Busy Friday

 Today was Arianna's pre-op appoitments with pulmonary and cardiology. We see them in the same building and had it scheduled back-to-back which was nice. However, it did make for a long stressful few hours for the kids. BUT..we got everything done we needed to do and that is important.

Arianna was checking out an older heart girl getting her vitals who was being checked in. I think Arianna liked seeing that!

 

 Then it was on to see Darcy who does her pulmonary function tests. We just LOVE Darcy! Arianna is a pro at these by now. Her PFT's came back with no change which means her medicines are working like they should so no change there. :)

 

 Kids trying to entertain themselves in the exam room. They did good for about 1 minute then just seemed to bounce off the walls.

It was a nice surprise when Michael, a PICU nurse, ended up being our resident training and came in to talk with us first. It was so comforting to see so many familiar faces. He said he may even be the one who gets to go in the OR and get her that day. Isn't it amazing the way God works things out if we just stand back and let him do what He has to do. 

The one and only Dr.  Brown gave her a big "thumbs up" for her pulmonary status today! As long as she stays healthy we are good to go for surgery in week!

Arianna was very quit with her doctors today for some reason. I think its all just too much for her. So she didn't talk much but she did color all of them a picture, which I though was very sweet!

Then it was on to see our cardiology, Dr. Barber! I snapped a pic mid exam. :-P I know one day she will appreciate all the photos to look back on and see what she went through before, during and after surgery. Such a brave little girl!

Good news is Dr. Barber feels over time her right ventricle size should go back to normal! He does want me to get her in to see the opthamalogist before surgery to check out her latest sypmtoms of burry vision. Thank you God I called and the woman found a way to squeeze us in next Tuesday! We want to make sure the heart isnt casuing her eye problems. If she has surgery and they get worse then we need to look into that. Or it could be a  completely secondary issue we need to address on its own. Either way..it's scheduled and she will yet again see a specialist to make sure she is in tip-top shape for her surgery!

Waiting for her pre-op 3-D Echo. Makes me wonder what she's thinking about.

Managed to get a quick photo with both my kids. They were both getting so antsy from being there so long. Amazed they are both smiling. :)

Echo time! She was not happy about it at all. They were training a new girl and Arianna doesn't do well with change. Then Dr.  B came in and did some of the echo himself. It's amazing cause this is the same man that diagnosed my baby in utero and here he is 6 year later getting another echo with him before surgery. He said it looks more like the left pulmonary branch artery is stenosis (narrowed) but not too madly from an echo standpoint. Also the  tricuspid valve looks like it could be more of a hole which is the better of two evils. Again, the surgeon will ultimately be the one inside and get the best view of her heart  but this kind of helps direct him to areas we think are the issues. This really is good news..things could be ALOT worse so we are counting our blessings.

I spoke with him about her post-op stay. He says about a week. However, since she did have plueral efffusion last time that means she is at an increased risk of having that again, which landed her an extra week in ICU. He will put a note in her chart to really keep an eye of fluid output and diuretics. I know getting those chest tubes out are a huge part of recovery but we dont want to pull too early like last time and end up having to place another chest tube after  surgery. I feel we have as much information as possible headed into this and at this point we try to enjoy every moment we can before hand. We pray and give the rest over to God!

Picture came out horrible and fuzzy but I had to try. I have the same picture in the same room after her pre-op echo as a baby. PRICELESS!!!


Arianna and Devin were both done at this point and we were about ready to leave. I did pick up her CBC and the cardiologist read it and said it looks great! So no autoimmune issues to be concerned with an surgery can stay for Oct 18th! We are so blessed to find out both her speciliaists will be working in the hospital during her surgery and that puts my mind at ease! So much easier working with docs that already know her complicated medical history.


After the doctors office we were able to stop in and say hi to my best friend and her new baby Alliyah! Arianna was so happy to hold her!

Thank you Anita for letting us come by for some baby love! <3>

Oh the fun didn't stop there...we had dinner with my family. :) My Aunt Terry is in town for Albuquerque and we wanted to see her. Arianna really took a liking to her as she has in the past. Arianna and my Aunt were strining beads together as my mom did last minute alterations to Arianna's Halloween costume. :)

Arianna with her Great Aunt Terry!

Then she got to get some good lovin' on her Nanny! These two are so strong and bring so much joy in my life. Four days after Arianna's heart surgery my Nana will be having her thyroid removed since she was diagnosed with thryoid cancer. I told them we sure will have alot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

 Now this is the cutest thing ever. ONLY with her Nanny does she do this when I take a pic. They are the #1  girls! :-D

We had to drag the kids to the grocery store after this to buy snacks for tomorrows Halloween party. we came home and got a little decoration happy so stayed up late doing that. Hopefully the kids and I aren't too grouchy in the morning. We are taking a family trip to the pumpkin patch tomorrow morning! We are so excited to be seeing Arianna's big sister, Kyoni and her niece Auberly! I'm sure you will see tons more pictures tomorrow as well! Thanks for checking in on us..we really appreciate it.