Isaac Update

So very sorry everyone for not keeping this updated like I should. Everything has been happening in the past few days so fast with no time (barely enough time to eat and sleep). Thank God for my mom being here to watch Eli through all of this. Melody is also here and as we speak she is at Chuck E Cheese's with Eli. I feel so sorry for the little bugger being cooped up at he hospital all of these days. This is really his first real day out. Hope he has fun.

So anyways, I know I was supposed to update on how the procedure went the other day, and because I couldn't get online, we tried to call as many people as we could. Well, so he did great during the procedure and came out fine, but bad news just kept coming from the results that they got from the tests. What they found was of course that he still has and underdeveloped left ventricle, but with an abnormally big coronary artery with many branches. After the procdure, the doctor's consulted with us and it was decided that the normal Norwood Procedure was no longer a good option because of the large artery and one of the valves that was completely closed off. So the cardiology team met before they met with us the next day and told us of a surgical procedure called a Hybrid Norwood. Not many have been done in this hospital but only because the Norwood has really worked for them and also because Isaac is their first case with Hypoplastic Left Heart and this abnormal coronary. From what they have told us, this Hybrid procedure is less invasive than the regular Norwood and also will be less risky for Isaac. It will be done by a team of catherterization doctors and of course cardiac surgeons. They do not have to stop his heart and put him on bypass, so that makes me feel a little better. This procedure will be a bridge to get his little heart working a little better because now he will need a full-fledged heart transplant. We were heartbroken listening to the doctors telling this to us, especially since the newborn hearts are a little harder to come by, but....we have faith! We know Isaac is strong enough to get through this surgery and we know that God will give our little angel a new heart. I know there's reason for us coming to Houston and everything just falling into place at the right moments. And we know that even a transplant is not a complete fix, but we will do everything in our power with God's help to keep Isaac healthy. Like the doctor's have told us and we understand is that we are basically just trading in a whole set a problems for another whole set of problems. The reason why they say this is because we have to always watch for organ rejection, lifelong medication, and many many doctor's visits and procedures to make sure his new heart is still working for him. The very best news that we've heard is that because he is still so young and his immune system is still building up, he has an even better chance that his body will take this new heart better than if he were older. Right now, they are thinking that his first surgery will be tomorrow. I know its coming close and we are all super scared but "the sooner the better." They are keeping him pretty stable at the moment, but I really hate to see him like this. He's got so many wires coming from his skin that there's no skin to touch on him. Since the heart cath was done, they have been keeping him sedated off and on. He came out of the heart cath with a breathing tube through his nose. The next day, the plan was to take it out because they had told us that he was doing most of the breathing on his own. So they tried this for about half of the day yesterday, he was doing fairly well (not great), so they put him on a little bit of oxygen. He had a few apnea episodes where he stopped breathing for a few seconds and made his heartrate drop, but he recover it on his own. Well, last night, mom and I were up there with him, the doctor came by to check on him and as he did, Isaac had an apnea episode. Immediately, he said "he's not breathing", and flicked Isaac's little foot. As he did before, he recovered on his own, but they told me the breathing tube would have to be put back in. I broke down....I was almost sure he could do this himself. I hat that he has to use it. With the tube going down through his vocal cords, he can't cry and a tube down your throat will make you uncomforable, so they have to sedate him most of the time. Myself, I hate sedation, but the nurses have told me that its for his own good. It'll keep him from getting his heart and lungs worked up again. He needs to save his energy for his upcoming surgery. The other thing I hate is that since the heart cath, they really haven't let him wake up. I want to see those beautiful eyes again. He needs to know his mommy doesn't he? But I understand....he does need his rest. He'll be able to open those gorgeous eyes soon enough. With all the doctor and social worker consults, we try to stay with him as much as possible. We touch him, talk to him, hold his hand, and rub his head. I know our touch is important to him right now, and we'll keep doing it until they tell us otherwise.
For now, please keep Isaac in your prayers. He really needs this new heart and prayers for a new heart is especially what he needs. God Bless you all!