Willow's Tuesday Surgery

My baby woke me up at 5am this morning, not the way most babies do. Most babies cry, my baby, was gently breathing next to me in the hotel, beckoning me to take her to a destination we were dreading, but a destination her body needed. We took her into pre op at 6 our time and sent her with a lovely anesthesiologist who had a British accent back to surgery at 7:15. He cradled her in his arms, swayed a little, and told us he would take good care of her...but I sent her away with a stranger. I won't say it was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it was up there. And what was supposed to be a 4 hour surgery took 7. When the Doctor came up she said that surgery went well, but it was the most complex AVSD surgery that she has ever done. I won't confuse you or myself with medical terms, but Willow's heart didn't look like a child with Down Syndrome normally does. The good news is that biggest hole was repaired beautifully and Dr. Romano felt very good about the surgery. We are so thankful we are here and she is our doctor. She has more than proven she is the best there is. We are over a big hump, but we are not out of the woods. The next few days are critical. So here are today's prayer requests:

1.There is a little Mitral Valve Regurgitation - or leakage, but it was very mild and they are hopeful it will repair itself and there will be no subsequent surgeries- Pray for that. That all the areas of the heart that can repair themselves will. She has a tiny hole left in her VSD that the Dr. thinks will heal over time so pray that God will seal up any leaks and this is the last heart surgery she will ever need.

2. Because her heart surgery took longer than expected and she was on bypass so long there is a little more swelling and it's just taking a little bit longer for her body to bounce back. Pray for a restful night so that her body can start to repair itself. This is partly why she is still on a ventilator. Pray that she is doing well enough that she can get off the vent tomorrow!

3. THIS IS MY BIGGEST PRAYER REQUEST TONIGHT... it is common for the neural connections to be blocked after this surgery- called a heart block. It's because the surgeons are working so close to where the connectivity is. Willow currently has a heart block and is on an external pace maker. The Doctor is confident that her heart will start to regulate itself in the next 48 hours after the swelling goes down, but if it doesn't in the next 7 days, they will have to do open heart surgery again to insert an internal pace maker. This is heart breaking. So please pray her heart starts to regulate itself.

Thank you for today. Thank you for flooding the gates of heaven with your prayers and showering us with love and encouragement. Many of you fasted and prayed and I can never express how much that touched our heart. Even though the surgery is done, please continue to pray. Willow's precious little body is still in need of a lot of healing.