Monday, July 20, 2009

blues clues-a-thon

We're done the heart catheterization... just waiting now to go home. We have to stay for 2 hrs more to make sure he's good to go home. He did so great today... things were running about 2 hrs behind so he didn't get in until 11:45. He went almost 5 hours without anything to eat or drink and he never complained! (We couldn't eat in front of him so we were complaining more than he was!) A few times he asked for a drink or said he was hungry but when I told him he had to wait until he went to sleep, he just accepted it! He was so sweet... he had a good time playing with a mini air hockey game and watching Blues Clues. (We're on a big Blues Clues kick this week, he's watching it in bed again now!)

So they got the info they needed from the heart cath. His old conduit is quite narrow and calcified, which is what they expected. When J.J. was a baby, his right pulmonary artery was very narrow so they put in a stent to enlarge it (I believe to 6mm). Tomorrow they will plan to cut it open and increase it's size in order to get more blood flow to his right lung. It sounds like they will sew a patch on the artery to enlarge it. They are also planning to close his ASD, the hole they put in between the two atriums of his heart. The ASD is what has made his sats lower (ie bluer blood) over the years. And then of course they will put in the new conduit and valve.

One interesting fact that came up in talking with the cardiologist was that J.J.'s heart is slightly rotated. It actually does vaguely ring a bell now but we had forgotten or hadn't quite realized that he has a bit of a sideways heart!

The ENT doctor took a good look at the ears and decided not to put in tubes today. There was no fluid in there so he decided to see how he does without the tubes.

So one down, one to go. Tomorrow's a bigger day but he has done really well today. We are going home with the IV in, so hopefully it won't fall out and we'll avoid a poke tomorrow morning! They'll lock the IV, so we won't be tied to any lines or hauling a pump around or anything, just the little needle under a big sock! We'll keep you posted!

recovering with a lil ol Blues Clues

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