Well yesterday started out pretty uneventful. Gabe had managed to stay stable for most all of the day. He is so sweet. When he gets upset, his little brow puckers and he looks like he could tear up something (wonder who he gets that from??) But he just tosses his head around and turns red. He cannot cry because of the breathing tube, so it looks so pitiful. I will really welcome the sound of his cry when I get to hear it again.
Jeff and I were able to hold him for several hours yesterday. The nurses are great here. They want to give us as many chances to hold him as possible before surgery. Jeff was really excited. He hasn't held him since the brief minutes after his birth. Here is a picture of the boys together.
His surgery is tentatively confirmed for tomorrow. He is a case 2, which means there is one surgery ahead of him, then he will go in. Of course, this is all subject to change, based on the status of the other heart babies awaiting surgery. We met the surgeon. Her name is Dr. Karla Christian. I have heard good things about her. I hope they are all true since my babies heart will be in her hands tomorrow. She explained the procedure. They will be placing the Blalock Taussig shunt via an incision into his right lower back. This means no open heart and no bypass machine!
We signed the consent forms, which was really hard to do. I think that may have been one of the hardest things I have ever done. I didn't want to upset Jeff but I think he saw through me. It's done, and I can't look back. He needs this surgery and we have no choice. But I know that the Lord will be with him every step of the way.
Last night was a little more eventful- to say the least. There was a funnel cloud over the Vanderbilt campus. The nurses all rushed to cover the incubators in the pods and put blankets over them. It was a little unnerving. Then right in the middle of the chaos, Gabe decided to have his oxygen sats drop. He was very fidgety and his color began to change. I started to panic! The alarms were going off and of course, the nurse was trying to protect babies from the impending tornado. She came to his rescue quickly and basically gave him a gas treatment and then suctioned his breathing tube out. He settled down and got his color back. His levels have been where they need to be ever since! This was so terrifying. It is a reminder of how vulnerable he is and how quickly things can change.
This morning all seems well with my little guy. Just counting down the day until surgery. Every minute I get more and more nervous. The staff here is fantastic. His nurses are wonderful. They are trying to get us a sleep room for tonight. There are rooms here with little twin beds for families that have critically ill children and live far away. Although Gabe is sick enough, our proximity to Nashville has not allowed us to have access to one of these rooms.
That just about covers it for now. I will post more information as we know it tonight and tomorrow during the surgery. Thanks again to everyone for your support and prayers. We would not be as strong if not for you and the Lord!
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