Lizzy's Procedure

We checked in to Inova Heart and Vascular Institute at about 5:45 in the morning.

This happy picture is before surgery, all prepped and ready to talk to the anesthesiologist and the surgeon

The surgery went well. They told us it would be about an hour... of course it was 3 hours after we left her in the Cath Lab that they brought us back to her room.

We accompanied Lizzy to her Cath Lab at about 8:30. We stayed with her until she was asleep.

While in the waiting room, Clinton prepared a lesson, I finished my last Personal Progress experience, we read, and finally started to get wiggly and beyond distractions.

I came back from the ladies room and this is what I saw: a man holding a princess panda.

The PDA was pretty sizable, they said. It required two coils to close it up, and they gave Lizzy the leftover bits which are now in her journal.

Return from the procedure. About 11:30.

The ASD was also pretty open. Dr. Thompson said that her heart was pumping 4 times the volume. Well, 3.8, but at that level it isn't all that precise of a measurement, he said. Anyway, her heart was working much harder than it should be. He said she did great, she responded well, and should recover well.

Lizzy didn't like the sight of that left hand... she initially wouldn't take it out from under the covers.

He said that in a week she'd be bouncing off the walls with scads of extra energy, and we'd kind of wish we could reverse the surgery.

After about 2.5 hours of recovery, she wanted to go home. She settled for Daddy holding her.

She was supposed to have 4 hours of bed rest. Our very considerate surgeon and nurse were aware of the looming snow storm and the rush hour, and made it a priority to get us discharged promptly.

Here she is passing the recovery exam. She could use the bathroom, walk, drink, and even (with a little coaxing) smile.

One of my favorite bits of our stay was the sight of Lizzy's cute little pink-spotted underwear peeking out from her child-sized hospital gown... and the pictures didn't catch it. Bummer. I wish to keep that image with me a long long time.

Our nurse was Jenny. She was excellent.

Initially, Lizzy was pretty quiet. She pointed at the stars and moons in the ceiling. She ignored our questions and directions, for the most part. When we pushed the questions she glared at us. We could make her talk when we got between her and the TV.

Lizzy was anxious to get unhooked and dressed in her own pajamas.

Much thanks are due to the Call family, who took Emma Monday night and were happy to keep her as long as we might want. We collected Emma on the way home from the hospital.
Gratitude to Emily for the excellent tasty soup and bread and cream puffs. I was in no condition to worry about dinner.

Clinton is off today as well, to take care of his girl. She came in this morning and together they watched the sun rise out our bedroom window.

We had so many offers of help from so many, and so many people were praying for Lizzy and for our family. We feel grateful, loved, supported, and very blessed.

And then Emma joined in.