Post Op: Day 1

Lots of machines, lots of beeping.

I'm sitting at the house as I update the blog this morning. I'll be heading back to the hospital in a few minutes and wanted to provide an update. Supermom and I are alternating our stays at the hospital to every other night. The bed in Cooper's P-ICU room isn't quite big enough (or comfortable enough) for two people, and the hospital really prefers that only one parent stays overnight with their patients.

Yesterday included a lot of waiting around. Supermom and I managed to get some much-needed rest Tuesday night, and we both felt (and I looked) better. Neither one of us got much sleep Monday night, and Tuesday was quite exhausting.

Cooper was resting in his room and still hooked up to the ventilator. The plan was to remove the breathing tube at some point, but they needed him to be awake and alert so that he wouldn't relax and forget to breathe. The only issue seemed to be that he just wanted to rest, and the anesthesia was taking its sweet time working through his system. The anesthesiologist said that everyone responds to the medicine differently, so "waking up" really depended on each person and that every case was different.

Our son was being a little difficult in that he tended to thrash around because he was tired of laying in the bed. This had prompted the nurses to tie him down in the bed. They wanted to prevent any lines to be yanked out as he tossed and turned.

So we waited...and waited...and waited some more. Around 4 p.m. they determined he was awake and alert and removed the breathing tube. He is an overachiever like his momma, and is doing just fine breathing on his own. This is also a sign that other tubes and IVs could be removed, but that will be determined by the doctors throughout the day Thursday.

Supermom called around 9 p.m. last night and informed me that she was able to feed Cooper a little (much easier now that the tube is gone). And she got to hold him. I'll admit, I was jealous, and can't wait to get back up there to see (and hold) him this morning.

More later...

Day One-Recap

I'm going to try and summarize everything that happened today. First and foremost I want to thank everyone for their words of encouragement. Supermom and I were very touched by the outpouring of support from friends and family. For those who know me, I rarely have any difficulty verbalizing the thoughts and ramblings that rattle around in my brain. In this instance I'm not really sure what to say except "Thanks."

Cooper is resting comfortably at the hospital tonight. Supermom and I are at home trying to get some rest. San Antonio is renowned for the quality of medical care available, and I've learned this first-hand. The doctors, surgeons, nurses, and other medical professionals associated with the University of Texas Health Science Center and Christus-Santa Rosa hospital are first-class and have taken great care of Cooper.

The procedure went as well as we could have hoped. The repair to his ventricle was complete and successful. He's stable and will be in the P-ICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for the next couple of days. He'll remain on a ventilator through tonight, and if all goes well in the morning he'll be breathing on his own.

Supermom and I were able to see him after he was transferred to the P-ICU this afternoon. I expected the worst but was surprised to see him look as normal as he did. He's hooked up to all sorts of machines and monitoring equipment, which as a parent sends your stomach up into your throat. But the nurses tell us he's responding very well to the medicines.

We'll be up early and at the hospital to see him tomorrow. We're hoping that once the doctors get to their daily "rounds" that they will give the go-ahead to have him removed from the ventilator and breathing on his own. If he's breathing without assistance and his blood pressure remains stable, there is a chance he could be transferred to intermediate care by Thursday.

Again, thank you to everyone for their well-wishes and prayers for the little man. He's tough like his momma. More tomorrow, I'm off to get some rest.

Closing Up (12:15 pm)

Pay no attention to the time stamp for these posts. The actual update time is in the title of each post. Anyway, the surgical team is closing him up. He should be out by 1 pm and into recovery. Thank you to everyone that has kept our family in your prayers.