7:00 AM - Jenn and I woke up at 4:45 this morning, got Kelsey up at 5:00, and then Courtney got up at 5:25. Kelsey braided Courtney's hair, then we packed the car and left by 6:00. We made it to the hospital on time this morning, got signed in and are waiting to go back to the holding area.
8:00 AM - We got called back to the holding area and met with the doctor who will do the procedure, as well as the entourage that will be in the room with him. They explained the plan of action and had us sign all the consent forms, then we gave Courtney hugs and kisses before they took her off to the cath lab. They told us it would take about an hour to prep her for the procedure and would call us to let us know how things are going.
9:15 AM - Jennifer went down to the chapel prayer room and met the chaplain that has been here for many years and knows us well. When Jenn got back, Kelsey and I went down for prayer and spoke with the chaplain as well. She couldn't believe how tall Kelsey was and how mature she is. Kelsey and I got on the stage and Kelsey played the piano for me. :-)
10:00 AM - They called us around 9:20 to say that they had 2 IVs in place and they were starting to run diagnostics and get the necessary readings to decide how to proceed. They will have access through an artery in her leg and then the catheter will be in her neck. The procedure will be 3 or 4 hours, which includes the setup time that they have already done and then the closure time before moving to recovery. I will update once we hear anything else.
10:20 AM - The nurse called to say they have finished with the diagnostics and they are starting to balloon her SVC to prepare for the catheter in her neck.
11:30 - They called us back to speak with the doctor in the consult area. I will update once we have spoken to him.
11:50 AM - We just finished speaking with the doctor and he said that everything went "perfect". Not too often that we hear that word when talking about Courtney's procedures or surgeries. :-) He said that this procedure was designed with patients like her in mind because she was an ideal patient for this procedure. This was the first time it has been done by this doctor with access through the neck and he was very pleased with the results. He said that all the gradient pressure readings were perfect and that her heart is working normally now. She will have a sore neck and will have to keep her leg straight and at rest for awhile, but he sees no reason why she should not be able to go back to normal activity in a few days. We should get to see her in the next 30 minutes or so. God is good. Thank you so much for your continued prayer support.
3:15 PM - We are sitting in recovery with Courtney and she is doing well. She doesn't seem to be in much pain, but then again, she has a high tolerance for pain. She has to keep her leg still until 5:30 and that was hard for her during the time she was still waking up. We are waiting on a room right now, but we have gotten accustomed to waiting. We joke sometimes that the motto should be "Hurry up and wait". LOL Don't get me wrong, we are so grateful to have a place like this and unfortunately when you have a lot of sick kids, rooms are not available as quickly as they may need them. We hope to hear something soon about when we expect to get a room, but for now, we have things to keep us entertained and Courtney is doing well, so we are not complaining. :-) This is so much better than what we could be facing if she had to have open heart surgery.
I will update again later once we hear something about a room.
8:00 PM - OK about 6:00 we got moved into a room and are settling in for the night. Courtney has eaten supper and Robin came by to visit while Jenn and I went to get something to eat. The doctor came by to check in on Courtney and was still smiling, as he was very proud of the results of this procedure. He said that they will check in on her again in the morning and if everything goes well tonight, we should get to go home early tomorrow. She can walk to the bathroom and sit up in chairs, but can not walk the halls or do any heavy lifting for a few days. She has not complained of any pain, but does have a rash that required a dose of Benadryl. Kelsey is heading back to Jackson tonight, so please keep her in your prayers for travel mercies. I will update again tomorrow morning to let everyone know how she is doing and when we are able to head home.
Thank you again for your prayer support.
8:00 AM - We got called back to the holding area and met with the doctor who will do the procedure, as well as the entourage that will be in the room with him. They explained the plan of action and had us sign all the consent forms, then we gave Courtney hugs and kisses before they took her off to the cath lab. They told us it would take about an hour to prep her for the procedure and would call us to let us know how things are going.
9:15 AM - Jennifer went down to the chapel prayer room and met the chaplain that has been here for many years and knows us well. When Jenn got back, Kelsey and I went down for prayer and spoke with the chaplain as well. She couldn't believe how tall Kelsey was and how mature she is. Kelsey and I got on the stage and Kelsey played the piano for me. :-)
10:00 AM - They called us around 9:20 to say that they had 2 IVs in place and they were starting to run diagnostics and get the necessary readings to decide how to proceed. They will have access through an artery in her leg and then the catheter will be in her neck. The procedure will be 3 or 4 hours, which includes the setup time that they have already done and then the closure time before moving to recovery. I will update once we hear anything else.
10:20 AM - The nurse called to say they have finished with the diagnostics and they are starting to balloon her SVC to prepare for the catheter in her neck.
11:30 - They called us back to speak with the doctor in the consult area. I will update once we have spoken to him.
11:50 AM - We just finished speaking with the doctor and he said that everything went "perfect". Not too often that we hear that word when talking about Courtney's procedures or surgeries. :-) He said that this procedure was designed with patients like her in mind because she was an ideal patient for this procedure. This was the first time it has been done by this doctor with access through the neck and he was very pleased with the results. He said that all the gradient pressure readings were perfect and that her heart is working normally now. She will have a sore neck and will have to keep her leg straight and at rest for awhile, but he sees no reason why she should not be able to go back to normal activity in a few days. We should get to see her in the next 30 minutes or so. God is good. Thank you so much for your continued prayer support.
3:15 PM - We are sitting in recovery with Courtney and she is doing well. She doesn't seem to be in much pain, but then again, she has a high tolerance for pain. She has to keep her leg still until 5:30 and that was hard for her during the time she was still waking up. We are waiting on a room right now, but we have gotten accustomed to waiting. We joke sometimes that the motto should be "Hurry up and wait". LOL Don't get me wrong, we are so grateful to have a place like this and unfortunately when you have a lot of sick kids, rooms are not available as quickly as they may need them. We hope to hear something soon about when we expect to get a room, but for now, we have things to keep us entertained and Courtney is doing well, so we are not complaining. :-) This is so much better than what we could be facing if she had to have open heart surgery.
I will update again later once we hear something about a room.
8:00 PM - OK about 6:00 we got moved into a room and are settling in for the night. Courtney has eaten supper and Robin came by to visit while Jenn and I went to get something to eat. The doctor came by to check in on Courtney and was still smiling, as he was very proud of the results of this procedure. He said that they will check in on her again in the morning and if everything goes well tonight, we should get to go home early tomorrow. She can walk to the bathroom and sit up in chairs, but can not walk the halls or do any heavy lifting for a few days. She has not complained of any pain, but does have a rash that required a dose of Benadryl. Kelsey is heading back to Jackson tonight, so please keep her in your prayers for travel mercies. I will update again tomorrow morning to let everyone know how she is doing and when we are able to head home.
Thank you again for your prayer support.
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