Surgery went well!

The surgeon met with us to let us know that the surgery went well.  He was very pleased with what they were able to accomplish.  They took down the Glenn shunt, took down the Central shunt, added a Modified BT shunt, fixed his inlet valve, and returned Josiah to the CCCU without ECMO!  We are praising God for answers to prayer and such an amazing medical team.

After adding the BT shunt they tried to take Josiah off the by-pass machine but they were unable to do so.  They then repaired his valve and he was able to come off the machine.  He initially came out with low blood pressure but he slowly and steadily had better numbers.  There was some debate about whether or not to put him back on ECMO but three surgeons, the staff physician, and the anaesthetists made the judgement call to leave him off of it.  He is ready to be hooked back up if necessary.  There are both benefits and risks to being on or off ECMO.  His saturation levels were 80-85% which is the target.  Anywhere between 70 and 90 is fine for him.

The shunt is a bit big for Josiah so there is still a question of whether or not they will need to make it smaller.  Right now Josiah's numbers are leaning one way and thus all his medication is adjusted to that.  The expectation is that Josiah will start to lean the other way and the transition time can be dangerous if he can't cope with it.  The surgeon said it's a race between the heart recovering to deal with the extra flow and the lungs starting to behave normally. 

Josiah's inlet valve goes into both ventricles so it consists of seven leaflets instead of just three.  Valves are very difficult to fix in babies but his valve is no longer leaking at all!

We met with the surgeon around 7:30, eleven hours after we left Josiah.  Both we and the surgeon expected they would be in the OR longer.  The timing of our meeting was perfect.  Isaac and the grandparents were almost ready to leave so we were able to celebrate and thank God together before they ventured home.

The surgeon told us to expect some bumpy times ahead.  There is still the possibility that the shunt will need to be made smaller.   We're praying that Josiah will continue to heal and recuperate in God's perfect timing.  He's been through a lot.

We can't thank you enough for all of your prayers, love, support, emails, and comments.  We'll continue to keep you updated on Josiah's progress.

We look forward to seeing our boy in a few minutes.  He's our little miracle, and a blessing from God.  Lord willing after a visit with him we'll be able to get some sleep tonight.

Psalm 91:2  I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Blessings,

Elizabeth and Graham