Surgery and First Day of Recovery

Caelin left his room around 7:15 AM, began his surgery around 8:30 AM, and returned to his room around 1:00 PM on Wednesday, March 21st. Mommy and Daddy met with Dr. Chai and nurse Kara before going in to see Cael. They told us how well he did during the surgery and he did not experience any complications. The one concern was a slight arrhythmia, but that is a common response as the heart experiences a great deal of stress. But the arrhythmia has fixed itself and is no longer present!

Mommy, Daddy, and Auntie Sammy came into Cael's room around 3:30 PM to see him for the first time after his surgery. He was covered with a blanket from his toes to his neck. The nurse began to explain what each wire and tube was and what it did. Cael was completely sedated and immobile. After a little while, we took off the blanket to see the incision, chest tube, and everything else hooked up to his little body. We also saw the stitches keeping his skin closed where the incision was made. Although the skin is closed, the sternum (chest/ribcage) is still open to account for swelling and so the surgeon can reassess the heart on Friday. It was a surreal and difficult moment to see our little miracle, our little warrior, in such an intense yet helpless state. Immediately following surgery, all of his numbers were where the doctors wanted them.

Just before 5:00 PM his numbers began dropping significantly. This created concern among the nurses and doctors, so an order for an echocardiogram to look at the heart anatomy and physiology was placed immediately. Minutes later the echocardiologist came in with her machine and began the scan. Right away she noticed there was fluid surrounding his heart; she measured it and it was approximately 9 millimeters- which is a dangerous amount as it prevents the heart from pumping properly and completely. So the surgical assistant began manipulating the chest tube to remove as much fluid as possible. And after a few attempts she was successful at removing most of the fluid and heart function returned to normal while his stats increased simultaneously. It was incredibly unnerving yet reassuring to have so many doctors, surgeons, nurses and support staff in Caelin's room at one time. It was a signal that something was going wrong but that if anything needed to be done, there was someone who could do it. We are thankful that nearly every possible medical person was in his room wanting to help him. The on call Pediatric Critical Care Doctor chose to stay at the hospital over night just to watch Cael and be there in case there were any other scares or needed intervention.

After the pleural effusion (fluid around his heart), he had a pretty uneventful night for a 6 day old baby who just underwent one of the most complex and unpredictable heart surgeries, the Norwood Procedure. With the exception of a little low blood pressure, his stats continued to be within the desired range of someone in his condition. So thankfully, Mommy and Daddy were able to get a little bit of rest right alongside Caelin.

Today, his numbers/statistics continued to progress. His oxygen level dipped a little bit so they had to put him on more oxygen (80%) early in the morning, but by the evening he was back to 45% Oxygen. He received another blood transfusion which his body responded well to. This enabled the lowering of the level of the amount of Epinephrine (adrenaline/ a vasoconstrictor, increases cardiac output and in turn increases blood pressure) he was receiving. The lactate levels in his blood decreased from 11.1 to 1.8 which is now in the realm of where they want it to be. His body got a little swollen due to being on bypass during his surgery, but not as swollen as we had expected. Medically, those were the biggest changes. The nurses and doctors are going to keep doing what they are doing and helping Caelin recover as his body allows. But they all agree he is doing well for a baby who just came out of the Norwood surgery.

This morning Caelin woke up looking for Mommy and Daddy. He is on pain medication so he was comfortable and still quite groggy when he awoke, but he made eye contact to reassure us that he is our victorious powerful warrior. Mommy sang to him, Daddy hummed, and we both kissed him to remind him how proud we are to be his parents and how much he is loved. He also got the hiccups, which looked like the most incredibly painful hiccups in the world. While he cannot cry because he is intubated, he did shed his first few tears, which broke Mommy and Daddy's heart. The nurse gave him more pain medication while Mommy and Daddy sang to him and rubbed his head. The hiccups went away and as Caelin fell back asleep he began sucking on his intubation tube as if it were a binky... he must really miss that binky!

Caelin was lucky enough to not only have Mommy and Daddy here during this adverse time but also to have Sam, Danny, and Rachel visit him and shower him with love and positive energy.

Although the recovery process has just begun, Caelin is heading in the right direction and he is showing his strength and resilience in every way possible. We are so proud of him! Cael is currently resting up, preparing for another big day tomorrow as the surgeon will be closing his chest. It is a short procedure, but a continuation of the surgery and a big step toward the recovery process.

Thank you to everyone who has sent and continues to send their positive thoughts, energy, wishes, and prayers to Caelin and Mommy and Daddy.

Here is Caelin in a video we sent to Daddy while Daddy was at work: