Colby's Pre-Fontan Cath

Colby's Cath went way better than Jason and I ever expected! We knew the procedure itself would go well, but it was after the procedure that we were worried about. He did not wake up so happy after his last cath procedure. In fact, he was absolutely miserable! That was an extremely long two days for all of us. So, going into this one, we were a little concerned. Colby being the champ that he is, though, was amazing! We pray that his Fontan will also go this smoothly!!

Since Colby was first case of the day, we had to arrive at 6:15. That is an early morning for us!! Colby doesn't normally wake up until after 8, but he was all smiles from the moment I turned on his light at 5:30. He even remained happy in the waiting room and in pre-op...thanks to Ah-Ah (his monkey), tanket (his blanket), and his new DS from his big brother Brody! He loves "playing" Shrek and Cars.

We weren't sure how he would react to being taken back for surgery. Last time, he was still very young and didn't know to be scared, but he is older now and definitely attached to mom and dad. The anesthesiologist fellow was amazing, though! She did a practice run by picking him up and taking him for a short walk to count the butterflies painted on the floor. When she came back, he was happy and proud to be showing off his counting skills. Then, when it was actually time to go back for surgery, she picked him up and did the same thing. She did it so fast that I didn't even have time to realize what was happening. I think that was probably best for everyone, though. The last thing Colby needed was to see me crying as he was being carried away.

The cath itself went well. A nurse called out several times to keep us updated, which I greatly appreciated. They did have some problems starting an IV for his anesthesia, so he has two pokes/bruises in each hand and a poke in his foot. They had to put a catheter in his groin and his neck, so he has pokes and bruises there too. His heart looked just as they expected it to except for a slight narrowing in his Left Superior Vena Cavae. Dr. Doyle said this wasn't really too big of a deal, but he did decide to go ahead and balloon it up since he was in there. A few collaterals had also developed because of the narrowing left SVC, but since they were not bothering the blood flow, Dr. Doyle left them alone. The procedure was over and Colby was in recovery by 10:30. Because of this, Dr. Doyle scheduled for us to be discharged late that afternoon as long as Colby woke up okay from anesthesia. That was a pleasant surprise!!! Coming home is always better than staying overnight in the hospital!!

When we were called back to recovery to see Colby around 1 pm, he was still asleep. It took him a long time to wake up from the anesthesia. I think the early morning and it being nap time was not helping him wake up! He looked so peaceful and sweet. We would say his name and see him try to open his little eyes, but he just could not get them to open. When he finally did wake up for a few minutes, Jason got him to drink some Sprite and Icee. We could tell his mouth was dry and his throat was sore from the breathing tube. He kept coughing and just sounded so hoarse.

Once he had finished drinking some liquids and was more awake, they moved him to a private holding room, rather than just open space with lots of beds. This was much more comfortable for him! He was supposed to lay flat for 6 hours, which meant he had to lay flat until 4 pm. We were unsure if this would even be possible for him, but he did great! He really only cried a few times starting about 3 and that was just from pure exhaustion! He kept saying, "Holsha,"(hold me) and we felt horrible that we could not pick him up yet. He took a few cat naps to pass the rest of the time, and when Dr. Doyle came by to check on him at 4:00, we were discharged!!! We were so happy, because we knew he would be able to rest much more comfortably at home.

Colby looked pitiful on the ride home. He was so tired!! Jason joked that he looked more awake at 5:30 am than he did in this picture. Even though he was tired and pitiful, he still managed to tell us what movie to put in for him to watch. It was great hearing him talk and be bossy again. I know this is hard for Jason to believe, but I really missed hearing his constant chatter!

After a couple of hours cuddling on the couch watching Shrek Forever After (Shrek bad guy), we decided to try some dinner. Colby requested his favorite, which is baked potato with butter and hot salts (creole seasoning), and Jason got him a Maggie Moos Chocolate Peanut Butter milkshake to drink. I realize this is not the most well balanced dinner, but it got him eating!! We finished the night with more cuddling. Poor Colby could not get comfortable, though. I think he was just still so worn out from his long day. We put him to bed at his normal time, and we didn't hear anything from him until 8 the next morning. Amazing! I figured after a day like that, he would be waking up in the middle of the night. Thankfully, I was wrong!!

He did wake up crying, but I think it is because he was starving! After drinking a smoothie, he was back to his silly self. He even asked for a "roll roll," which is a cinnamon roll from Panera. We of course took him immediately to get that cinnamon roll, and then we went to my parents house to pick up Brody. The boys were very happy to see each other. Jason and I were also very happy to see Brody. Even though it was only one night away, we really missed him. I cannot even imagine how we will get through the 7-14 days in the hospital without Brody. It will be extremely tough on all of us!

Since Colby's cath went just as expected, the cardiology team decided today at conference that we should proceed with his Fontan Operation. He is scheduled for Tuesday, March 29th, which is less than 2 weeks away. Thinking about this makes me sick to my stomach. We are of course eager to get him over this last hurdle, but we are definitely not eager to see him go through another open heart surgery. The next couple of weeks will be very emotional.