I'm not even sure...

I'm not even sure what to write about today. Aurelia has gone in for her surgery and is very likely just now undergoing her first incisions. We stayed the night here at the hospital, cramming ourselves into a single bed so that we could be here for our girl. Jillian pumped crib-side and I managed to get all the materials finished for today's, tomorrow's and Wednesday's lessons so when the early morning rose we could spend as much time with her as possible.

Our morning was quiet and tense, nervous and upsetting, and full of loving moments. We whispered affections to Aurelia and held her tight in our hands. I felt her hand on my face, kissed her little lips and nose, and caressed her cheeks and forehead. I cried at her smile and smiled at her little pout. Jillian and I split our time this morning holding her and covering her with kisses.

Her surgery has changed somewhat since we last conferred with cardiology. Today they will go in through her chest (we thought as of yesterday that the incision would be in her side), they will insert a variety of tubes and lines and wires into her before they begin the surgery. She will have several wires laid upon her chest to monitor any potential disrhythmia. She will also have a line placed into her wrist to function as her IV, and a drain inserted into her chest cavity. There is a possibility that they will insert a line directly into her heart to function as an IV if it is needed. She also had an arterial line put into her belly button and of course a catheter.

The plan is to place a band around her pulmonary artery to restrict the amount of blood flowing into her lungs (which leads to fluid build up and problems or troubles breathing and eating) and then make an incision along her tiny aortic bridge, spread it apart and graph it together with donated tissue (called a homeograph). If that tissue doesn't take then they will use a synthetic material. Of course before any of this can be done she has to be put on full bypass and transfused with a variety of blood products to thin her blood, then help it clot later in the surgery.

Essentially they stop all blood flow to the heart, drop her temperature to about 17 degrees celsius, or 62 degrees Fahrenheit, so that her heart slows to what is in essence a stop. Once her heart is ready for the first incision they will work on the aorta. They will also be collecting small parts of her heart that are typically discarded during surgery and using them in a study which we will talk about at a later time.

I forgot to mention that they will have to open up the sack that normally surrounds the heart and they will actually leave that open and insert what amount to several man made valves into her heart that they will then keep there to use in future surgeries or her recovery, should they need them. Ideally, Aurelia's sternum will still be more cartilage than bone so that they will be able to pack it with what amounts to a paste to help the bone meld together again. If her sternum is all bone they will then have to wire the bone with a non-magnetic wire that they will then remove for her second surgery. 

Our nurse just came in for our second update since she's been gone, and Aurelia has been undergoing the actual repair for about twenty minutes. Things are going according to plan.  That's about all we have for now, aside from red-eyes and headaches. We'll keep you all updated as we can.