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Heart Surgery

: Checking her height at one of her Ultrasound appointments.

: Getting ready for an ultrasound exam.

: Modern medicine.

: Her surgery was scheduled for 7:30am, so we were at the hospital by 6am, waiting our turn to be admitted.

: We prepped her as best we could, letting her know she would be gertting a new set of pajamas, which she seems to like here.

: Our first glimpse of her as they wheel her out of surgery.

: Here she is in her recovery room.

: A little girl in a big bed.

: A long night for her. You can see the restraints on her wrists here.

: Some medicine from mom.

: Saturday – Getting prepped for an early morning x-ray.

: The 2nd day is better

: The day after surgery she was still not allowed to drink anything, but we could give her a small sponge of water to suck on to help moisten her mouth and throat.

: She is looking resigned to her situation.

: Here she finally has the oxygen tubes off of her face. She has also had her catheter and chest tube removed, so she is much more comfortable.

: Aside from the IV’s in her hands, the one in her neck is the last to be removed today.

: Removing the tape from the neck IV was the most painful part for her.

: Having the neck IV removed wore her out.

: She is getting ready to leave the bed for the first time and try walking a little bit.

: Nurse Claire helps her off of the bed.

: Her first steps are a little tentative.

: Around the foot of the bed is going to be far enough for her.

: She made it to the chair and mom’s lap.

: The short walk wore her out.

: Back to bed where she was more comfortable and watching movies.

: Enjoying some fruit snacks now that she can eat again.

: She loves her granola bars.

: Her brothers arrive for their first visit since her operation.

: She’s happy to see everybody.

: Her brother checks on the doctor’s work. He says her heart doesn’t buzz anymore.

: Time to try walkng again, this time out of the room.

: They really wanted to see her walk a little farther this time.

: She just wants to be picked up. After a little tantrum and finally running to mom the nurses decided that was acceptable.

: Aunt Rachel brought presents for her to open.

: Olivia!

: “A little present”

: Playing with her doodle pad

: Trying her best to smile for the camera.

: Dinner time, and she’s feeling tired.

: Determined to feed herself.

: Finally accepting some help.

: The end of a long day. This is beginning to be a familiar site.

: Sunday – Best Father’s Day breakfast ever!

: Feeling much better today.

: Morning Rounds – she isn’t really thrilled with this.

: Big smile.

: Finally have all the IVs removed.

: Is she asleep?

: She was just pretending to be asleep.

: Getting a sponge bath this morning.

: All cleaned up before moving out of the ICU.

: A big wheelchair for a little girl.

: Napping in her new room. This was her first nap of the day, coming after noon.

: This room makes her situation look much less serious, which it now is.

: Our little girl is back and chipper after her nap.

: She’s playing with a new toy from her cousins.

: Making animal noises along with her toy.

: Her last night in the hospital.

: Monday – Last morning in the hospital.

: Reconecting her wires by color after brushing her teeth.

: Checking her vitals one more time.

: Riding down for an Echocardiogram.

: Getting her last Echo.

: Hooked up for an Electrocardiogram

: She was not happy having all of the stickers removed.

: For some reason she chose to put her new stickers onto herself.

: Happy again after her Echo.

: She is finally disconnected from all monitoring equipment.

: On her way home.

: Home at last and some quiet time with her brother.

: Her new necklace from her aunts & uncles.

: She’s obviously feeling better, but we’re thinking someone snuck some catnip into her last IV.

: Back in her own bed.

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