Day 6-Cardiac Cath

First off, we are overcome with all of the love and support that is being "sent" our way through your prayers, posts and emails. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We are so blessed to live in the community we live and were raised in, as well as the support of all our dear family and friends. It is truly lifting us up. Maddie's first big procedure today (her Cardiac Cath Balloon Atrioseptostomy) went very well. She was intubated and came off the ventilator like a little champ, before even coming out of surgery. She was also part of a research study of using a new "drug" (anticoagulant called Angiomax instead of Heprin) and is the 9th neonate in the nation for this to be used on, the 1st neonate at Children's for this to be used in this type of procedure. They got their research...and Maddie did awesome with it (btw, it was very low risk and actually works better than Heprin, they just needed the research data so we put our trust in our much respected doctors). The doctors did not do the stent or open up her pulmonary valve yesterday, so it looks like the "major" repair now. We received news this afternoon that Maddie is in the books for her major surgery tomorrow, the Blalock-Taussig (B-T) Shunt. It is an open-heart procedure and surgeons may or may not need to put her on heart-lung bypass. We are very nervous, will meet with surgeons in the morning if it looks like they can do it (surgery around 2 pm). The reason it's not official yet is the Cardiac ICU is a zoo and they don't have enough beds right now for post-op kids. We're learning this is hospital and ICU life...YOU CAN'T PLAN!!! It just all depends on what's going on. We're learning to just deal. So, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, especially our little Maddie. When she came "awake" after this morning's procedure, she was bright and alert, looked happy and ate like a little piggy! (She'd been held off since 4am). We know she's a little fighter, she is doing well, and we have confidence that everything should go fine tomorrow but we're incredibly scared. The wait during her surgery is going to be excruciating. As her parents, we're dealing with the fact that we have no choice here...she has to have this surgery in order to survive. It's a very tough realization. God has given us such a wonderful, sweet soul to raise and we have to have the courage and strength to endure what it is that HAS TO BE DONE. We feel very blessed to have been given Madison Grace and even as difficult as this is, our hearts and spirits are wrenching in pain for what she has to undergo and for the risks this takes to fix her heart, we would not trade her for anything. Please pray your hardest for all of us tomorrow.