Post-Surgery Day 1 - Puff Puff Baby: 1 week 1 day Old

This morning Pui and I went in and saw Baby Pat after what was for me a good night's sleep. Pui, not so much. She's sleeping now while I catch up on the blog. We came to the hospital and met Grandma at the cafeteria - Grandma slept here last night, something both Pui and I were very comforted by. We ate breakfast with a HLHS baby mother named Dena. Her boy is not quite 2 weeks ahead of Pat, and they are talking about being able to take him home Wednesday. They have our best wishes.

After we ate, I went straight to see Pat while Pui pumped some more milk. The knock-out anesthesia has worn off of Pat, but he is on Morphine and feeling no pain. He's moving a little here and there, and occasionally makes sucking motions with his lips. Keep it up Pat - we want to feed you through your mouth just as soon and as much as we can!

I have some pictures from yesterday to post. The first one is Pui and I wishing Pat good luck just before he was wheeled into the OR:

The next picture was taken around eight hours later. This is Pat in the CICU. You can see how many tubes and wires are there. Each one has a specific purpose.


Next, another shot of all the equipment Pat is hooked up to. (Pat is the pinkish bit in the lower right of the picture.)

The next picture is a shot of Pat's face. You can see how puffed up he his. This is normal for after a surgery as major as this. That's what I was told, anyway, and I believe them: they said it like they've said it a thousand times before.


Finally, an overall shot of Patrick. It's a little alarming. The ovoid area on his chest is a piece of rubber they put on over the opening in his chest. The three tubes coming out are draining fluids from his chest. He has an IV hooked into arteries on either arm. The tubes that are making sure he breathes go in through his nose. Looking at this picture, you can get a pretty good idea how major this surgery really is.
It's amazing that they were able to change so much inside such a little guy. They made some pretty big changes to his little tiny heart. It's scary to see our precious little boy looking so ... uncomfortable, but this is necessary if we are going to have him with us for years and years. And he is not uncomfortable - they have him on morphine, and the nurses are very aware and concerned that he not suffer.

Speaking with the nurse, we were told that Pat won't be aware of us much today, and that we should take care of ourselves. If taking care of ourselves means being in the room with him, or if it means just laying down and sleeping all day, we should do that. We plan to alternate, with eating and pumping milk in there as well. And writing in the blog for me. In the next few days Pat will begin to recover, will open his eyes and become more aware of his surroundings, and we want to be there for him at that time. And not be exhausted wrecks.