5 September

Audrey is doing good today. Her lungs are doing good and she is still on the ventilator. Right now, she is scheduled to have her chest closed tomorrow, which is the next big step forward. We are ready for that! (Her chest was left open to accommodate the swelling.)

We are still taking those little steps forward.

Info on Audrey's Defect

Below is a website from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital that thoroughly explains Transposition of the Great Arteries/Vessels. You can look on the right side of the screen and click on "Flash Movie" and it will open a new window that has a demonstration you can click through.

Click on the link below or copy and paste into your browser.

http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/transposition.htm

4 September

Audrey is off the oscillatory ventilator and is now on a regular ventilator to keep her breathing. This is a pleasant surprise we did not expect.

According to our Nurse, Audrey is doing very well. It seems her pulmonary hemorrhage is over, so there is no further bleeding into her lungs. Although she still requires a lot of oxygen, her chest x-ray looks about 50% better than yesterday. Because she is so young and small, her lungs will continue to grow and create lung tissue. This will allow Audrey a good chance for complete recovery of lung function.

Audrey is able to move all her arms and legs and open her eyes, which indicates that she tolerated being on the heart and lung bypass machine well.

For now, Audrey is stable and we'll continue to look for small improvements everyday.

3 September

Audrey entered surgery at 1:30 pm. Just after 6 pm we received the first report that her surgery was a success, and the surgeons were finishing up. Unfortunately, during the last 15 min of surgery, the doctors found blood in her airways and lungs. It appears she had some type of pulmonary hemorrhage. This gave us a good scare as we weren't sure if she would stop bleeding.

Currently, there have been no indications of further bleeding into her lungs. She is on an oscillatory ventilator which is crucial for her oxygen levels. The extent of the damage to her lungs is unknown, but she will spend more time on the ventilator recovering than normal. Apparently the lungs are quick to be injured but slow to heal. Her status is best described as critical but stable.

The great news is that the planned surgery went excellent. The surgeons have already checked the function of the heart and coronary arteries and found everything to be working properly.

Linda and I are completely worn out, and we're taking the doctor's advice and making the drive home to get some sleep.

More info as it becomes available during the next few crucial days.

Pic of the Day - 2 Sep

2 September

Audrey is doing much better today. Her sodium levels are normal now. She has been eating like a champ. Her surgery is scheduled for around 2:30 pm tomorrow. She will be the second case of the day, so her time may flex.

Today Sue left to return to Maryland, and now Aunt Karen is on the job watching Caroline while we're away.

So many have touched base with us; It is wonderful to have such a great support group.

1 September

The surgery for today was postponed until Wednesday due to a temporary low sodium level in Audrey's blood. This is nothing critical, but it would not make for an ideal condition for her to be on the heart and lung bypass machine. Although a little tough at first, we are very glad that the surgical team had the patience to make the decision to postpone.

For now, it looks like surgery will be on Wednesday afternoon.