Day five and counting...

Retta has come a long way since last Wednesday...

We've gone from this wild woman (Day 2) ....

(Some may find the video below disturbing...and note - I sound completely invalidating).

 (Believe me when I say - you don't want to see Day 1)

....to this little sweety (Day 4)!

"I'm ready for my ice cream and Nintendo!"

        Now we are just waiting to get Retta off the Oxygen and to have her two drains pulled so we can GO HOME!  (No pressure Retta).  The drain output has significantly decreased over the last 12 hours however she is still requiring an 1/8th liter of Oxygen (a wisp) as result of remaining fluid on her lungs. The cardiologist is hopeful to pull the drains if not by this afternoon, by Monday morning.  ...Most likely Monday morning!  Then they will want to wait a good 24 hours and re-X-ray Retta's lungs to make sure it is safe to be discharged.

Little body in a big bed.

Retta's Heart Day

     It was a surprise Wednesday morning when Dr. Milhoan (Retta's cardiologist) stepped into the waiting room (an hour into surgery) and plopped himself down in the chair next to me - whipped out his cell phone and asked if we wanted to see pictures of the surgery.  My first response was "No!" but he assured us that he wasn't going to show us anything gruesome. These were a few of the pictures he shared with us of the operating room and surgery under process!

Lots of equipment!

Dr. Kupferschmid (surgeon) is on the right with the green mask. Loretta's little head is peaking out under the curtain and resting on blue egg crate.

Dr. Milhoan said he was able to put his hand on Retta's head and pray for her before the surgery began! He also shared scripture with us as and a prayer before they whisked her back to the operating room. (All which now is a blur to me.)  I couldn't believe how fast it all happened.

Good Morning!

       I envisioned myself sitting next to Retta's bed days following the surgery - reading books and magazines, browsing the Internet and leisurely blogging on Retta's progress to warn off the boredom that comes from being stuck up at the hospital. However that has not been the reality. We have been up on out feet at the bedside around the clock, assisting a constant flow of medical staff, attempting to pacify, comfort and feed an extremely fussy baby - without the ability to hold, rock or utilize measures that typically sooth Miss Retta.  From what we are told by the cardiologists and surgeon - the surgery went really well. We have witnessed several "valleys" which we are told are all to be expected following bi-pass.  It has been emotionally draining to stand helpless over Retta when she is kicking, pulling on tubing and moaning out in misery. We were told the first day is the worst....then we were told the second day is the worst...we are now at day three and I have no idea what we are walking in to. I only hope she will have more and more moments of rest and less and less bouts of uncontrollable pain.

     This morning the internist told us that she was going to write orders to transition Retta to the intermediate care floor after the removal of her central line!  This is exciting and also scary as we will no longer have a 1:1 nurse around the clock. We haven't been able to take many pictures nor have we wanted to capture this trying time, but hopefully there will be more to come!

  

Ready or not...here we come!

Miss Mae Pre-Op Trooper...

s

...only cried briefly for the lab work.

She must have liked the nurse...since her name was Loretta too!

Attempt at mother daughter portraits to pass time waiting for radiology...

"Mo-ther. Please - lets go home!"

Easter at Canyon Lake!

 

Retta fit in her basket this year!

 

Jaja encouraging Retta to eat.

Retta thinking about it...

and finally eating!

Cousin Noah (AKA The Playboy Bunny) eyeing the food.

 

 

Retta discovering her toes!

Dad and Retta!

Easter 2012

Retta wanting nothing to do but play with her toes...

Attempted cousin picture; Retta wasn't excited about the opportunity.

Noah hit the pool for the first time. He loved the water and wiggled his body around like a little merman!

Retta wanting to lounge in her new mesh lawn chair.

We'll try on the bikini after surgery!

Half Birthday!

            A 10 pound 7 ounce baby....
                                                            "...WHAT?"

                                
       That is what I enthusiastically shouted at Retta's last cardiology appointment soon after placing her up on the scale. The nurse stated..."10 pounds 7 ounces!"  And I began to argue that there must be a mistake. She couldn't have possibly gained a whole pound in little over a week.  I begged the nurse to let us weigh Retta in the nude (to get a true weight) and she looked at me like I was crazy.  So I insisted that we at least take off her diaper (which was wet).  The scale only went down an ounce (10 lb 6oz).  The nurse then replied, "I don't think her dress weighs that much...10lbs 6 oz it is."

      Little did the nurse know that Retta had been saving up her poop for the big day - which I swear gave her at least another 2 ounces. (She promptly relieved herself as soon as we got home). But we'll take the weight however we can get it!

      So Last Thursday we met with Dr. Kupferschmid, the pediatric heart surgeon who will be performing Retta's surgery. It was a lengthy visit which enabled us to spend a good amount of time asking questions. Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18th at 7:30 am. I will take Retta up to the hospital the Monday prior for pre-op lab work and to familiarize ourselves with where we are  to arrive at 5:00 am morning of the surgery. The actual procedure will take around 6 hours, including anesthesia. We hope Retta's stay in the PICU will only have to be a couple of days as only one parent is allowed to accompany her there at night.  As soon as she is transitioned to an intermediate care floor both Szymon & I will be able stay overnight...in one foldout chair.

     We received specific instructions for how to bathe, feed, prep, etc Retta leading up to the surgery. But other than that - everything is a go...unless she should catch a bug! We'll see Dr. Tardy (Pediatrician) this coming Tuesday for Retta's 6 month check up. He has been in touch with us by phone over the last two months (since he saw Retta at her 4 month check-up).  How many doctors do know do that?  The surgeon asked that we hold off on Retta's 6 month immunizations this appointment (which was fine.with.me) as it is so close to the surgery and could interfere with base line lab work.

     Dr. Melhoan (Retta's cardiologist) told us that if we are praying people (WHICH WE ARE)...start praying! And if we need specifics to pray for...pray that Dr. Kupferschmid is having a really good day - day of surgery!

    Retta continues to surprose us each day! Just when I think she is not going to do anything new until after her surgery..she does something new.  Just within the past few days she has started grabbing at her feet (something we have been practicing in therapy). She turns into a PARTY ANIMAL around 10:30 every night and wants to stay up dancing until 1:00 am. She is all smiles when at home in her own environment and a bit more reserved when with a large group of people. We have started feeding Retta rice cereal a few times a day just for exposure. She will track the spoon and open her mouth like a little bird; then spits most of it out . We will really start solids after the surgery.

    So here is Miss Retta on April 6th
(6 months old and 10+ pounds)
all ready for FIESTA!

"Little Stinker"