Tomorrow morning my sweet little boy is heading back into the operating room once again. Jacob will be 20 days old and heading into his third surgery to receive his pacemaker and permanent pacing wires on his heart. Thankfully this time it is not an open heart procedure - although there are some risks associated with attaching the wires to his heart. The surgeon visited us today to outline the procedure and possible complications, which include infection, bleeding and arrhythmia. The risk is highest for infection - and that is about 2% - so compared with Jacob's last two surgeries this one is much less complicated. The surgery should take about 1.5 hours, and Jacob is in the second surgery slot for the day. I don't know what time, but the nurses guessed it would be mid-morning when Jake is taken into the OR. One thing I'm thankful for - they decided not to reopen his chest, but are going in through his upper side under his arm instead. I asked the surgeon what made the team finally decide that Jacob needed this pacer, and his response was that they went with the safest option - just in case. Thank you Lord for guiding these doctors to the safest decision for my boy.
If Jacob had a normal heart and had developed Complete Heart Block, with his backup rhythm being steady in the 80s, he would not be receiving this pacer. Also, if Jacob had a different type of heart defect he likely would not be receiving this pacer, but with a single ventricle defect there are not enough case studies to prove that it is safe to rely on his backup rhythm so the doctors are erring on the side of caution. Another good thing - his pacer will be set to backup mode and will kick in only if his heart rate drops below 70, which should mean fewer long term complications from the pacemaker itself.
We are still in CCCU, but hopefully in a few days will be moving up to step down and 4D. The doctors are still having issues with Jacob's oxygen levels - up until last night Jake was regulating this well all by himself, but today they have been very low and he was hooked up to the nose oxygen tube. A chest x ray showed no issues and his blood work is normal, he has no markers for a problem other than general fussiness. It's incredibly frustrating when something is wrong, and your baby is acting like something is wrong, but the doctors and nurses all just shrug and say they have no idea what is causing the problem. Please pray! The other new issue is acid reflux which is causing him to gag when his belly is full, even though nothing is being given orally. Jacob is still being fed through a feeding tube, he receives my breast milk and a supplement called TPN through the IV. Jacob was weighed today and he has hit his birth weight again - exactly 8 lbs 5 oz. Today he got to wear clothing for the first time in his life - I was so happy to see that blue onesie on him! It's 0-3 months (the only size I brought up with us) and it's so tight that the middle button couldn't be done up - he's too long for the onesie!
I'm claiming Psalm 46 for my Super Baby as he faces tonight and tomorrow:
1God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble...
7The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Sweet dreams my little man. Soon we will be able to spend the nights together.
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