We all are recovering

Things have been status quo for a while now. Myla is pretty stable and in sleepyland. She is on some serious medications to keep her sedated and to deal with her pain. There was a small issue with her IV not being placed properly, so they weren't sure her pain meds were working initially. She was sleeping and making this tiny little groaning noise from her little mouth. That is all fixed now and the groaning has stopped. The only other small concern is that her blood pressure is high. The doctors do not seem concerned as they thing its just because she is in pain. It is slowly coming down.

Lindsey and I are holding up very well. Its been a scary and emotional day. Two things stick out in my mind as being especially difficult. The first thing that was hard for me was watching our family, one by one, give Myla a kiss before she left the pre-op room with the anesthesiologist. Of course, the hardest part of the day was saying our goodbyes to Myla. The fact that she was already sleepy made it a bit easier, because we didn't have to worry about her crying or having a difficult time separating. We were also happy to see that there aren't separate incisions for her drainage tubes. Following surgery, there can be excess fluid building up in the heart and lungs. They are using the bottom of her big incision for the drainage tubes. That may be too much info for some of you. Sorry. Anyway, she still has wires and tubes coming out of a lot of parts of her. One by one over the next couple of days those tubes will go away. Dr. Spray told us this morning that we could be out of here in 2-3 days. He is a superhuman. Also, I would be remiss if i didn't mention the dedication and hard work of the nursing staff of the cardiac center. They have the perfect combination of knowledge, empathy, and endurance. I feel that our nurse, Jaclyn, already knows Myla even though she hasn't really woken up yet. Myla has attempted to roll over on 3 separate occasions, which is making Jaclyn really nervous because that can really hurt Myla. Now she knows that Myla is a tummy sleeper and no drainage tubes, IVs, central lines, or chest sutures are going to stop her! She has her mother's strong will!

Anyway, things are quieting down here. Most of our family has left for the day with the exception of my parents. I think everyone will sleep a little better tonight. Being the Winter Solstice, its probably important to mention that from today on, the sun will shine a little bit longer each day.