The surgery went well.

I missed it because I came down with the flu (just my luck).

Here's Becky's update:

Emaline had her first cardiac surgery today, the Norwood procedure that we described in earlier posts. The day started off slowly. I got to the ICN at 6:45am and Ema was awake, so I picked her up and rocked with her for awhile. She was in a pretty bad mood because she hadn't had anything to eat since midnight (for Ema a bad mood just meant that she would periodically cry, which normally she hardly ever does).  Several members of the surgical team came and talked with me during the next few hours, but it wasn't until about 8:45am that they had me put her back in her bed so they could transport her to the operating room. They let me walk with her down to the OR doors, where I kissed her goodbye and another nurse took me to the surgical waiting room. Leaving her there in the hallway I wondered whether I would ever see her again.

 The procedure took several hours, and every hour a nurse would come and update us on her progress. From the very beginning they seemed to be almost surprised at how well Ema was doing. They came and told us as she was put under, had IVs added and medication started, when the surgeon began the operation, as he added the shunt and sewed all of her new connections, and as she was preparing to go off of the bypass machine that had been her heart during the surgery, they warned us that it might take several tries before her heart would be able to work by itself. However, just a short time later they came back to tell us that she had been able to come off the bypass the first time without any problems.

The nurse then took us the PICU waiting area while they finished up and got her settled into her new room. Some time later, I was able to go back and see her. Because her heart may swell and there may be a buildup of fluid at her incision site, the doctors still have not closed her incision, but have it covered with a dressing and have a tube coming out of it to drain the fluid. They are very optimistic about how it is looking, because she isn't draining very much and has had such a strong heartbeat. They are telling us she may be able to be closed up fully as early as tomorrow or Saturday. She is still on a respirator and coming off of that will be the next step after she is closed. During all of this, she will remain asleep. I think that is the scariest part, because she looks so still and death-like. Even so, I can see her heartbeat beneath the bandage on her chest and it is comforting to know that her heart is stronger than it was just this morning.

She is very pale and blue-tinged (cyanotic) and she will remain this way until her third and final surgery that will completely separate her oxygenated and non-oxygenated blood. Again, this is slightly scary to see, but we just have to remember that this is normal for babies that have been through what Ema has been through.

When I woke up this morning it felt like the waiting was over, but I guess it has really only begun. We have crossed the first step and Ema has done so well, I know that is an answer to prayer! However it feels like we have many, many steps to go before Ema is safe.