Update #1

We got our first update about 9:15 this morning.  It says “Started on time, all is going well.  Working on cutting through the scar tissue.” 
 

It will take Dr. Bradley quite a bit of time to cut through the existing scar tissue and clean up the incision area (from the previous surgery) before he moves into the lung/artery area.  As Mr. Pat, Rebekah's anesthesiologist, said this morning, "We're expecting a long day in there."  

We anticipate our next update coming around 10:30 or so unless there are problems between now and then.  Keep praying for our precious girl!

Nancy

For the Boys

Of course, the rest of you can watch the videos also, but I promised to put videos from our time at the South Carolina Aquarium on the blog for the boys.  :)

This first video is when I fed the sting rays.  There were pieces of shrimp to put on the end of the long pole-thingy and when I put it in the water the rays would come grab the food.  Literally.  I thought the one ray was going to jump out of the water to get to me.  They have pretty decent-sized teeth, too, so I'm sure they could really bite hard if you got your finger in the wrong place!

Again, this video clip is mostly for the boys' benefit.  This is the big ocean tank where we watched all the fish swimming around.  It was so much fun, and Rebekah loved it!  There were two divers in the tank while we were there (I didn't get them in the video), and one of the divers came to the side of the glass and gave Rebekah a "high-five."  She was so excited about that!  She even told the anesthesiologist this morning about "high-fiving" the diver that was in the tank!

Hope you enjoy the videos, boys!  Have a great day in school today, and we will Skype later.  I love you!!!

Mommy

Quick Picture

Back Row: Justin (8) and Aaron (almost 6)

Front Row: Rebekah (2), Zachary (9) and Caleb (3)

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

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