It's Time!

Rebekah had her cardiology appointment this morning, and as we all expected, it is time for Rebekah's heart repair. I have very mixed feelings about it, but I now that we cannot put surgery off forever. There are a couple of reasons that Dr. Lucas felt were important in the decision to proceed with surgery now.

First is the obvious. Rebekah's oxygen saturations are dropping, and will continue to drop as the band gets tighter. With a lower baseline oxygen saturation, there is a higher risk for any little cold or airway distress to put her in the hospital in serious respiratory distress. I know it has been a while, but now is a great time for us to remind everyone - if you are sick, have been sick, or have been around someone who is sick, please love Rebekah from a distance!! We are trying to keep Rebekah healthy in the weeks leading up to her surgery.

Second, we are gearing up for the cold/flu/RSV season to start in another two months or so. The last thing Rebekah's doctors want to have happen is her surgery to fall in the middle of a season that is already going to be difficult for her.

The one surprise that caught Drew and I off guard is that Dr. Lucas mentioned that Dr. Bradley (the head of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at MUSC) may recommend removing Rebekah's right lung. That was a bit of a shock for us, especially since other doctors had previously said that we should just leave it alone and let it function in a small capacity as it is right now. The potential removal would come if Dr. Bradley feels that there is so little blood flow to that lung that it would become highly susceptible to infections. Obviously, Rebekah has enough problems without having to worry about repeated, life-threatening pneumonia or infections in her weak lung. It is something that we will be praying about and talking with the doctors in Charleston about. Ideally, the surgeon will find that Rebekah's collateral arteries have grown and they will be able to restore function to her right lung, but medically speaking, that is not likely. As Dr. Lucas told us today, there are no limits on God, and we know that He is ultimately in control of Rebekah's surgery.

We should hear something from MUSC toward the end of this week or early next week about a surgery date. It looks as if it will be sometime in September, but we won't know for sure until we hear from MUSC. Until then, we continue to monitor Rebekah's oxygen levels and try to keep her germ-free! Please pray that all of the details come together for a two week (or longer!) stay in Charleston for Rebekah and I. We will continue to keep everyone updated when we have further information.

Nancy