Cath is complete!

Coley had his cardiac catheterization this morning. It was a longer one than last time - about 3 hours. He did great leading up to it - didn't seem nervous or scared. Everyone is so nice and comforting here! (The nurse he's with now returned back today from maternity leave after having twins! She's great.) He drank his "sleeping medicine" with very little complaint and it definitely worked! He seemed completely stoned within about 10 minutes and they wheeled him away at about 9am...

Reading before sleepy time.

Ted and I hadn't eaten because Coley couldn't eat and we didn't want to torture him. So after we sat and cried for a tiny minute, we went down to the lobby for breakfast and met my dad. We went back to my dad's office to read, watch the Wire, and wait for updates. Lovely 7th floor corner office with a view. Thanks Dad!

Watching TV, waiting for the meds to kick in.

Cherry popsicle after the cath.

He was finished by about 11:45. We had to try (*try*) to keep him still and his legs straight as he was coming out of the anesthesia, but he was pretty antsy. He really wanted to get out of bed; kept saying "I'm getting down! I'm getting down!" But the nurse let him lie in my lap in a chair and we watched an episode of Dora. Then he seemed to calm down and be still for a good hour or so. He finally got back in bed and had a popsicle. That seemed to perk him up a lot and now he's sitting up, having juice, and playing with a new toy the hospital gave him.

We just met with his cardiologist and the surgeon and they are very pleased with what they see. They say he's in a good position going into the Fontan procedure Monday. The pressures in his heart and the adjoining vessels are good. They coiled off (closed off) one collateral vessel in preparation for Monday. That will keep the pressure where they want it when they hook up his new connection Monday. (They'll be connecting the inferior vena cava to the pulmonary artery so the blood returning from the lower body gets oxygenated in the lungs before it returns to the heart).  

They told us we'll be able to go home tonight if he's eating and drinking ok and he gets a couple doses of antibiotics. He has to stay still in bed until about 5 or 6:00 though. And then we come back Monday morning. He'll be the first case, meaning into the OR at 7:30, meaning we have to be here at 6am!! That means no traffic, which is nice, and it's not like we're going to be sleeping anyway... Also, the surgery will take longer than last time, too, for a number of reasons. More like 4-5 hours. Last time it was only 45 minutes!

As for Ted and me, we're just relieved this next step is over. A cath is pretty routine, but it's heart surgery, too, and not without risks. So it's nice to check that one off.

Thanks for looking in on us and for all the love we know you are sending. We feel it, truly we do. Thank you. 

Time to dust off the old blog...

Coley, w/ his lady-friends and the pink dump truck cake he requested.

Welcome back to Baby Bear's Blog! It's been a long time... so long that Baby Bear is no longer a baby! He just turned three at the beginning of September.

The reason for starting up the blog again is that the much-anticipated second surgery is around the corner. In anticipation of what we are about to go through these next few weeks, we made the most of our summer, filling it with friends, family, beaches, fun, travel, and a
big birthday bash for Coley. Pictures of all that fun stuff you can see on Facebook. But we are not going to use FB for surgery updates - just this site.

The surgery will be Monday, September 19th. Less than a week away. It all starts with a day of pre-op testing this Thursday, September 15 and a cardiac catheterization Friday, September 16th. We may spend the night at Children's Friday, but last time we were able to go home. We're hoping for that and feeling so grateful to live 5 minutes from the hospital! It's the exact same schedule as last time, though that doesn't help me remember it any, since my memories of March of 2009 are totally fuzzy from worry and sleep deprivation. I just read our old posts to try to remember how it went!

Before the hospital adventure starts, Coley starts school tomorrow! His class goes for half a morning the first two days, then starts full mornings after that. He'll get to visit for the first day, then will probably be out for the next two weeks. He is SO excited for school, so I'm glad he'll have that to look forward to as he's recovering. Then Thursday, the hospital adventure begins. Check back here for updates. We'll post as often as we can. Thanks for continuing to think of Coley and sending us love.

-Anna