Declan's Glenn Surgery

Although we've been in eager anticipation of this day since Declan's first heart surgery, we were still a bit nervous going into his Glenn Surgery. We wheeled Declan down to the OR around 7:30 this morning. Although he was still pretty drugged up from his Catheter, he opened his eyes and we said our teary goodbyes. We anticipated that most likely things would go according to plan, but it's tough to get that small possibility of things going wrong out of your mind. I was trying not to let Tammy see my tears. It touches your heart to see his eyes staring at you, wondering what is going on. But we got through our goodbyes in one piece.

The doctors and nurses were kind enough to give us hourly updates: preparations for the procedure are set, he's hooked up to the machines, the repair is complete, his chest is closed, etc. The surgery makes for a long day, always looking at the time, watching and envying other families come and go, and wondering how he's doing. Around 2pm or so the surgeon returned and let us know that Declan did great. No complications, no unusual reactions. His chest was closed and we could see him in his room shortly.

Returning to our room we found Declan in a similar post-op state to his first surgery: tubes and wires coming and going from his little bod, breathing through the tube, and swollen little face and body. The room was full of nurses and doctors once again helping Declan get "settled in". One line going into his vein in his neck was in need of another stitch because it was oozing blood and they played with his breathing settings to get his O2 where they wanted it. After a few hours of nervously listening and watching the team, we had our first meal of the day: cafeteria turkey and green beans - yummy!

The final large hurdle of the day was weaning Declan off the breathing tube. Same drill: the room fills with the medical team and as the breathing tube is cautiously removed. We all held our breath as we nervously watched for Declan to take his breath. He responded well and even on room air his saturation was in the mid to high 70's. However, about 30 minutes later his O2 began dropping. They gave him the nasal cannula, with a bit of air and now he has currently settled in at about 75. We will see what the night will bring. The next few days will be spend working to get his saturations up without assistance. His lung resistance is still a bit high so we may have to do something to account for that, but time will tell. Overall a successful day! Thanks for all of your support today, we felt all of your love and prayers!