Hearts of Adoption: Home sweet Home

Huahua had one long day yesterday, arriving at the hospital at 6:30 am and leaving about 10 pm. But she was a real trooper through it all. We were determined not to spend the night and pushed through to get discharged. The results of the cath were encouraging that she appears to be a great candidate for the next surgery which will be the Fondan. Huahua's single ventricle, single atrium heart lines up in the middle of her little body. Her arteries looked to be good size going to the lungs. The were happy with the pressures running around 11-12 (normal kid's heart runs around 5). Her inferior vena cava, the vein which will be re-routed with a shunt to the pulmonary artery then onto the lungs to create a passive flow for the lower half of her body during the Fontan comes up mid line, another anomaly of her heterotaxy syndrome. Her liver also is situated mid line as well. So uniquely created!
She came through the anesthesia well and continued on a strong sedative throughout most of the night. Since the cath went through her main veins/arteries they wanted her to remain still to prevent bleeding. She would peek awake for moments here and there and ask for mama and quickly be soothed back to sleep. So thankful she trusts us and knew she was able to trust us to walk her through this. Her remarkable verbal capability is so helpful in that she can ask for help and feels confident in telling us her concerns. We will speak with the surgeon on Monday to discuss her surgery more in depth. It is scheduled for May 14.