Overdue surgery update

Yes, I know, an update on what happened the rest of Isabelle's time in the hospital is very very overdue. Here's a quick-ish recap.

After the first day's worth of water deprivation was over (see last post), things got much better. Once the breathing tube was taken out, she was able to eat later that day. On a side note, one of the things I remember about her stay was choosing meals off the menu. Since our ability to communicate with her is limited, I often guessed and ordered meals she barely touched. However, thankfully, she absolutely loved the chicken noodle soup. Once we discovered it, she ate 1-2 bowls of it every lunch and dinner for the next four days!

While she was in the Cardiac ICU, we had the same daytime nurse for three straight days. It was comforting to know that we weren't getting a different nurse all the time. Patty was able to know how Isabelle was progressing and often would bring up concerns to the doctors that I had been wondering as well.

Anyhow, she was released from the CICU on Sunday (her surgery was on Thursday), and everyday she was clearing milestones. On Monday she was encouraged to walk around. She was reluctant at first, but by the time she had some space to roam, she was practically running around! I was afraid that she'd fall face first, since she was walking around hunched over (she looked like a tiny old lady)!

By Monday, they took her off all the cardiac medications she'd been on, and we were told that she could be released on Tuesday. We were glad to leave, but a part of me kept on thinking, "Really? You're letting us go this early? Is she ready?" Our cardiologist had prepared us beforehand that her stay would be longer than the typical patient born with similar heart defects (since her lungs were affected as well). She'd mentioned ten days, so, we packed for that much. Then when we met with the surgeon, the day before surgery, he told us that it might be as long as three weeks. So, needless to say, it was surprising and a bit nerve-wracking when they released her from the hospital five days after her surgery. I suppose that we shouldn't have been surprised; God can do things that go way beyond our expectations!

Oh yeah, the only pain medication she needed after being released was regular old Tylenol. It's crazy how children's bodies bounce back so quickly!

I have some pictures and a video from her last couple of days at the hospital, and when I figure out how to post it, I will.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for her and asked others to pray. She's doing amazing well!

Surgery Update Day 2

This morning, Isabelle cleared her first surgical milestone: getting her breathing tube taken out. Yesterday, even though she was sedated, she was really irritated by it. Which would start a vicious cycle of crying, which led to coughing up junk into the tube, which led to getting it sucked out, which would lead to crying, etc. It was tough to watch her crying a silent cry (the tube went down her throat), and we couldn't help her.

This morning after the tube was taken out, though, was even tougher. The nurse told us that she was not allowed to drink (or even suck on an ice chip) for four hours after the tube was taken out. But pretty much immediately, she was asking for water. The poor girl hadn't had anything wet in her mouth for 36 hours! She was absolutely desperate for water and kept on asking for it every five seconds. All I could tell her was, "Mommy is sorry." After a period of time (but before the end of the four hours), she finally got sick of me not giving her water. Although I was giving her my very best caring/sympathetic face and gentle strokes on her back, she'd finally had enough and removed my hand from her back. When I tried to hold her hand, she physically pushed me away. She was mad at me and wanted me to know it. Then she tried to take matters into her own hands and tried to get out of bed to get water for herself! She's skinny and tiny for her age, but that girl seems to be pure muscle. The nurse and I had to pry her legs off the bed railings. When I'm trying to establish a healthy attachment with my newly adopted daughter, this is not something that's going to establish trust!

The nurse finally asked the doctor whether there's something that could be done, and the doctor allowed her to have a popsicle. Yet, as soon as the popsicle was devoured, she still asked for water! She was one thirsty kid.

The attachment books say that parents should have the sole responsbility of giving food (and drink) to the adopted child. It's even a task given to adoptive parents into the teenage years. So, it was doubly hard to be forced to deprive her of the water that she obviously wanted so desperately.

Anyhow, here are some of my thoughts for now. Will update more later.

Surgery Update #2

Again, the doctors aren't certain what made Isabelle's heart stop beating, but... the great news is that the surgery is complete, and things look good. We're hoping that the incident was an isolated one. The surgeon even estimates that the recovery time could be shortened from what he had thought yesterday. (He'd initially thought 2-3 weeks. Now he guesses 10 days.)

She still has a ways to go before we can say that all is A-Okay, but we're relieved!

Surgery update #1

We're calling out for the prayers of the saints. While on the operating table (but before the surgeon had started repairing her heart), her heart inexplicably stopped beating. They were finally able to get her heart started again, but this was definitely unexpected for us and the surgical team.

Everything is now proceeding as it should be (her heart is being repaired right now). Please keep on praying.

The Day Before the Big Day

Today was pre-op day at the hospital. While Isabelle got some tests done, we had a chance to meet with the surgeon. After listening to his thorough explanation of the what will happen tomorrow and the possible complications, the heaviness of what will happen to her finally dawned on me. Perhaps it's because we've known since November that this day would come, the idea had become normal– something I didn't even blink at. And because we were so relieved at the recent news that she is indeed a candidate for surgery, we were (for lack of a better word) excited, because we've known for a long time that she absolutely must have this surgery. Yet it's a lot more daunting now.

She's not a "simple" or routine case, like most other children who are born with these defects. The damage to her lungs and vessels makes it more complicated. It also makes the recovery time longer. We'd packed enough for one week, but now it sounds like the complexity of her case might have us here closer to two. We'll see. Please pray for all four of us to be loving and gracious with one another during this time in the hospital.

Little Isabelle is sound asleep next to me–having no idea what tomorrow will bring. Yet we're just going to have to remind ourselves that it will all be worth it when her little heart is fixed!

P.S. FYI she will start her surgical prep sometime around 6AM tomorrow morning.

Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis; Meet Me at the Fair...

We find ourselves singing the above words quite a bit, since we've been traveling there a lot. Tonight we're packing for our third trip to the St. Louis Children's Hospital in less than a month. I'd probably complain about the distance and frequency, except for the fact that we are so thankful that we were led to this hospital. 

We were especially thankful to be at a top-notch hospital the last time we were there for Isabelle's catheterization. It was only supposed to be a diagnostic one–taking measurements to assess whether she's a candidate for heart surgery. Yet, a few hours in, the surgeon came out to let us know that they had found something unexpected. He'd found what's called Pulmonary Vein Stenosis, a narrowing of one of the veins that brings blood from the lungs to the heart. It was narrowed to 2mm and needed to be opened up before any future heart surgery. Thankfully, they were able to open it up successfully. Afterwards, the cath surgeon remarked that their hospital takes the time to do diagnostic procedures like catheterizations before going in for surgery. And in cases like hers, it turned out to be worth it. And he delivered further good news that Isabelle is a candidate for heart surgery!

So, now I've pretty much caught you up on the medical side of things. After we arrive in St. Louis tomorrow, she'll have pre-surgery test on Wednesday. Thursday is the big day, when she will get open heart surgery to fix the holes in her heart. Even though the holes are substantial, we've been told that, as far as open heart surgeries go, fixing her types of issues are fairly straight forward. 

By no means, though, are your prayers not needed! So keep it up! I'll try to post with more frequent updates this time around. 

Our first (okay, second) family-of-four photo shoot

We finally put our photos and videos of our new family of four on the computer. Sorry, I won't be posting them all today. (One step at a time, people!) Anyhow, I was looking for a family photo and was hoping to find one from a photo shoot during our last full day in Guangzhou. Unfortunately, you'll never see them, 'cause I don't want to publicize evidence of eleven days of the breakfast buffet that ended up on my upper arms.

So, we got dressed up after dinner tonight and took another crack at it.