October 9, 2016

Louis' condition has maintained through the weekend which is positive going into surgery tomorrow. Our cardiac surgeon has been out of the country this week, but has been kept informed on Louis' progress. We are hopeful that his surgery will happen Monday, October 10th. Things have changed so drastically since our last surgical consult, there is a small chance that the surgeon may want to wait a day or two and reevaluate Louis' condition.

It has been hard for me to answer questions like, "how are you?" or "How's Louis?" because our wellness is on a sliding scale. Louis certainly isn't well, but he has improved since we got here. His 'illness' isn't a cold or something that can be treated quickly. It is hard to see him so helpless and it's even harder to BE so helpless. I am emotionally and mentally exhausted from fear and worry. The best analogy I can come up with is that we are in a marathon. Currently, we have gotten through the first leg of the race. It was a hard road, that came with some uncertainty and unexpected bumps. We have finally found our stride and have begun a steady pace. Now that we are half way through, we are facing a very tough finish. Things are going to get harder and require all of our strength, mind and body, to finish the race. 

Some technical stuff: Louis' surgery will include the switch of his aorta and pulmonary valve (TGA), the removal of tissue build up below his pulmonary valve (pulmonary stenosis), a patch to close the hole between his left and right ventricle (VSD), and a quick stitch of the hole they created between his left and right atrium (ASD). This can take several hours, and may have complications. We know it will take the better half of the day, but do not have a clear time frame.

And so we wait.

 We are hopeful that tomorrow will start the healing process.