Asher’s Glenn Surgery

Today, Asher had his Glenn surgery, the second surgery of three necessary to help Asher’s heart work for his body.  We were scheduled to arrive to check in between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m.  Last night, I had instructions to give him a bath, dry him off with a clean towel, and put him in clean pajamas on a clean sheet.  After lots of kisses and before putting him to bed, Shane and Bryce gave him a blessing, and then Shane gave me one, and Bryce gave Shane one.  The blessing was so calming, and one again we all felt that Asher would be okay, and that this would be another time to see the hand of the Lord is Asher’s and our lives. 

I was able to feed Asher one last time at 3:00 a.m., which was perfect because I normally feed him around 3 or 4 at night anyway.  We then got up and got ready at 4:30 a.m. so we could be to the hospital in time.  Asher transferred nicely to his car seat, and stayed asleep while we checked in.  He slept in my arms while they took his blood pressure and pulse ox reading, and we signed the necessary consents.  Then we weighed him and got him some tylenol.  The anesthesiologist came in and explained to us what he would be doing, and then we just had to wait for the surgeon.  He was supposed to start his surgery at 7:30 a.m., but soon it was 8:00 and no surgeon.  By this point, Asher was hungry and getting fussy, so I took him and walked up and down the hall, and fortunately, he soon fell asleep sucking on his pacifier.  He stayed asleep until 8:40, when the surgeon arrived.  They had changed some things on his schedule at the hospital, but they hadn’t updated it with him, so he had been told Asher’s surgery was tomorrow.  Once we talked with him and signed the consent, the nurse took him from my arms and they were off.  Shane and I were both amazingly calm and peaceful as they took him away.  We knew he was in good hands, and that he would be blessed and watched out for while we couldn’t be with him.

“Hmm Mom, I’m not so sure about this . . . but if you’re going to make me smile, we might as well have some fun while we wait.”

   

For that point on, the waiting began.  I spent most of the day blogging and editing pictures on my computer while Shane worked.  We did go out and walk around outside one time, and I left to go pump a couple of times in the lactation room they have, but mainly we just sat in the family waiting room and waited for updates.  They updated us when they had made the incision, when he went on bypass, and then when he was off bypass and up in the PICU.  The second half of the surgery went much faster than the first, and we were able to come in and see him around 3:00 this afternoon.  Just before coming in, the surgeon came and met with us, letting us know that everything was very straightforward and went as planned, with no surprises.  His superior vena cava looked good, and had grown enough to be routed into his pulmonary veins.  He said his heart still had a strong pumping function, and his tricuspid valve still looked strong.  He said things looked good for his future, and that this surgery will really help him to be stronger. 

 

When we saw Asher, he looked, like before, full of tubes and wires and monitors.  He is now resting in his bed, on pain medication and sedated while the ventilator is in.  They had originally said they might try to take out his ventilator tonight, but where they got a late start and where he is a bit younger, they decided to leave it in overnight.  Shane and I are going to sleep up here tonight, so we’ll see how that goes.  Hopefully we can get some rest.