We checked in without hassle, and made our way upstairs for pre-op. We discovered the team was running behind schedule with the patient ahead of Jonas, so we busied ourselves with toys and crayons in the waiting room.
Eventually the anesthesia nurse came in, administering Jonas with "silly juice".
He loopily swayed back and forth, saying "woah, woaahhhhhh" and slumping over in his dad's lap. True to form, I heard him chatting away to the nurses as they wheeled him down the hall, asking which direction they were going next.
Luis and I left the hospital for lunch, as we'd skipped breakfast in solidarity with the kiddo not being able to eat. The echocardiogram and catheterization take a total of 3 hours to perform, so we went to the mall and did some browsing to kill time.
We attempted to lighten the mood with a little game of air hockey, in which I lost horribly.
Updates came via telephone every hour, until we drove back to Miami Children's at 3:00p.m. to wait for him to return from the recovery area. Half hour later, Dr. Khan spoke with us about the minor repairs he made.
Jonas's heart condition lends itself to abnormal lung arteries, which Dr. Khan repaired with collateral occlusion, inserting two coils into Jonas's lungs to improve circulation and blood flow.
He showed us the scans of Jonas's heart and lungs, which look fantastic for a child with a congenital heart defect. There is just one minor narrowing of an artery, not narrow enough to cause concern.
It was explained to us that the final step of his heart repair is put off until he reaches 30 lbs. because (unlike previous repairs that utilize existing tissue) the 19mm tube that is inserted into the inferior vena cava will not grow with him. The tube must function just as well when he reaches 150lbs. as it does at 30lbs.
Because Jonas is slow to gain weight, (as are the majority of people with CHDs)he will likely be 4 years old, possibly closer to age 5 before the Fontan surgery.
After meeting with Dr. Khan, we settled into a private room. Jonas awakened groggy and upset, yelling "Nooooo, I wanna get outta here! I wanna go home!"
After some cuddles and reassurance, he'd fall back asleep for half hour or so before repeating the process twice more.
He finally stayed awake, watching "The Muppet Movie" and happily devouring a popsicle and some Gatorade. As the evening wore on, he repeatedly asked to get out of bed and play with his cars on the floor. It was difficult to make him understand that he had to keep his leg straight (6 hours total) post-procedure.
We wrapped his lower half in blankets, trying our best to keep him still and distracted. Around 7:30 he feasted on chicken nuggets, fries, carrot sticks and apple sauce.
By 9:00, Kris had left and Luis and I pulled out lounge chairs, scooting them side by side to watching "Breaking Bad" on the laptop while Jonas started "Cars 2" for the third time in a row. A nurse came in periodically to check his blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels. Around 11 we all fell asleep, virtually keeping to our regular routine (Save for Jonas falling asleep to television, which does not happen at home).
He only awakened once during the night, at 4a.m., asking for a hug from mommy.
By 7a.m., a new nurse had arrived, and we were up for breakfast with "Cat in the Hat" and "Curious George", again sticking to the usual routine.
Jonas was in a great mood, and finally able to get out of bed. We unhooked him from his blood pressure cuff, and he played with cars and legos on the floor for a few minutes, until it was time to go for an x-ray.
The x-ray went quickly, and Jonas was happy throughout. He followed directions well: Hold up your arms, look at mommy, turn to one side.
Back in our room, the residents came by for rounds. They asked me some basic questions about Jonas and his condition, surprised that he had no other complications or health issues. They noted that he is extremely verbal and alert; and, despite being small for his age, he's a fighter.
We spent time in the playroom across the hall from his room, awaiting discharge papers. By noon on the dot we were signed out and ready to go, and what a relief!
Just another adventure with the boy with half a heart. It's good to be home, and back to "normal", despite Jonas having some residual back pain, and a fear of having band-aids ripped off.
I surprised myself by remaining in a good mood. I never got anxious or cried, and Luis kept me in good spirits by being so supportive and loving.
Being able to stay with Jonas overnight made all the difference, I knew how he was doing and that he was nearby.
