And we're out . . .

We arrived at the hospital bright and early this morning. They took Gab in for surgery at about 7:15. Dr. Davis came to talk to us to let us know that Gab did great in surgery at about 1:00. She is now in the PICU. They already got the breathing tube out, which she hated and protested with all her might. From here we are hanging out in recovery mode. Sounds like it might be a rough night for poor Gab. After this surgery kids get what they call "Glenn head." Basically, since they aren't used to the way the blood is flowing they get headaches. She sure is an amazing little peanut. I almost even got a smile out of her. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers today. We appreciate each and every one

Here we go again . . .

I can't believe how long it's been since we've posted anything here. Looking at the pictures of Gabby, I must say she has grown and changed SO much.

On October 12th, Gab had a heart cath. This showed that her heart function is good and gave them good pictures and video of what her heart is doing in preparation for her next surgery. Dr. D said that Gab's pulmonary arteries are good size as well. This is very important and hopefully will prevent her from needed additional interventions.

With that being said, surgery is planned for first case this coming WEDNESDAY, November 2nd. It's hard to believe it's already here but I must say we are ready to get it done and get back on to "normal" life. We will meet with the surgeons Tuesday and get x-rays, blood work, etc. done and then go home for the night only to return bright and early the next morning for surgery.

This surgery (the Glenn) connects the superior vena cava (SVC) to the pulmonary arteries. The SVC normally connects to the right atrium of the heart and brings blood back to the heart from the head and neck. The blood normally would leave the right side of the heart and go to the lungs to pick up oxygen before it comes back to the left side to get pumped out to the rest of the body. In Gab's case, the SVC will be disconnected from the heart and linked in to the pulmonary arteries so instead of stopping by the heart on the way to the lungs, the blood that returns from her head and neck will go straight to the lungs to pick up oxygen. The 3rd surgery (a couple of years off yet) will do the same with the inferior vena cava which brings blood back from everywhere below the heart. What this means for Gabby is that the left side of her heart will have to work just a little big harder to make up for the lack of function in the right side. The surgeons will also remove the Goretex shunt that they placed in her first surgery since she will no longer need it.

We hope Gab will do amazing in surgery and have a speedy recovery as she continues to be our fiesty little fighter! The biggest thing afterwards will be pain control and allowing Gab to adjust to the new function of her heart.

While she can be a bear, our baby girl is so very sweet and innocent. It will be hard to see her this way again and not be able to hold and console her much. No parent should have to go through these things but we are continually reminded that we are blessed. I always think how VERY thankful I am that we will have these memories but our daughter will not! We appreciate all your thoughts, kind words, support and prayers for our resilient rockstar! They mean a lot to us!

Please call first if you would like to come visit in the hospital. It's not the most fun place and if things are going well, healthy visitors will be welcomed!

Rolling along...

So it has been just over a month since we brought Gabby home and things are going well. Gabby is growing and putting on weight which will help her when the second surgery rolls around later this year. It has been a busy month for the four of us.

A little over a week ago Gab stopped eating as well so Abbie took her into the hospital to get her checked out. They ended up admitting her to check her over and make sure it wasn't something with her heart that was causing her to be irritated. They diagnosed her with an eye infection after everything and gave her some drops and by the next morning she was like a brand new baby. The doctors suspect that she had the infection since shortly after birth, but it just finally got bad enough to irritate her. She is eating much better now and is much more content. The two pics at the bottom are the most recent.

Home Sweet Home!

We finally got to bring Gabby home today!! Abbie and I are very excited as we expected her to be at the hospital longer based on everything we had read prior to Gabby's arrival. Unfortunately she still has to be on oxygen while she is home, but it is very nice to have everyone under one roof finally.

We wanted to remind everyone that visitors are welcome, but please call before you stop by. Gabby has many upcoming appointments and is still resting a lot in recovery from her busy first two weeks. Also, please wait to visit if you have any signs or symptoms of any cold or illness. We need to keep Gabby as healthy as possible to aid in her recovery and to keep her on schedule for her next surgery.

"The Battle Wound"

"Mama and her kiddos"

Another step closer to home . . .

Gabby continues to make great progress. She was moved "to the floor" yesterday which means one step closer to home. Right now her goals are to continue increasing her calorie intake and to get off oxygen. She is just "on a wiff" of oxygen right now. We can't wait to bring her home and have people stop poking and prodding at her.

Gabby the rockstar!

Gabby had a big day yesterday! She was extubated around noon and is now breathing completely on her own. She also got her catheter out so she can use the bathroom on her own now too. She no longer needs lasix (to make her pee) because she is peeing so well on her own. Her chest tubes came out as well. She got one of her IV's out and only has two more to go. We are able to hold her again which we all LOVE!! She was even able to try a bottle yesterday. We are so proud of our little girl and continue to cheer her on as she recovers.

One surgery down...

It was a long afternoon, but Gabby is finally out of surgery. The doctors said everything went about as good as it possibly could have. She came back from surgery with many more lines than she left with, but with no extra medications which is a big positive. There were 3 major things that they did while they were in there:

1) They removed part of the wall between the two upper chambers of the heart. This was done so that the oxygenated and the deoxygenated blood can mix in the heart since Gabby will not have use of her lower chamber that would send blood to the lungs to pick up oxygen. The doctors were impressed because often when the do this, the patient requires a little jump start to get the heart going again, but Gabby's heart picked right up as soon as they wanted it to.

2) They tied off the vessel known as the PDA. The PDA helps allow the babies to mix the blood to make sure they are getting enough oxygen. When normal babies start to breathe on their own, the PDA naturally closes off but Gabby has been getting a medicine to keep it open since she was born.

3) They added a Goretex tube to simulate the PDA but in a slightly different location what will allow her to get the oxygen needed for her blood. This will be removed during the next surgery.

All in all it sounds like the surgery went very well and the doctors were very pleased with how Gabby "performed" during everything. We are very happy to be done with this leg of the journey and to get on with recovery and finally get to bring our baby girl home with us. Once again, Abbie and I can't thank everyone enough for the positive thoughts, prayers, and words you have all given for and to us. It really means the world to us to know we have such wonderful family and friends!