Preparing for that Big Sigh of Relief

I know they said 48 hours before our 1st big sigh of relief after surgery but I can't help but feel incredibly relieved this morning.

While Payton is still hooked up to all of her tubes (a few more added pre-surgery) we're on her 7th day of her "doing really well", compliments of the NICU team.

This morning I caught morning rounds and her only small issue today is a slight heart pressure discrepency.  One side of her heart is slightly pressurize.  The current solution for this isn't clear.  They're not sure if they should treat it with blood pressure medicine since they admit that she's doing so well and thus far the slightly higher pressure on the one side of her heart hasn't affected the rest of her.   So she'll be getting a ECHO today from the cardiac team and the decision from there will lie in the cardiac team's hands.

The best thing is we'll actually lose a tube today (rather replace one for a better one).  I was there for the surgical team visit and its been confirmed that her NG tube will come out today.  One thing they look for once surgery is complete is non-coffee ground like secretions from the stomach.  Its caused because of all the bowel and stomach manipulation that occurs during surgery and repositioning her abdominal organs.  Last night and today that coffee ground fluid is no longer present so the NG tube can come out.

That means they will try to give Payton a little bit of food for her tummy today - I'm excited about this as it of course is one step closer to her recovery and while she'll have a feeding tube its a step forward.

Oh, and while we're on the topic of food (and all that it leads to) its worth noting that Payton passed poop :).  It wasn't self generated but after surgery the surgeon manipulated her colon and she passed most of her poop (meconium).  Without her eating (all her nutrition thus far is through IV) she won't make any poop so today's possible feeding will be the 1st step to getting her newly placed digestive system working properly.

This morning I also got to be present during an x-ray.  I believe this is Payton's 3rd x-ray post surgery and I'm very keen to see what if any changes are starting to occur.  Yesterday we learned that the 'air' pocket left from surgery had filled with fluid which was expected and welcomed.   The key of course is that her body will manage that fluid so that it doesn't build up too much and put pressure on her lungs/heart.  Hence the frequent x-rays. 

The good news is Payton hasn't really puffed up from her surgery.  She's looking good other than being a bit pale (admitted by the NICU team that its due to all her blood draws so she's obviously a bit low on blood - this being the #1 reason of a blood transfusion if she needs it).

The nurse with Payton today is very sweet.  She's been positioning Payton's head so that we don't see elongation of the face often seen with babies on a vent (because they lie their faces against blankets).  She's been giving me tips on how to prevent it/correct it when we get home. 

Home - a big word that we're not focusing on quite yet but the odd comment that includes it gives us a warm fuzzy feeling.