids. I am so glad that I did not know back then what the future would be because I would have made the wrong decision. And I am so glad that we have a faithful God and wonderful family and friends to carry us through.
Ethan will have his second heart surgery on Thursday, April 5th. It is a relief to have it scheduled and we are ready to have it behind us. No more "putting it off". Sometimes I get asked if we have ever checked into getting a second opinion. Well, we get about 10 opinions on Ethan every time his case is reviewed and the overwhelming consensus is that he needs this surgery now.
This surgery will not have to be open heart. It will be a "closed heart" surgery, where the surgeon will make the repair through a side incision (thoracotomy). Dr. O'Brien will clamp Ethan's aortic artery, cut out the narrow segment of his aortic artery and sew the wider ends back together. Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn't it?!? That is why he makes the big bucks (and deserves every penny, in my opinion!)
The good news about this type of heart surgery is that Ethan will not have to be on bypass (heart/lung machine), like he was the first time. This always adds increased risk. No one can tell us how long Ethan will be in the hospital after surgery - it will depend on how he does. But, we are planning on spending Easter in the hospital! I'll just have to pack Ethan's Easter basket along with all our other stuff.
Ethan's cardiologist is not going to treat Ethan's blood pressure increase right now - he really isn't too concerned about it. Ethan's BP is high in his upper extremities and normal in his lower extremities and putting him on BP meds would lower his blood pressure too much in his lower extremities. Surgery should hopefully correct his BP in his upper body, but time will tell on this.
The day before surgery, we will take Ethan in for all the "fun" pre-op tests. We will also meet with the anesthesiologist and the surgeon at that time. He will be in the PICU after surgery. Recovery will be rough. Ethan will be in lots of pain - it will hurt for him to breath and it will hurt for him to move, let alone be held. I can't even think about that - way too difficult.
It is important that Ethan stay healthy for the surgery so that we don't have to reschedule. Fortunately, we are headed into a healthier season soon.
We are so grateful for your faithfulness to pray for Ethan and our family.
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2 comments:
We will be praying. I'm glad to hear Dr. O'Brien will be doing Ethan's surgery. He did such a great job on our son Declan.
I am praying for you too. Closed heart is so much less complicated than open heart surgery, but still just as scary.
In my reading this morning, I read about the Israelites as they were being led by God out of Egypt. Having first seen Him work through all the plagues, they were leaving with lots of wealth. There they were, stuck up against the Red Sea with no where to go and the Egyptian army coming after them. What seemed so awesome suddenly seemed so scary with no bright place to look except up! A good thing they were no longer in slavery but circumstances looked grim. God dried up a path through the sea so they could walk through on DRY ground and He drowned the enemy army on top of it!
He is so in control of this situation too. Let me know if I can help out logistically. We had some friends who lived very near CMH when Matthew had his open heart surgery. Lots of folks sent meals too. God so takes care of us - in our weakness, He is so strong!
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