Post Op Day #1

8am
Apollo had an eventful night as he continues to fight the sedation. Unlike Magnus, he 's not on a paralytic so he keeps opening his eyes and trying to grab his ventilator to pull it out. He's really keeping the nurses (and me) on our toes and almost giving me a heart attack! Dr. Emani had him start on an uncommon blood thinner but his platelets dropped too low so he is being switched to heparin. And I'm waiting to hear how his recent chest xray looks as that will be one of the indicators for him to be extubated. Before she finished her shift this morning, his nurse said, "I love him" and "he's such a good boy". I agree, he's being a rock star!

One thing that woke me up last night (in addition to the many alarms when Apollo is out of the preferred ranges for his vitals) was what Dr. Marx said to me yesterday. He said that Apollo's hematocrit level was so high that he could have had a stroke at any time. Not necessarily here in the hospital but as we have been bopping around Boston and all the days before. He was on the brink of one and it's so scary to think about how close he was. He also said that we saved another little boy's life but I kindly corrected him that another son has saved ours. I am forever changed by our Apollo and thank God that He led us to our little miracle boy.

11am

Our boy is flying high and on his way to be extubated this afternoon! I decorated his room so it's all ready for him to enjoy. During the morning rounds, they were shocked and amazed at his progress. They expected a lung perfusion injury to his left lung since it now has so much more blood flow to it. Everyone was thrilled that it hasn't happened and I may have had some happy tears in the huddle. Dr. Marx said that they would have expected more blood flow to the left lung through the shunt but it will just take time. We need this to increase so the left ventricle and lung will grow to qualify him for the Glenn. Thanking God for His almighty protection and for knowing that my heart needed Apollo just as much as his heart needed mine!

2pm

Mr. Man has had a busy few hours and continued to fight through sedation until he was suctioned. He's doing great but his little body didn't like it and they had to suction a lot. His sats dropped and BP skyrocketed so they made adjustments and he's doing well now. They've weaned him off of his sedatives so we're waiting for him to wake up but he's taking his sweet time. They're not sure if they'll extubate today because of this and the breaths he's taking on his own are weak. They must be bigger for them to pull his tube. He's fighting and I hope to be holding my baby today or tonight!

7:30pm

After several hours of ups and downs, two little brown eyes are looking all around his room and loving his balloons! At 5:30pm, Apollo was extubated to everyone's relief. He kept trying to pull the vent out on his own while thrashing in his bed. He rested comfortably, snuggled under his blankie with his animal friends surrounding him for awhile and then decided it was time to eat. But he can't yet. He thrashed and was angry which is heartbreaking to watch and to withhold food from a child recently adopted. He worked himself up into a tizzy and fell asleep from it all. Please pray for his heart both physically and emotionally!

PINK!!!