Post-Op Day 7

One week ago today Hudson had his 2^nd open-heart surgery.  The Glenn surgery went extremely well and we were discharged on Saturday, September 28^th just 5 days after his surgery.  On the day of surgery we arrived at the hospital around 6 am and they took Hudson back into the surgical suite around 8 am.  The surgery ended up starting several hours later than originally planned because there were some issues with the cross-typing of the blood products that would be needed for transfusions during surgery.  Once the surgery started it lasted several hours, and Jamey and I were finally able to go back to see Hudson around 3:30 pm.  When we got in the CVICU room, they were trying to wean him off of the ventilator and luckily he got off within probably an hour after we went back to his room.  During the extubation process they have to drastically decrease the level of sedation as well as the use of certain pain medications that can cause respiratory depression.  It’s hard to see Hudson on the ventilator because I know he is uncomfortable and there is just nothing I can do about it.  His blood pressure was running high during this time, which is expected after surgery, but can also signal pain and discomfort.  They started some additional antihypertensive meds that did not really seem to make a big difference so they gave him morphine which did help decrease his blood pressure some.  Hudson’s favorite song is You Are My Sunshine, which I sing to him all the time at home.  I wanted to comfort him and let him know that we were with him so I started singing to him and his blood pressure started dropping immediately.  I’m sure his nurse probably got so tired of me singing that song to him over and over again, especially considering that I am not a great singer to begin with.  Honestly I could have continued singing to him for hours, but after he was extubated he was so exhausted that he went to sleep for several hours.  We stayed in the CVICU through Wednesday and then went to the CCU, a step-down unit, through Saturday.

This surgery was so much better than the Norwood.  During our month-long hospital stay after the Norwood, all of the nurses told me the Glenn would be so different.  Even though I believed them, I still thought that there was nothing easy about a major open-heart surgery.  Luckily in many ways they were right.  Only 1 day on the ventilator, less than a 1 week hospital stay, and a closed chest coming out of surgery made this experience as uneventful as I guess open-heart surgery can be.  Another miracle that happened in the past week is that Hudson was finally able to come off oxygen for the first time in his life.

Last Tuesday was Hudson’s 3-month birthday.  He has brought so much joy to our lives over the past 3 months and it’s hard to remember life before him.  We are so grateful to Hudson’s pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Dabal, for performing another successful surgery.  Before Dr. Dabal was recruited to UAB/Children’s Hospital, they did not even perform the Norwood procedure here.  Babies that needed this life-sustaining surgery were sent to other pediatric cardiac centers across the country.  Dr. Dabal was recruited to start performing the Norwood as well as other heart surgeries at Children’s.  God has blessed Hudson's entire medical team with such incredible skill and talent.  Since Hudson has been born I’ve often wondered how do you thank someone for saving your baby’s life.  Nothing I can ever say will be enough, but we are so thankful to Dr. Dabal, Dr. Romp, Dr. Alten and countless others for giving us the opportunity to not only celebrate Hudson’s 3-month birthday, but also a lifetime of birthdays.  

One of the verses in Psalm 30 has been on my mind over the week.  Psalm 30:5 says weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.  Inevitably it is easier to see the joy that comes when things go the way that you want them to, but even when they do not, God is still in control.  For some joy may come sooner than for others, but either way we have a promise of joy that will eventually come.  Even in the most difficult moments of life, God never abandons us.

Sponge bath after coming home from the hospital

Glad to be home

The Glenn

Since the heart cath procedure Hudson has been doing well.  Unfortunately the balloon dilation of the pulmonary arteries did not make enough of a change to get Hudson off oxygen, but we are hopeful that he will after this next surgery.  Originally the 2^nd heart surgery (Glenn) was going to be scheduled for the middle of October.  However we have had a couple of situations where Hudson’s oxygen sats were dropping and we were hospitalized for several days.  Since this seemed to be happening more frequently, the doctors decided it was best to move his surgery up.  Hudson will be having his Glenn surgery tomorrow, September 23^rd.  The surgery should last anywhere from 4-6 hours and we will probably be in the hospital for 1-2 weeks if things go well. 

When I was pregnant, I had been introduced to another mom with a HLHS baby.  Her child was having his Glenn towards the end of my pregnancy, and I remember thinking how it must feel to watch your child go through another major surgery so soon.  I knew I would dread it and I have to say that I do.  Even though this surgery is not typically as critical as the 1^st surgery (Norwood), it is still major open heart surgery.  Obviously I am scared and wish I could go through it for him or just take the whole experience away.  All those memories of the ups and downs of the 1^st surgery come flooding back, and it’s hard to believe we have to do it all over again.

Hudson is so blessed to have had incredible medical care throughout his life.  His physicians not only possess a wealth of knowledge, but also truly stand beside our family as we have gone through this process.  During our last doctor's appointment prior to his Glen, our pediatrician Dr. Brian Dudgeon asked if he could pray with us.  It is awesome to have people of such great character caring for our baby.  Please pray for Hudson tomorrow during his surgery (we are the 1^st case so it should start around 7-8) as well as during his recovery and his medical team.  We covet your prayers and believe that prayer is powerful.  I’ve said it before, but it is incredible to know that there are so many people praying for Hudson.

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart – Psalm 34:18