Back Row: Justin (8) and Aaron (almost 6)
Front Row: Rebekah (2), Zachary (9) and Caleb (3)
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Wonderful Day
I have so much to post about our day and weekend, including pictures, but not tonight! :) Tonight I will be trying to cat nap in between giving meds, changing feeds and getting up to be at the hospital by 5:30am. Rebekah will be taken back to the OR around 6:30 in order for the team to get the prep-work started. She will be given Versed (an anti-anxiety drug) before she leaves us, so that she will be relaxed and won't feel any fear or anxiety. The anesthesiologist, Pat, will be taking good care of Rebekah tomorrow. He has been with Rebekah for several surgeries and catheterizations, and he takes care of her like she is one of his own grandchildren. We just love the way he loves Rebekah! Once Rebekah is in the OR, she will be given an anesthesia and then the team will begin placing IV's, arterial lines, a catheter, multiple monitors and probes, and bringing her body down to a lower temperature so that surgery can begin. The plan is for surgery to begin around 7:30; actually we have been told that Dr. Bradley likes to begin his surgeries at 7:30 sharp! We will be updating both Facebook and the blog throughout the day tomorrow as we get updates from the OR. I would expect that our first update will probably be close to 9:00. Thank you all so much for your comments, encouragement, help (both for our expenses in Charleston, and help at home with the boys and grandparents), and most importantly your prayers. Please continue to pray for Rebekah tomorrow and as she recovers.
Nancy
Nancy
Friday, December 9, 2011
Long Day!
We made it!! Thank you all for praying for Rebekah today. The schedule ran as smoothly as I have ever seen on a pre-op day. There was a bit of a snag in the admissions office this morning since Rebekah was a last-minute change to the surgery schedule. They did not have her updated surgery date and paperwork ready, so it took a little longer than usual to get through the admissions process.
Once that was done, though, we sailed right through the morning. As soon as we got to the pre-op room, the nurses were waiting on us. They got her height (33 and 1/2"), weight (23 lbs.), oxygen sats (97-100%) and blood pressure (86/43). The nurses had hardly finished that when the EKG technician came in to do Rebekah's EKG. Rebekah was as good as gold, and they got a perfect reading the first time! As soon as she was done, we headed straight down to x-ray where we waited for a total of TWO minutes before we were called back to have Rebekah's chest x-rays done. Back up to the pre-op room just in time to walk back out to echo. Rebekah did beautifully for both her x-ray and echo. No sedation needed!!
We were back to the pre-op room, and that's when things took a big stall. We were waiting for the doctors, surgeon, and surgeon's assistant to come in and look over all of the tests and x-rays and talk to us about surgery and sign consent forms. We waited and waited and waited and waited and...you get the picture. :) Hospital time is like no other time in the world! So finally about 4:00 all of the doctors had made their rounds, talked about the surgery, recovery, possible risks, complications, and legalese!
There really were no big surprises today from a surgery standpoint. Dr. Bradley still has the same plan that we discussed several weeks ago in our phone conversation. He told me today that at least he has a plan to start with and that he would be "making it up as he goes" once he actually gets into Rebekah's chest. He is a little concerned about having to tie this new artery into Rebekah's pulmonary conduit because the conduit is working so well. Dr. Bradley said that he really doesn't want to mess with that conduit, but we don't really have any other options. So please pray for no complications!
I think Rebekah (finally!!) just went to sleep, so I'm going to sign off and join her. Please pray that she (and I!) will be able to sleep tonight. She was very tired and grumpy at dinner tonight, but when we got back to the hotel and I put her in bed, she was wide awake and bouncing (literally!). She does not need to go into a major surgery sleep-deprived!
Thank you all for your prayers and comments both on the blog and facebook. We are so blessed by so many of you praying and caring for our family!
Nancy
Once that was done, though, we sailed right through the morning. As soon as we got to the pre-op room, the nurses were waiting on us. They got her height (33 and 1/2"), weight (23 lbs.), oxygen sats (97-100%) and blood pressure (86/43). The nurses had hardly finished that when the EKG technician came in to do Rebekah's EKG. Rebekah was as good as gold, and they got a perfect reading the first time! As soon as she was done, we headed straight down to x-ray where we waited for a total of TWO minutes before we were called back to have Rebekah's chest x-rays done. Back up to the pre-op room just in time to walk back out to echo. Rebekah did beautifully for both her x-ray and echo. No sedation needed!!
We were back to the pre-op room, and that's when things took a big stall. We were waiting for the doctors, surgeon, and surgeon's assistant to come in and look over all of the tests and x-rays and talk to us about surgery and sign consent forms. We waited and waited and waited and waited and...you get the picture. :) Hospital time is like no other time in the world! So finally about 4:00 all of the doctors had made their rounds, talked about the surgery, recovery, possible risks, complications, and legalese!
There really were no big surprises today from a surgery standpoint. Dr. Bradley still has the same plan that we discussed several weeks ago in our phone conversation. He told me today that at least he has a plan to start with and that he would be "making it up as he goes" once he actually gets into Rebekah's chest. He is a little concerned about having to tie this new artery into Rebekah's pulmonary conduit because the conduit is working so well. Dr. Bradley said that he really doesn't want to mess with that conduit, but we don't really have any other options. So please pray for no complications!
I think Rebekah (finally!!) just went to sleep, so I'm going to sign off and join her. Please pray that she (and I!) will be able to sleep tonight. She was very tired and grumpy at dinner tonight, but when we got back to the hotel and I put her in bed, she was wide awake and bouncing (literally!). She does not need to go into a major surgery sleep-deprived!
Thank you all for your prayers and comments both on the blog and facebook. We are so blessed by so many of you praying and caring for our family!
Nancy
Thursday, December 8, 2011
We Made It!
Very short post to let you all know that Rebekah and I made it safely to Charleston around 10:30 tonight. We are settled into our room and I am (still!!) waiting for that little stinker to fall asleep. She had just enough sleep in the car to not want to fall asleep again now. :)
We will be up bright and early for Rebekah's 9:00 pre-op schedule tomorrow. It will be a long day, and I will not have my computer with me. So the next chance I get to update will probably be tomorrow evening. Please pray everything goes smoothly tomorrow!
Nancy
We will be up bright and early for Rebekah's 9:00 pre-op schedule tomorrow. It will be a long day, and I will not have my computer with me. So the next chance I get to update will probably be tomorrow evening. Please pray everything goes smoothly tomorrow!
Nancy
Bumped
Well, we all know it can happen, and sure enough it did! Drew answered the phone call from MUSC around 8:00 this morning, and we were given two options: give up Rebekah's surgery date on Wednesday (and get put back into the schedule for another 60 or so days from now), or scramble and be in Charleston this evening for pre-op tomorrow and surgery on Monday. We were left with the distinct impression that we had a choice to make, but they were really hoping we would make it down there tonight.
So after scrambling through 20 minutes of phone calls, we called MUSC back and told them to put Rebekah on Monday's schedule (December 12). This involves no small effort as plans for the boys, packing, school (both for the boys and for Drew), and last minute details all have to be rearranged in a matter of a few hours. Things that we had four or five days to finish up now have to be done in four or five hours. In all honesty, I can't believe I'm as calm as I am right now. Either the panic hasn't set in yet, or I'm in complete denial! :)
We have a lot of things that need to happen today just to make this work, so I'm going to list a few specific prayer requests for today. First, pray for Drew's parents. They, too, are rearranging their schedules since they keeping the boys for us and we are using their car to go to Charleston. Drew's mom is on her way here, and soon after she gets here, Rebekah and I will leave. That brings me to my next point. I really don't like driving at night, and it looks like a good portion of my trip this time will be at night. Please pray for safety for Rebekah and I as we travel. Also, Drew had already rescheduled some of his exams for today (technically his exam week begins on Monday 12/12), but he was planning on taking the remaining two exams on Monday morning, so those will also need to be rescheduled for tomorrow or Saturday. As soon as those exams are done and he gets things wrapped up at home, he will join us in Charleston. Please also be in prayer for our boys. For weeks they have known that Rebekah will have surgery, and we had gone over the plan with them. We had also planned to do a few special things this weekend that are obviously not going to happen now. They are in a bit of shock that I will be leaving in just a few hours.
Once Rebekah and I get to Charleston, things will slow down. She needs to be at the hospital at 9:00 tomorrow morning for pre-op, and we will probably be there till 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Rebekah will have x-rays, bloodwork, an echo, possibly a sedated echo, possibly a CT scan or angiogram, and I can't remember what else. Pray that all goes well tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday we are just going to hang out in Charleston and rest. I should find out tomorrow what time we have to be at the hospital on Monday, but I'm sure it will be early.
That's all I can think of for now. I will try to update later tonight when Rebekah and I get to Charleston. Thank you for praying for Rebekah and our family!
Nancy
So after scrambling through 20 minutes of phone calls, we called MUSC back and told them to put Rebekah on Monday's schedule (December 12). This involves no small effort as plans for the boys, packing, school (both for the boys and for Drew), and last minute details all have to be rearranged in a matter of a few hours. Things that we had four or five days to finish up now have to be done in four or five hours. In all honesty, I can't believe I'm as calm as I am right now. Either the panic hasn't set in yet, or I'm in complete denial! :)
We have a lot of things that need to happen today just to make this work, so I'm going to list a few specific prayer requests for today. First, pray for Drew's parents. They, too, are rearranging their schedules since they keeping the boys for us and we are using their car to go to Charleston. Drew's mom is on her way here, and soon after she gets here, Rebekah and I will leave. That brings me to my next point. I really don't like driving at night, and it looks like a good portion of my trip this time will be at night. Please pray for safety for Rebekah and I as we travel. Also, Drew had already rescheduled some of his exams for today (technically his exam week begins on Monday 12/12), but he was planning on taking the remaining two exams on Monday morning, so those will also need to be rescheduled for tomorrow or Saturday. As soon as those exams are done and he gets things wrapped up at home, he will join us in Charleston. Please also be in prayer for our boys. For weeks they have known that Rebekah will have surgery, and we had gone over the plan with them. We had also planned to do a few special things this weekend that are obviously not going to happen now. They are in a bit of shock that I will be leaving in just a few hours.
Once Rebekah and I get to Charleston, things will slow down. She needs to be at the hospital at 9:00 tomorrow morning for pre-op, and we will probably be there till 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Rebekah will have x-rays, bloodwork, an echo, possibly a sedated echo, possibly a CT scan or angiogram, and I can't remember what else. Pray that all goes well tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday we are just going to hang out in Charleston and rest. I should find out tomorrow what time we have to be at the hospital on Monday, but I'm sure it will be early.
That's all I can think of for now. I will try to update later tonight when Rebekah and I get to Charleston. Thank you for praying for Rebekah and our family!
Nancy
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