One Week Post-op

Today marks just one week since Bekah had her open heart surgery. What an amazing difference a week can make! As I type this (well after Rebekah's normal bedtime), she is sitting up in her crib and playing with everything in reach. She is "talking" about whatever it is she finds. This is the best she has looked since before she had her surgery. It is absolutely amazing how just a few hours make a huge difference. Literally five hours ago, Rebekah had a 101.1 fever, had to go up on her oxygen a little bit, and was very miserable. Now, the fever is gone (she has had Tylenol), she is down to 0.2 liter of oxygen, and she is having a blast playing in her crib. Thank you all so much for praying for our little Bekah-boo this afternoon. Obviously, prayers were answered!

So many people have asked us when we are coming home, and the short answer is: we just don't know until we are walking out of the hospital! As with today, any little thing can change at any minute, and the best plans can go awry. The best answer I can give is that the doctors would like Rebekah to totally be off oxygen, her lung to reopen all the way, and she has to be fever-free for 24 hours. Rebekah had another echocardiogram today to check the function of her right ventricle. We have not yet heard what that looked like. At the very least, it will need to remain unchanged, or preferably better than the last echo, in order for us to go home. If the echo shows the heart function is declining, the doctors will have to decide what they are going to do to stabilize her heart function.

Rebekah is on a blood pressure medication now to lower her overall blood pressure. Most likely she will be on it for at least a few months, or unless her heart function improves dramatically. So, she will be going home on an increased dosage of Lasix and a blood pressure medication called Enalapril. She has had two days of the Enalapril so far in the hospital and seems to be doing well on it.

I think that's about the extent of today's news. By the time I reached the end of this post, Rebekah is now fussy, tired, and feels like she is starting to get warm again. The nurse should be back with some pain meds soon. Here's hoping we can both get some sleep tonight!!

Nancy