The surgery was set for Tuesday at 11:30am, so we needed to be there at 10am. We got there a few minutes after due to some traffic on 75 (ughhhh :/). After bringing us back the nurse did some quick vitals and then let Kaylee go to the playroom to hangout until it was time to go. Dr. Mendeloff's first surgery that day ran a bit over so we did not head up for surgery until about 12:20pm. They gave her the "silly juice" to calm her down and let her watch Frozen. When they came to take her back she was waving bye to us.
The surgery took about 3 hours. Dr. Mendeloff came out to tell us that she did amazing and that he had put in a better lead this time that is actually a bi-lead; which means if one side goes out the other will keep everything going like normal. AWESOME! He let us know that we could see her being wheeled into the unit in a bit. When they brought her by to go to the Cardiac Unit it got a bit emotional in the room because Kaylee was still intubated and just looked so weak. It's heartbreaking to watch a young little girl that normally has more energy than anyone look like that.
Kaylee right after Surgery
We finally got to go back and be with her after about an hour more of waiting for the them to get her set up in her room. They let us know that they were keeping her sedated as she was coming out of anesthesia feisty (that is normal for Kaylee). She was on some strong pain medication that was also helping her rest. She woke up a few times throughout that first night complaining of pain in which she was given some morphine to help her out.
They took her off of sedation about 5:30am the next morning and she quickly wanted to have some water and watch Peppa Pig. She went in and out of sleep until about 7:30am. Dad came up for a visit before work, but unfortunately Kaylee was out cold the whole time he was there. Dr. Mendeloff stopped by briefly to let us know that the drainage tube would have to stay in another day due to how much was still coming out. Ray from Medtronics stopped by after that to check out her pacemaker and let us know that everything looked perfect. YAY! :) The doctors made their rounds about 9:30am and let us know that she was clear to eat what she feels like, get some IVs out, and she needed to start doing some walking. Kaylee went straight to work eating with some donuts and poptarts. Taking the ART line out of her right wrist and the IV in her right ankle was painful for Kaylee, but she was glad to have at least one hand free to use (her left hand had an IV that we needed to keep). Her first walk around the unit went pretty well with a bit of crying because Kaylee thought she was getting to walk out of that place.
Day after Surgery - Kaylee's First Walk Around the Unit
Day after Surgery - Heading up to the 6th Floor, First Time Riding in a Wheelchair
At about 1-1:30pm Kaylee was moved to the 6th floor which is not considered ICU so she would have more freedom to move and play as she pleases. She was overjoyed at the fact that the 6th floor had a playroom and she did not need to be hooked up to the monitor anymore. We played until dinner time when Daddy came up for a visit after he got off of work. He left when it was time for bed.
Day after Surgery - Making Crowns because we are a Princess
Our second night was pretty good due to not hearing beeping from a monitor and it was darker in the room. At about 5am they came in to give her a good dose of pain medication because Kathy was coming up to take out her drainage tube. Kathy was there at 5:30am and got her tube out super quick without much fuss from Kaylee. One more thing gone...we were on a roll. Kaylee went right back to sleep until about 7:30am when it was time to get up for medicines and a chest x-ray. The doctor came in to visit while Kaylee was eating breakfast. She was originally saying that it would be tomorrow before we went home as they would like to monitor her some more, but then she started watching Kaylee and checking her out and decided they was no reason why she shouldn't be able to go home today.
WHAAAAAT???????
I was so excited!!! After playing in the playroom for awhile and then taking a good nap we were ready to leave by about 2:00pm.
I couldn't believe it! My little girl who had just had open heart surgery looked amazing, was acting like a toned down normal self, and was going home 2 days later. She is truly an extraordinary little girl and I could not be any prouder to be her mother.
WAY TO GO KAYLEE!!! :)
We want to send out a huge THANK YOU to all of our family, friends, and Kaylee's grandparents that were there for the surgery, visited, or just checked in on Kaylee. We seriously cannot express enough how thankful we are to have such an amazing support system.
