surgery update

5:10pm
the operating room nurse just called to say that things are going well, just as expected. they got started about 4:30 pm after having it take a little longer than expected to get all the i.v’s in place.

as i’ve sat here on the 8th floor virtually all day, i’ve seen many families come and go, watched people leave work to go home and now its essentially a ghost town. the lights are off , the reception desk abandoned. but behind the doors of the perioperative care area, and the o.r., the evening shift has arrived, report has been given and its a quiet sea of activity.

i’m trying not to think of what exactly is going on for hazel, i’m just focusing on the fact that i know she is in good hands. everyone we have come into contact with today has been incredibly nice, and helpful. when things were so delayed , several perioperative nurses took time to play with hazel and didn’t seem at all phased that she was keeping them from charting.

the o.r will call me again in an hour to let me know how things are going. i have no idea when they finish.

6:35 pm
i am the sole person in the waiting room. the lights of portland begin to twinkle below the sky bridge that connects one part of this campus to another. i sent my mom home to pick up ruby, auntie britta is on her way here to keep me company for the last hour or two before hazel goes to the picu ( pediatric icu)

diane the o.r. nurse called at 6 pm to say that they were done with the repair and were at the point where they were just seeing how her heart was doing. i think that meant that they were taking her off bypass and seeing how things were functioning. because of the location of the vsd, there is a strong possibility that she will need a pacemaker at least temporarily. the hole was right in the place that the av node is located. the av node is the place in the heart that sends the electrical impulses telling it to beat and in what rhythm.

8:10
hazel is settled into her bed at the icu. she is doing great according to the nurses. the surgery was uncomplicated and so far so good. she roused a little when they were taking a chest xray in looked right at me and said “mama”. i really hate to leave, but i know that tonight i can’t do anything for her, and i need to have the energy to be ready for tomorrow, which is when she will really want me. so i tucked her in with her tiny pillow ( shades of lisa) polar bear , special green blanket and her night night.

i’m heading to the trailer to have a bite to eat, drink a beer to help me sleep and go off to the land of nod.