Double switch it is...

7:10pm
It's been a long day filled with doctors, nurses and the army of other people who have continuously been invading Abi's room asking the same questions.
Since Abi returned from the cath, she has been sleeping for the most part of the day. She didn't eat until 4pm- for 13h. Once she started she drank 5oz of cherry flavored pedialite she'd never had before.
Anyway, we spoke with her surgeon and he chose to go with the double switch TOMORROW! Not longer than yesterday he wasn't really keen on doing this now because she is so small! Her systemic valve though leaks a lot so there is no point in waiting longer. We haven't signed up for that- that's for sure. The surgery will last about 8-9 hours and starts at 7.30. Along with the double switch they will be closing her vsd. It's going to be an even longer day. Probably the most terrifying, nerve wracking and .... The worst day of our lives. Our precious little girl will undergo a huge open heart surgery. Just this morning she was all smiles, cuddly and joyful and no one could tell her condition is so bad.
She will probably stay in icu for a good week, then a week or two in the perdiatrics... No, that's definitely not what we came here for... I'm hoping and praying for the best... Home for Christmas? Let's take one day at the time.
J.

Change of plans

11:01am
So here we are, waiting for Abi to come out from the cath procedure. She was taken there





at 9:30am and we just got an update on her. Fortunately, she's sleeping all the time and she just got some more sudation, so she will not be scared. The reason for cancelling the surgery at the last minute and going with the cath was that her saturation is in the 70-80% instead of 90s and the echo showed no overcirculation in the lungs. They are trying to find out what to do next. There are a few options: 1. Replacing the severely leaking valve only or with closing VSD (right now its 7mm). 2. Doing a double switch now. 3. No surgery for now. The answer to that we'll know maybe today. They mentioned a heart transplant but this option would buy her no more than 20 years (statistically) of life with 2 heart transplants and then it would be "the end of the road" as the doc said this morning.
Apart from that, Abi is doing exceptionally well, she is so easygoing and patient. Sometimes I think she understands more than we think.
She's handling this much better that mom and dad...

Jo