a great pre-fontan cath!

Waiting in pre-op for a 1:45 minutes...she was a very good girl. Once in a while, her tummy would growl and she'd ask, "what's that?" She's never remembered being hungry since I'm always trying to get calories in her!
Maddie sporting the hospital gown, she liked Tweety Bird she told me but not the gown. Her first tears came when we told her she had to wear it. I think she realized what was happening at this point but was happy and cheerful prior to this and through all of the exam, measurements and nurses/docs questions & consent forms! And once she had the versed, our babe relaxed and smiles just covered this sweet face.

Munching away on snacks in post-op. Dora the Explorer saved us here. She enjoyed watching Dora while having her post-op echo, eating jello, graham crackers, a popcicle and fishy crackers as well as two cups of apple juice. She was starving! Not eating after dessert the night before and no drinks after 6 am poses a bit of a challenge for a 2 year old! And for you heart mom's...watered down Country Time Lemonade can pose a problem as a "clear" fluid. Note to self: stick to the list of drinks your child can have pre-op!

We're waiting in recovery right now, one more hour to go before they'll let us drive home. Maddie's cath went really well: no tune-ups necessary, low pressures (which is what we wanted to learn) and it looks like she's ready for the Fontan. We'll know for sure after Dr.Chun presents her and discusses this with her surgeon.

We were pleased with Dr. Johnston's report--her PA's have remained opened and look good! She has a collateral that could have used a coil but because of its location, he decided not to risk putting one in. (It's from her SVC to her IVC, called an AVM vessel?) With the change in circulation after her Fontan, it shouldn't receive blood flow and won't pose a problem down the road without getting blood flow to it. He was able to access the catheter through her right groin and her neck. Two more teeny scars to add to her existing ones.

We had a good day- she was able to get Versed before going back (although I spilt half of it giving it to her) and I was able to go back with her when she was put under. She chose "strawberry" gas and kept giggling as the nurse was covering her mouth with the mask. After the cath, she was a bit unruly in recovery so I was paged to go back with her. The entire procedure took just under 2 hours. We had our favorite anesthesiologist, Dr. Eisses, and we got to see our favorite echo sonographer, Ray!- we had a great visit with her and she was able to get wonderful pictures of Maddie's heart. Plus Dr. Chun came by to see us and discuss the results. He mentioned that her PA's look great--almost as if they've been untouched! Seems like we're all at ease and on the same page of when the timing is best for her Fontan. We do feel fortunate to have such a great team here at Children's and so many love our Maddie in this place. Thank you for your prayers today and checking in on Miss Mooms!