Xander had his procedure last month and we were all a nervous wreck. We "knew" everything would be fine, but having a procedure that compromises the heart sure can make you nervous.
Originally Nick was going to take him to the hospital and I was going to stay home with Sterling, but the night before, Nick asked if I'd mind taking him. I had a hunch that this would happen because if anyone knows anything about Nick, it was sure to happen.
We live an hour and ten minutes from the hospital, so Xander and I had to leave at 4:45 to make sure we were in place at the hospital on time for 6 am arrival. Luckily, the parking garage and the reception were easy to find.
After we checked in, we were called back pretty quickly and they got Xander all set up.
The procedure wasn't scheduled until 8 am and because we're in the D.C. metro, it started late because of crash. I think that's why we had to check in two hours prior, to ensure we'd make it on time.
The nurses, doctor, and anesthesiologist all came in and explained to him what they were going to do. This is where he started getting really nervous. Rightfully so.
The allowed me to go back into the procedure room with him while they got him set up. As they gave him the sleepy medicine, tears were rolling down his cheeks. Which naturally made me break down. Oh, it's so hard watching your kid have such a procedure. We were told the procedure takes around 2.5 hours. An hour after they started, I received a call to come back to the room. The doctor was done and everything went better than expected.
After the doctor came in our room, he drew this picture (below) and explained that Xander's extra pathway was in the blue and the normal pathway (green) were far enough apart that he could use the heat method to close up the pathway. This method is preferred because the success rate is nearly 100%! I cried happy tears and thanked the doctor!
After getting him back in the room, they let him sleep for an hour and a half because he had to lay flat and still for 4 next hours. That was the hardest part for him. He hates being still.
They woke him up and the echo technician came in and performed the scan. Everything came back perfectly. This procedure went textbook perfect. So very thankful for that. For one week he was not allowed to play and had to chill. He loved the extra iPad time! But, he was ready to get back outside and play with his friends.
We go back at the end of October for another EKG and visit with the doctor and if all goes well, a year from then, and then we'll be discharged from his care. We can now go on our vacation through the ocean with peace of mind that he won't get an episode while we're so far from a hospital.
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