Surgery Updates

9:00am
Here we are, surgery day. I can't seem to keep the tears out of my eyes. I'm not sure why I'm not holding it together as strongly as I did last year for Magnus. Maybe it's because we've seen Apollo really suffer where Magnus had not. Maybe it's because of the fear I have seen in his eyes as he crashed twice. Maybe it's because he's already fighting so hard (little stinker!) as he awoke several times from sedation to the touch of my hands and sound of Mike's and my voices. We're also unsure of what will be done in that OR room. This morning, his anesthesiologist said he may not be having 2 shunts as was planned yesterday. He may also need to go on the bypass machine which they didn't think yesterday. It seems everyone is unsure but not the One who truly matters. God is absolutely sure how this will all play out and I will hold onto this truth with all my might.

I walked to the doors of the OR suites with him and his medical team at 8:30am. I'm now waiting to hear that the incision has been made. I will be informed of his progress every 90 minutes unless there is a major event such as going on bypass.

Thank you all for reaching out to me. Your words have provided such comfort and tears. As my baby slept, I downloaded pictures that New Hope sent us from his admission to them at 4 months old. I thought you would enjoy seeing our brave boy throughout his years.

This is All for Apollo!

10:00am

Incision has been made. The most wonderful and skilled surgeon's hands are working on our son.

11:30am

The nurse liason said it was a "cryptic message" but all is going well. Dr. Emani is working off bypass right now but may need to put Apollo on it.

11:50am

They just put Apollo on the bypass machine/ECMO so his heart has stopped as the machine does all of the work.

Magnus is praying for his big brother too!

1:30pm

He is still on bypass and Dr. Emani is working on his BT shunt. We're not sure if that means he's taking it down or revising it. He's doing good and is stable!

2:30pm
My strong, strong boy is off bypass and his heart is beating again!

3:45pm
Dr. Emani is done and came to speak with me already. He was surprised to find that Apollo did not have a BT shunt as stated in his file. He actually had a central shunt and the "BT shunt" is actually his own natural connection that hadn't formed properly. He was able to stent it, took down the failing central shunt, and implanted a shunt to each of his pulmonary arteries as planned. He also inserted a membrane and kept a hole in it so that most of the blood flow heads toward his left PA which along with his left lung are severely underdeveloped.  To be honest, he seemed downtrodden, much different than how he was after Magnus's surgery, so I am a bit more worried than I would've normally been. He said that the next several days will be very critical to see how Apollo's body adjusts to the new pressures and that we shouldn't be surprised if he needs to go back to the OR or to the cath lab. I'm so glad he prepped me for this. Now the real battle begins, the one that Apollo will fight with me by his side. I am praising God for his mercy on our son and begging him to keep our boy alive. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your messages today. I haven't gotten back to everyone since I've been focused on a great distraction of completing a 500 piece tiger puzzle to show Apollo. :) The day was long but my worship music, prayers, and your support got me through. Please continue to lift our little super hero up as he surely needs it!

7:30pm

I apologize for not posting sooner but I've been busy loving on Apollo and learning as much as I can about our one-of-a-kind warrior! He's doing great and is fighting the sedation with all his might. I was actually sweetly asked by his nurse to stop talking because he kept looking at me and reaching for me! I've been so worried that he will resent me and be angry that I "did" this to him but I now think he'll snuggle into my arms quickly. We've built a beautiful bond already. We've had many physicians, NPs, and PAs checking on him since he was such a confusing case. He was discussed at great length at conference this morning and Dr. Emani's plan was agreed upon by them. I won't go into detail but they're still uncertain if his connection from his aorta to his pulmonary artery is his PDA (his own anatomy) or an implanted BT shunt. Sounds crazy, I know. They all think so too. Both Dr. Marx and Dr. Emani stopped by and said he looks great and had a clear chest xray which is a relief since his left lung could've been damaged from the newly increased blood flow (which it still could be). So we will celebrate! He is running a slight fever which is normal and has more blood draining from his chest tube than they'd like so it is being closely monitored. If he continues at this amazing pace, they mentioned extubating tomorrow. I'm giddy thinking I could be holding him tomorrow already! He is just starting his recovery battle which is often more difficult than the surgery so I will try not to get ahead of myself with celebrating. But a mama can dream! I won't update again tonight since the plan is to have a very quiet and restful night in hopes of a big day tomorrow. Thank you all from the bottom of all 7 of the Duff's hearts!

Here is the tiger puzzle which kept my mind busy. I had to take a picture for him because I know he'll love it. 

His guardian angel and St. Michael are protecting Apollo as they did for Magnus.