Seraph's doing great :)

Her surgery went well.  She's sleeping comfortably today.  

During the surgery, the nurse comes out every 30-60 minutes to tell you how things are going.  Haqon decided that next time we need to tell the nurse to just walk in the room with a thumbs up if things are going OK.  A whole eternity can pass in the time it takes the nurse to walk across the room, squat down, politely ask how you are doing, and then go into details on how your baby's surgery is going.

She looks great.  I didn't take pictures this time.  She's in a crib instead of a glass box this time.  She has all the tubes and wires as last time, but she's 3 times as big....so they don't overwhelm her nearly as much as last time.

Seraph's Surgery: The Glen Procedure

Tuesday, Nov 11th, Seraph is scheduled for the 2nd stage of the Norwood Procedure (aka the glen procedure.)

She is 4 1/2 months old.

They'll remove the artificial shunt that was inserted last time.

They'll rearrange the blood vessels that bring blood back to the lungs.  (The vein coming down from the head (superior vena cava) will be detached from the heart and attached to the artery that goes to the lungs to get oxygen.)

So, after this surgery, all the blood returning from her head will go straight to her lungs instead of going back to her heart and then being pumped into her lungs.

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In her next surgery (2-5 years old) they'll rearrange things so that the blood coming from her lower body flows straight to her lungs, too.

My other post on Seraph's heart defect and the surgeries she'll have is found here.

For more information on the Glen Procedure, click here.

We expect things will go well.  Thank you all for your prayers and support.  It's hard watching someone so tiny go through so much.  I really think she's going to be OK.  We expect she'll be in the hospital for a week or so. ...and then back home feeling better than ever :)

October 30 - surgery

Seraph has a preliminary surgery on October 30th.  They'll make a small incision and go in to test the pressures in her heart to make sure she's OK for her next open heart surgery (Nov 11th.)

After her Nov 11th surgery, she shouldn't need another surgery for several years.  Yay!

Seraph

Seraph looks like Angel again! It was such a relief to see her looking so good. Her color is much better and her swelling has gone down a lot!

They're getting closer to being able to close her chest. She's doing really well. More updates after more waiting. :)

ooooh - she was awake and moving around a bit, too :)

Seraph out of Surgery - doing OK

They reconstructed part of her heart. They'll leave her chest open for 5-7 days while the swelling goes down. She's doing OK...esp for her age. They'll be watching her closely for the next 48 hours. Hopefully she'll continue to heal. She's intubated but her heart is beating on it's own (and without a pace maker).