Surgery Day

I will be posting surgery updates here today. Thank you so much for keeping Emma Kate in your prayers!

7:17 pm - We were kicked out of CICU for rounds, but will be back to sit with her around 8-8:30.  I hope she will be able to drink some water soon after we get there.

5:45 pm - Emma Kate is officially extubated! No more uncomfortable breathing tube and not depending on the ventilator to breathe any more! She's doing awesome. She's talking to us a little bit, though I don't think she'll remember much of anything when she's fully awake. She keeps asking for water. "Can I have some water from my backpack?"--heartbreaking. She cannot have anything until 4-6 hours after extubation to make sure she doesn't throw up.

5:13 pm - We have been with Emma Kate in CICU since 1:15. She's doing great and starting to wake up. Respiratory therapist has been slowly weaning her off the vent. She's now breathing on her own and they are taking her totally off the vent now. She's being extubated as I type this. She will be able to drink water and have ice chips 6 hours after. She's already been asking for water. Breaks my heart that we can't give her anything yet.

11:45 am - Just spoke to Dr. Alsoufi, her surgeon. The surgery is over and went well! There were no surprises and everything went as expected. They will monitor her in the OR for another 30 minutes and then take her to CICU (Cardiac intensive care unit). We will probably be able to see her in an hour. The next several hours are critical, so please keep praying. THANK YOU for loving and praying for our daughter!

10:30 am - Heard from the OR again. Everything is going well and they will start the repair soon.

8:50 am - The OR called. Emma Kate is doing well, they just did her incision.

7:30 am - We walked Emma Kate back to the OR. She was sound asleep. We should hear from the OR about every hour. Surgery is expected to start around 8 or 8:30 am.

 6:00 am - We arrived at the hospital and almost immediately got a pre-op room. Took her vitals and gave her Versed (sleepy medicine). She was asleep within about 5 minutes of taking the medicine.