Surgery Success & The Fortune Cookie

I think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Skyler’s surgery went off without a hitch. They took her around 7:30 this morning. I knew it would be hard but there are no words to describe the feeling that while the odds were good, it still could’ve been my last time to see her alive. It was so hard not to think that way. Placing her in the surgical team’s hands was absolutely terrifying. Everyone assured us she was in good hands and all we could do was wait, and pray, and trust.

About an hour and a half went by and we still hadn’t heard anything. We were told we should get an update every hour, so I was getting concerned. Finally my friend, who is a surgical nurse here, came up to us with a report. While she wasn’t assisting in Sky’s surgery, she was able to peak in and get the status. She said everything was going great, Skyler was doing great, and they were getting ready to do the procedure to her aorta. I was so thankful to her for bringing us an update! Not knowing was just torture.

About an hour later the surgeon came to see us. He said she did wonderfully! He explained that her aorta was about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pin, and now it’s the size of his pinky finger the way it ought to be. It was amazing to think she had survived this long with that much strain on her heart. We waited about 30 more minutes while they got her situated back in her room in the PICU, and then we got to go see her.

I’d like to say I feel so much better now and the worst is behind me. But seeing her hooked up to all the tubes and ventilator is really hard. She’s pretty swollen, and of course they will keep her asleep till at least tomorrow morning. She looks like herself, but not like herself at the same time. They said her stats are looking beautiful and so far her body is reacting great to the changes. She’s on several heart and blood pressure medications to control things so her heart can heal, but they said she is actually on a very low level of them, which is good. It means her heart is not overreacting to the surgery at this point, which can sometimes happen. We are currently looking at 3 – 6 more days here, at this rate (much better than the original estimate of 5 – 7 days).

We just went to lunch at Crown Center and got some Chinese food. Ronnie opened his fortune cookie and it had a wonderfully timely fortune in it. It said “A small stranger will soon enter your life with many blessings.” My parents and Ronnie and I all thought immediately of Skyler at the same time. All the docs have said that when she is healed, she will be like a new baby, with so much more energy and pep. She was perfect before, but now will be even more perfect. We look forward to “getting to know her” again soon!

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray that Skyler’s body will heal quickly and easily from the surgery, and that we can soon get some rest as well!