One Down...

Henry's surgery went very well. Paige and I spent a long, uncomfortable night having a sleepover with Henry in his room. I attempted to sleep in a recliner that wouldn't recline, while Paige laid on a folded up couch with a metal slab through the middle. It was worth it though, as we were able to hold him again before his surgery. For the first time Monday night he opened his eyes for Paige and I to say hello. 

He was wheeled off with the anesthesiologist shortly after 7am, and we did not see him again until a quarter after 4 that afternoon. The nurse came and gave us regular updates, which I tracked on Twitter. (If interested, you can see them here.) For a nine hour day, it really went by quickly. 

The surgeon felt the procedure went well and he was responding normally to this type of surgery. The nurses had all prepared us for how he would look after surgery, and they did such a good job that he looked almost normal to us! They were able to close his chest after surgery, so he was clean and well-covered when we saw him. The doctor in the Pediatric ICU thinks Henry is doing great: his heart is strong and is not showing any signs of complication from the surgery.

We have spent most of today waiting for Henry to flush the excess fluids caused by the surgery from his system (i.e., pee). Hopefully tomorrow, as the fluids come off, they will start feeding him some breastmilk and be able to wean him off of the ventilator. He is slowly coming out of sedation and has been opening his eyes more. As he wakes up, he will start getting fussier, and will require more attention from the staff, but he hasn't even had morphine since 6 o'clock last night! 

We are so grateful for the skill and kindness of the staff here at Children's Mercy, and for the love and support of all of our friends and family. The road home is still a long one to hoe, but we are off to a great start!