hospital
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The Fontan is done!
Namine completed her third heart surgery, a fenestrated Fontan procedure.
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Almost done
The OR nurse just stopped in to tell us that they’ve started to warm Namine back up. It won’t be long now, and one of us will be allowed to go back and see her. They’ll be keeping her sedated for some time, though; we’ve been told to expect her to be in a significant…
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The long haul
Not too long ago, the OR nurse came back to give us a status update. It took awhile to get Namine’s lines in, but now they’re getting ready to put her on the heart-lung machine. She was intubated without incident, and she’s doing well. Waiting is the hard part, and we’re in it for the…
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The Fontan is now
Saying goodbye never gets easier. Just about a half hour ago, we left Namine in the doctors’ care, screaming for us. Screaming for us not to leave her, to please, please come back with her. My heart breaks every time. My goddamn heart. But it’s not for my heart – it’s for hers. Today is…
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Omega loops
Sounds like something out of a sci fi movie, doesn’t it? It’s not. It’s what Namine had placed in her mouth today, in preparation for her new prosthetic.
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A night at the Urgent Care
Last night after her bath, Namine told me, “Daddy, my throat feels funny.” “Funny, like ha-ha funny, or weird funny?” “Weird funny.” She was rubbing the front and side of her neck, so after getting her dressed I brought her into the living room so Jessica could look at her. After looking in her throat…
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Dental clinic
Namine had a dental appointment late this morning. This is the first appointment with her new dentist; she graduated, according to the hospital, and she liked this one better.
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ENT clinic
Namine had an appointment today at the ENT clinic. These are always the most dreaded, out of all the appointments she could have, especially when there is a good possibility that her ears will need to be sucked out. Fortunately, that turned out not to be the case.
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Stronger with you
Namine is terrified of what hospital staff often call “pokes.” But she knows them for what they are: needles. Needles to give fluids or take blood away. But all they really do is bring pain, so much pain that they send a normally very well-behaved little girl into the most violent of tantrums. That’s not…
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Going home
After rounds this morning, Namine’s doctors decided to let her go home. The only thing that hasn’t come back is the blood culture, and that will be another forty-right hours. (They don’t believe anything will come back positive anyway; it was just another precaution.) So as soon as the nurse brings us the discharge papers,…
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Impromptu EKG
Namine’s sleeping heart rate keeps dropping into the fifties. This concerned the nurse, who brought in the floor doctor, who called cardiology, who ordered an EKG.
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Results of the cath
All things told, Namine’s heart catheterization went well. The doctors were able to see what they wanted to see, and we were able to go home by evening. But now we have complications to deal with.