Tag: VSD surgery

Gwennie Ru and the Patched Heart

Shirleyjdietz6 Comments

As I said in the previous post, Gwennie will be glad to read this someday and know her history.

I can think of a hundred happy adjectives to describe how I feel today about GwennieRu’s recent VSD surgery, but I will stick with relieved, grateful and blessed. She now has expectation of normal growth and lifespan. She may get discharged from the hospital today, which is absolutely amazing.

Surgery, originally scheduled for Thursday, was postponed to Friday morning. This was a good thing since it put her first on the surgeon’s list for the day. Julia and Kevin took Gwennie to the hospital early Friday morning, and difficult as it was, handed her over to the surgical team. The other grandma and I joined them in the waiting room.

The first hour in the OR, Gwennie was sedated (so glad they did that first) and then IV’s were inserted so that she could be connected to the heart lung machine. Then the surgery started and we were given hourly updates by the staff.

The surgeon had previously explained this process to us. After the heart lung machine was ready, her chest was opened and her heart was stopped so they could work on it. At Gwennie’s age her heart is about the size of a large strawberry so you can imagine how delicate this sewing job had to be.

The incision in the heart was made in the right atrium, and from there, the hole in the ventricle was accessed through the tricuspid valve. A dacron patch was stitched over the hole, which was described as being large. It was tested for leaks, and then the heart was closed and started back up again. Sounds simple, but I can’t even imagine how they did it without lasting damage to any nerves, or the heart itself. The doctor did say that they cool the heart down so it doesn’t need as much oxygen while it’s without circulation.

It was so hard to see her when she came out of recovery. But it was the knowledge that each one of the wires, tubes and drains had a vital part in keeping her safe that made it tolerable. The pain meds kept her sleeping a good part of that first day, but she did wake up and took her bottle that night.

A girls has got to eat…

The next day, Saturday, the drain and the pacer wires, the intra jugular port and a couple IV lines were removed. In the afternoon she was doing well enough to move to the step down unit.

Yesterday in step down, she was weaned off oxygen. She seemed very comfortable and without pain and was playing with her toes and toys like she normally does. Today, if all goes well, she may come home. Isn’t that amazing?!

So, for any of you who read my previous posts and had compassion, maybe offered up a prayer for Gwennie Ru, know that we appreciated that prayer. God gifted men and women with the ability to do some crazy stuff medically, and Gwennie Ru was in the right place and time to benefit from it. He was watching over her, and us as we waited.

Postscript: They are home!

Unaware

ShirleyjdietzLeave a comment

This whole week has a very strange feel to it. GwennieRu is her usual baby self, responding with smiles and interest in everything around her, blissfully unaware, looking perfectly beautiful.

We who have a little more knowledge about surgery and what it entails are less blissful. I am looking at her, drinking in every detail of her sweetness, and more aware of how thankful I am for her, and for this time with her. While I have no reason to expect anything but a good outcome from her procedure, I am so aware of the complexity of it, so aware of the skill needed and the vigilance required… that knowledge alone makes every minute with her special, including diaper changes and fusses and spit ups. All of it.

I feel the same angst coming from her parents as they have video conferences with the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. One thing we talk about is how the messages of support and prayer keep pouring in from friends and family. Many have dealt with similar uncertainties and various kinds of outcomes. It is good to hear that they have been able to walk the path God laid out for them. It is good to hear that they consider our request for prayer as a mandate, a job that they are glad to do for us. They join us as we go into this experience. They acknowledge that God is present and watching over Gwennie. I don’t know how people get through life without a belief that someone better than us is in charge. Times like this show us that so clearly.

This week, some ladies in Julia and Kevin’s church gave me and the other Shirley grandma (yes there are two of us) large gift bags full of things to help us in the surgery waiting room. I dare not eat all that they gave me on my Lumen low carb diet, but the thought was clearly expressed that they understand. A book to read, and reminders of scripture promises help me to know where my thoughts should be directed.

As sometimes happens, when we need it least, the trouble of sickness adds to an already critical time. One of Julia’s coworkers came down with covid. Our exchange student is suddenly beset with sore throat and cold symptoms. We are disinfecting everything and trying to avoid germs. Every time we feel a cough or a sneeze we wonder if we’re getting a virus that will complicate things on Thursday. Kevin doesn’t feel 100% well, and this morning Gwennie is a little “snuffly”. This too is something God knows.

Someday it will be important for GwennieRu to read this and know how she was cherished by God and her people. But for now, one more day of waiting and then, the day of surgery.