Day Two- 30 Hours and Counting

Ok, so what happened today…

Amelia
I attended rounds again today and, in general, Amelia’s doctors are cautiously optimistic. They appear happy with the result of their suspension system and plan to begin reducing the elevation and sedation levels throughout the night. They have already resumed breast milk and are hopeful that they will be able to increase food intake overnight. They are still a little concerned about her heartrate and plan to battle ventricle stiffness with new medication in the coming days. Her heart must relearn how to beat, and that will simply take time.

Interesting bit of new information today- while the medical team patched the gap between Amelia’s ventricles, they also created a new smaller hole between the upper chambers of the heart. Apparently this man-made opening helps the circulatory system better manage pressure and blood flow as the body adjusts to the reconstruction. I asked the ‘conclave’ whether they planned to ever repair the modification and the reply was something I seem to hear almost constantly these days, “it all depends…”.

Another cardiac patient was wheeled into Amelia’s room today, and her name was Amelia too! What complicates things even more is that they both have the same doctor and fellow. The nurses have already instructed me to give my full name when I call in but right now I’m more concerned about prescriptions being crossed in the night.

Uncle Mike dropped in today to see Amelia and she appreciated that alot. Mike was the first family member to visit Amelia since the operation. I’m sure the whole experience was a shock for him, but we love him for it. Way to go Urban Mike!

The Sick Kids Hotel
Sick Kids is like the Hotel California: parents arrive but they seem unable to leave. There were some folks camped out in the waiting room last night at 8pm, and they were still sleeping on the same couches at 10am today. And Sick Kids actually seems to encourage this by offering guests sheets and linens. All those late nights at the NICU in February and I was under the impression that I was the only parent in the place. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I suppose we are lucky in that we have such a great place so close to home.