Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Pre-Op Day...

Let me begin by saying that we had a WONDERFUL experience today at Batson!  Everyone was just fabulous...we felt very very taken care of.  Both Frank and I fully expected to come away from today with more anxiety about Monday because we would know more of the details.  However, we both feel much more comfortable about the upcoming week after today's appointments.  What an answer to prayer...we serve a MIGHTY God who hears the prayers of His people!
Caden woke up this morning and immediately noticed that he was late for his usual school wake up time.  So I explained to him that we would not be going to school today.  Instead we would be going to see a new heart doctor.  I told him that this doctor and Dr. Braden thought that now is the time to do some more repair work on his heart.  He seemed totally fine with it!!  HUGE prayer answered there!  I told him that we would be hearing all about the surgery and that he could feel free to ask any of the doctors or nurses whatever questions he had.  He seemed happy with that.
We dropped Grayson off at my parents house, and we headed to the hospital.  We were warned that this appointment would take some time, and they weren't kidding.  We saw lots and lots of people, but it all went very quickly.  We first headed up to the clinics and had the dreaded blood work done...this was the only time that tears were shed.  The nurses were great because they told him what a good job he did during the needle part, and they let him pic some prizes from the toy room.
God love him...he was so excited about that red harmonica!!  What a love!  Then they sent us on a short scavenger hunt for a chest xray (didn't get a pic there...felt like I was creeping out  the techs.  ha!) and an EKG.
Back up to the waiting room to watch a little Disney Junior before we were called back again.

We headed back in the clinic after that, and they decided that we should go ahead and have another echo so that the hospital could have one on file that was performed "in house."  Caden has had tons of these done before, so it was no biggie!

When we got back to our room, he was getting a little hungry, so he decided to have some skittles out of my bag.  He thought it was awesome that I packed his lunch box with snacks...it truly is the little things!
Then we met with the 2 nurse managers who answered lots of questions about where to be and what to do on Monday.  We didn't get to meet the surgeon (he had to go out of town unexpectedly), but we did meet with his nurse practitioner who was just fabulous!  He went into detail about the surgery itself, the recovery, and everything in between.  Amazingly, Caden never got panicked about any of it.  He was quite happy to find out that his puppy gets to go into surgery with him and will come out of surgery with a bandage just like his.  It means a lot to this mama for little things like that to be considered!
When we had finished all of our appointments in the clinic, we went up to the pre-op floor and were seen by one of the pediatric dentists to get dental clearance for surgery.   This took MAYBE 30 seconds...ha!  Then we waited to be seen by anesthesia.
Once we were done there, it was out to lunch!!  We were there for a little over 4 hours, so Caden was ready to G-O!

 We are still on schedule for surgery first thing Monday morning.  We are to be at the hospital at 5:30...good times!  The surgery may last anywhere from 5-10 hours.  It all depends on what procedure they decide to do once they get in there.  First they will try and repair his existing valve.  Once they have tried this, they will run tests and see if it is giving them the kind of results they want.  If they are not happy with how the repair goes, they will go ahead with a valve replacement.  Even with the replacement, they still have some procedural decisions to make.  They can either go with a straight forward aortic valve replacement by tissue valve, or they may choose to go with a Ross Procedure.  Please be in prayer for the decisions the surgeons will be making Monday once they get in to see what they think is best for Caden's heart.  They all have their benefits and risks, so there is really no bad choice!  Praise the Lord for modern medicine!!  I'm still just always amazed at the things they can do.  Caden will go from surgery to the PICU where he will stay for 24-48 hours.  He will then move to the surgical step down unit where he will stay for a few nights.  All in all we should be in the hospital for 5-7 days just depending on how things go.
Thank you all for the prayers that you have offered so far...we can truly feel God's peace wrapped around us!!   Please keep on praying as we go into surgery Monday and for the recovery to follow. We deeply appreciate each one of you!!!

7 comments:

Unknown said...

He gets to take Puppy!!!! That's awesome. It will make all the difference in the world to him!

TinaB said...

I had no idea he was having surgery! I will definitely keep y'all in my prayers, and the doctors to make wise decisions regarding all the possibilities. Love y'all much! ~ Christina F. Burrage :)

Julie Byrd said...

Such a blessing that today went so well. Already on my knees whispering Caden's sweet name to our Father. Praying for the whole team of experts who will be handling this sweet little man of yours. Also praying for you and Frank (and Grayson, Honey, and Papa...) that you may feel God's peace and strength throughout this whole week, as you prepare, and beyond, as you help Caden recuperate. Love you all!
Julie Byrd

Kasey McKay said...

emily, just wanted to say that i'm praying for your family and your sweet, brave, boy!

Angie Henegar said...

I'm so happy (and relieved) that everything went well for Caden today! He is an amazing little guy. You were all on my heart today and, I'll admit, Grayson got lots of extra love as a result. We are praying for all of you as well as everyone who will participate in Caden's journey. Please let me know if I can do anything to help! I'd be more than happy to take care of Grayson or drive him anywhere ya'll need. Love you!

KTElltt said...

I'm just now catching up on this after seeing you last night. I am definitely praying for all involved -- from Caden, to you and Frank, to the surgeons, to those in the waiting room (praying for calming influences). I am a phone call away if y'all need anything!

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