Day 1: Norwood Procedure

Written on 12:05 PM by gracefully discovering:

Today, our precious baby girl will have her first surgery. For those of you who do not know why she is having surgery- she is here today because she was diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome with an unbalanced canal. Basically it means that she has half of a heart. If you would like to read more about it...go back a few months in my blog to get all of the information.

I will continue to update on this blog to keep you all posted on the outcome of the surgery as well as her recovery. Reading other heart moms blogs really got me through a lot these past 7 months. So I hope that I can provide some insight or comfort for someone else as they go through this very confusing and difficult process.

Day 1:
We arrived at the hospital this morning at 6:15 am to hold our baby girl before she went into surgery. This was only the second time that we got to hold her since she has been born. At first she was a little fussy...but once she got comfortable in my arms, she was good to go! As she held on to my finger, we talked and had a great mommy/daughter bonding session! I can't believe how incredibly in love I am with these two girls. Now I understand what parents mean when they say you experience a love like never before.
The surgeons came in to talk to us about what to expect...even though we knew everything they told us...it was comforting for them to explain it to us- so we could be sure that they knew what they were doing :) JK! We know that we are in the best place possible to be for her surgeries and for that we are considered blessed.

After Nick and I got to spend a little QT with Nia, they took her upstairs. We were able to go up with them but couldn't go through the double doors. After multiple kisses and "be strong big girl" we finally let her go. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life. I know that without this surgery she can not live...and that's about the only thing that's keeping me together right now!
The surgery will take anywhere from 8-10 hours...we will get updates every two hours! Talk about
Latest update: They have completely put her under the anesthesia...and her body received it very well. They have also hooked her up to the heart and lung machine...so that her organs will not have to do any work during the procedure. I'm so happy that my baby girl won't have to feel any of this pain...and she won't remember any of these surgeries once she gets older!! But I'll be sure to tell her how strong she was and how she fought through like a big champ!! I love her so much and am so proud of how well she has done thus far!

okay..I'll update gain when we hear something.