Scheduled!

Life has been wonderful since the last post.  Zoe is doing very well and just amazes us everyday with her charming ways.  She has become so active, vocal, and pretty funny over the past few weeks.  My baby girl is growing up quickly but it is beautiful to watch her blossom into her personality, a sweet, funny and feisty one at that.

My heroes, Zoe and Dr. Starnes

Yesterday was a big day.  We went to CHLA for a surgical consult with the amazing Dr. Starnes.  All in all he is very pleased with how well Zoe progressed especially given her really rough start that was questionable.  We talked about what is to be expected with the surgery itself, recovery, and the timeframe to go home.  Of course it is speculation, but he said we could expect one to two nights in CTICU and then a few more nights in CTACU.  We would hopefully be going home in five to seven days as long as everything goes as hoped.  Even though the Bi-Directional Glenn is open heart surgery it is no where near as complex as the Norwood.

What is the Bi-Directional Glenn procedure?  This is the second stage surgery that will off load some of the work from the heart to the lungs by rerouting blood flow.  Specifically the superior vena cava, the vein that brings deoxygenated blood from the upper body to the heart, will be connected to the right pulmonary artery.  This will send the upper body blood directly to the lungs bypassing the single right ventricle. The Sano shunt that was placed during the Norwood stage one procedure will be taken down as it is no longer needed.

The entire time we were in conference, Zoe was completely fascinated with Dr. Starnes, talking and reaching out to him.  She hasn't done this with anyone else which has me wondering if she knows who he is.  He truly is an amazing miracle worker and we are forever thankful for him.

February 9th... that is the big day.

So that is that!  We look forward to life on the other side of Interstage.  Do you know what that means?  We can go out in public, meet up with friends and family.  Have fun!  Go to the beach!  Take a trip!  Yes, we can continue on with a normal life!  It has been a very long road for us to get here.

In looking back, I have spent almost an entire year in seclusion with being admitted for preterm labor back in April.  Crazy huh?  Yea it is.  I am happy to inform you that I have remained relatively sane.  I am not the same person going into this but I am sure I am a better person for all that has happened.  It has been rough, more then most of you can imagine, but I wouldn't change anything knowing that I have my sweet little Zoe here in my arms laughing and pulling at my hair.  (ok there are somethings I would change, like having sweet Dylan here too but that is a completely different matter)

On another note... yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting a fellow heart parents to sweet Ella.  We have been "internet friends" for quite some time now and it was such an honor to be with them as Ella somewhat unexpectedly underwent her Glenn procedure yesterday.  She is the cutest little heart warrior and she did better then expected during her procedure.

I also want to give a huge shout out to my heart mom community. Without YOU I don't know how I could have fared this journey.  YOU have given us the HOPE we needed.