Mitral Valve, Hospital Showers, and Good Coffee

No time for song lyrics people, we need to dive right in to the nitty gritty for Max's surgery.  Okay, well I already have two songs going through my head so we'll see if we can make it through without being a full on blogical and just remain a dramedy.

We spent three hours at the hospital this morning while they walked us through exactly what would happen next week for Max's surgery. I must say, we have an amazing team of people who offer every possible kind of care and support for the whole family.  We met with his surgeon first who explained all the technical aspects of what would happen to Max-from being given anesthesiology to going on bypass so they could stop his heart-and then to fixing both the hole in the wall of his heart and his valve, which is split down the middle. We'll be notified of what is going on all along the way and from the time they wheel him away, probably about 7am, he should be in surgery for roughly 4-6 hours. It's considered routine surgery and his medical team is among the top in the country.  The main "tricky" part (exact medical word used by our cardiologist) is fixing the valve.  If they don't get it just right they'll have to go back in-either right then in the operating room, later during his hospital stay, or any number of years from now. Max's heart is smaller than your fist.  Just make a fist. Smaller. That is what they are operating on.

We toured the hospital after meeting with the surgeon, completing various tests, talking with a nurse, the anesthesiologist, and a social worker. Max did really well-although he hates having his blood drawn and chest X-rayed, and I did pretty well too, although I hate seeing a big gray line on the floor that marks where I stop and he is wheeled down into the O.R.

After he comes out of surgery he'll spend a couple days in ICU, mostly sleeping, pretty out of it, closely monitored.  Then they will transfer him to a regular room, where he'll be for probably another 3-5 days. The hospital was recently renovated and it really is a nice environment.  We have our own room, super comfy sleeper couch, and even a shower, wahoo!  Bard and I will be trading time at the hospital so that one of us is with Max at all times. I'm packing yoga pants, a good book, and lots of chocolate.  Oh, and some things for Max :)

He'll be on some pain meds and various other drugs for a bit, but will likely regain his energy fairly soon. Oddly enough, since they will have just cut open his chest, he will not really be restricted.  So says the nurse. His mother on the other hand...does anyone have a giant bubble? Recovery could also be affected if his heart doesn't start pumping at the rate it needs to, which would mean he would need a pacemaker.  That sounds terrible to me, and although it is unlikely, it's still in the back of my head.

Honestly, the technical stuff bothered me the least, overall.  It's all so far out of my control and hard for me to grasp.  I was more emotional during the hands on part-seeing the room where we'll sit while he's in surgery and the little monitor where they'll display his progress. Imagining that first night and what he'll look like with all the tubes and wiring coming out of his tiny body. And if he'll be scared at being in such a different environment or if we'll be able to reassure him.

And breathe, just breathe

Grey's Anatomy ruined that song for me. On a totally medical side note...because they used it one of their more realistic finales, you know, like a moose invades the ER or the miracle of people remaining hot past their prime based on nostalgia, not actually good writing.

Wait, what?!

Yeah, so any good TV shows I should Hulu while sitting at the hospital for hours on end?  My favorite coffee shop is right down the street, so feel free to bring me a tall vanilla non fat latte and we can catch up on The Mindy Project. I have a feeling that between the beeping, nurses (watch your grammar there, oh wait, that would be "bleeping"!), and pure stress, I'll be a little exhausted. We're so beside ourselves with amazing friends and family who are watching our girls, running errands, bringing us meals, and lifting us up in every possible way.

I got my city right behind me

If I fall, they got me

Please tell me you are not surprised.

I have a lot to do between now and the surgery-put our house in order so that I don't have to be around running it. And, come to terms with the fact that in less than a week my son is going in for open heart surgery. Please pray. Maybe you believe prayer is the most powerful form of communication in existence. Maybe you think it's a right wing crutch of the crazies who believe Obama is a Communist Muslim. First of all, Obama is neither Communist, nor Muslim.  I just feel like that needs to be said.  A lot. Second of all, back to me! I don't know why people go on different spiritual paths and I don't know why they end up at different places. What I do know is the presence of God in my own life. Maybe you don't hear Him. But I believe He is listening. And, perhaps just as important, I believe God uses anything and anyone, for Good. It would mean the world to me, the absolute world and I mean that because there is nothing more important to me right now, if you would take a moment. And ask. Just ask. That as I stop at the big gray line, God continues.  That as Max is taken farther from me he is never out of God's arms. And that at the end of the day, God places him back in mine.

The Lord is my Shepherd

 I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul;

He guides me in paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.