MRI

Miraculously we made it to hospital by 5:30 am this morning.  I hope I don't get a quiz on everything I was told today because I don't remember being this tired in a long time.  Time change coupled with anxiety... sleep just wasn't happening for me last night. 

 Brad and Logan on the other hand slept until the last possible minute.  Logan woke up asking for a drink so I was nervous it would be a hard morning, but with a little distraction (a new toy to take with us) and a binky we made it through.  He immediately cries when we start leaving telling us he doesn't want to go to the doctors anymore.

Breaks my heart. 

 

Our morning documented with pictures...

 Thank you to whomever gave him this Tow Mater.  It was the perfect toy for today.  The toy talks every time it moves so he was saying funny things to us all morning as the stroller bumped along.

 Then they just happened to have a Tow Mater Christmas pillow case for him today. 

 

In the next few pictures you will see the progression of a drug called versed.

   Here is he all nervous on my lap.

 Then he got a little crazy and loopy.

 And eventually relaxed enough to forget we were at a hospital and enjoy a good movie.

And then to where he didn't even need me to hold him.  He was giving the anesthesiologist high fives and everything.  He was cracking us up.  It is never easy to kiss this little guy goodbye.

 

The plan was to start with an MRI and then if needed they would send him directly into the cath lab with the same anesthesia team.  We waited a good 2 hours for the MRI to be completed and the images read.  Once Dr. Rome got the data from the MRI he decided it was not beneficial at this time to do a cath.  This was good news and not good news at the same time.  Obviously we weren't excited to send him into the cath lab, but a theory on his poor exercise capacity was that maybe he had arterial collaterals that could be coiled off in the cath lab. That theory is ruled out.

 

He was a little upset waking up from the anesthesia, but once he got his "stuff" and mom he settled right down. 

We were prepped and given instructions for surgery day on Monday.  It is hard to believe it is here.  After so much waiting and prepping we are really here and it is happening.

When Brad and I had to make the decision on hospitals the surgeon was definitely the main reason we came back to CHOP, but the facility was a huge part of the decision too.  The after care of surgery is a BIG deal.  I saw a shirt a nurse was wearing today that had a big target on the back and it said something about meeting a goal.  I asked her about it.  She said that is was to celebrate they have gone almost 2 years on the cardiac floor with NO hospital infections (things like staph infections and things from central lines, IV's etc.).

 THAT IS HUGE.

  Infection is a huge fear of mine and something I have watched way too many heart kids battle that shouldn't have to worry about things like that.  I am happy we are here.  We prep Logan for 3 days prior to surgery with special wipes for his body, ointment for his nose, and a mouth wash to try to have his body as clean and germ free as possible for surgery.  So we have the weekend to relax and hopefully not go crazy before his big day Monday.