Chest tube came out, oxygen off, heparin stopped! Owen was stoned on Ativan so he slept through the chest tube removal. (And then some!) He had a large bm which we thought wld help with his appetite which has decline the last few days. Sutures were also removed today.
It was awesome to get up and get him moving without the oxygen tank, IV pump and tubes. Also it was cooler today. The rooms are so hot on this unit as there isn't up to date central cooling and the unit faces the afternoon setting sun. They didn't want to upgrade as the new hospital opens in 2015...
I've been asked a few times why his sats are higher now. They were 94% sleeping on room air today!! Wahoo! His blood isn't mixing like it used to, so it's oxygenating better. That's as good as I can describe it. The Fontan circulation is very interesting and we will become more familiar with how it affects Owen.
Another question I've been asked is if he is going to be okay? This is a hard one, but the short answer is that these three surgeries are seen as a bridge to transplant. They are palliative and are done to buy time. Owen has a pretty serious form of ebsteins in that his right ventricle didn't do much. Some ebsteins anomaly kids don't need surgery and some have it so severe that they don't make it or tolerate the first surgery. So I don't have an answer but hopefully he will be able to live a somewhat normal life with a few tweaks along the way! He should get at least a few decades out of this tune up he just got, or longer!
Owen is making this look pretty easy. Echo tomorrow morning, and po meds starting: plavix and aspirin as well.
Continued prayers for healing are appreciated. He is doing amazingly but isn't eating much and is pretty weak. Fingers crossed for running up our driveway soon!!
Sooo happy you are home!!!! Love you guys!!
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