They just finished. Linda said things went well. We will meet with Dr Hawkins in about 45 minutes to get the details. Thanks to everyone for all your prayers and support.
Michele
Monday, April 28, 2008
#3
We just spoke to Linda, the Cardio Nurse Practitioner. She was just in the OR and said things are going really well. He is almost done with the repair and then it will take a while to get her body temp back up and off of by pass. We should see her in another hour...
#2
They just made the incision and have officially started. We should hear from the NP with an update in an hour. The dreaded OR waiting room is surprisingly quiet this morning - thank heavens - I'm hoping is stays that way.
Update #1
Everything went smoothly this morning. We just kissed her good-bye about 30 minutes ago and she was so loopy from the Virsed that she didn't seem to mind at all. Dr Hawkins was shocked when he saw how big Taryn is (23+ lbs.) and he was very optimistic about the surgery, much more so than the last time we talked to him. He is concerned about having to make the VSD larger in order to create a good path, the length of time the band has been on her pulmonary artery, and possible valve damage. Because of her size the patch should grow with her heart, which would mean no more surgeries if this one is successful. We feel much better after meeting with him. They expect the surgery to last until around 1:30 or 2:00. They are just running lines and all that fun prep stuff right now. We will keep you posted as we get updates... 
Here she is in her cute hospital PJ's and a bit drugged.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Surgery Tomorrow
I tried to get this information posted all last week but there has just been so much to do and take care of. Sorry for waiting until the last minute...
Taryn is healthy and has been cleared for her surgery, which will be tomorrow (April 28th) at 7:30 am. We check in at 6:00 am and will meet with her surgeon, Dr Hawkins, at that time and he will give us the details on how he is planning to repair her unique Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV) and Ventricle Septal Defect (VSD) . I just returned from getting her pre-op stuff done and everything went well except that they weren't able to get a urine sample so I get to do that at home tonight, which should prove to be fun since we all know how skilled babies are at peeing on demand!
I have learned recently that some have received inaccurate information concerning Taryn's and our current situation so I am going to take this opportunity to answer some of the questions you either didn't know you had or don't dare ask me...
* The survival rate for Taryn's particular heart surgery is 70%. There is a 30% chance she won't make it. Her first surgery was 90%/10%.
* This is open heart surgery, which means they will stop her heart to work on it and she will be placed on heart & lung by-pass. Most likely they will not close her chest after surgery due to swelling and so that if something goes wrong they will have quick access to her heart.
* Babies very rarely die during OH surgery because they are on by-pass. If they are unable to successfully get them off by-pass then they come out of surgery on life support. It's generally the first 24 to 48 hours following surgery that complications arise they loose them. So, unfortunately once we hear she has made it through surgery we won't be able to have that "deep sigh of relief", just a shallow one.
* She will spend the first few days recovering in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). I will be sleeping at my Aunt Grace and Uncle Jim's house, which is 5 minutes from PCMC. (Thanks Grace & Jim!)
* We won't know until recovery whether or not Taryn will need a pacemaker. Once they close the VSD (hole between the lower two chambers of the heart) there is a strong possibility that her heart will not be able to "keep pace" on it's own. She will have an external pacemaker place post surgery and we won't know how her heart is going to do until they remove it. If she does need a pacemaker they will wait until she recovers from OH surgery before they put it in (most likely in her stomach).
* We just don't know how long she will be in the hospital. It all depends on how recovery goes. I'll let you know what Dr. Hawkins thinks. I'm planning on three weeks and hoping for less.
* The rest of the kids will be well cared for this week. Kim Welling, my sister-in-law, arrived yesterday and will be running the house and kids for the week. Kara Welling, another sis-in-law, is coming to relieve her on Friday. (Thanks Kim & Kara!)
* Taryn is healthier than she has been in 8 weeks and is now walking all over the place. She's got a fighting spirit and a little "spit fire" if she doesn't get her way.
* I AM OK. I did have to switch to water-proof mascara this week but I'm not a "basket case" by any means. As a distraction I attempted to do a weeks worth of Spring cleaning in two days, something I don't recommend. I went a bit overboard but kept thinking that every closet, base board and corner needed to be clean just in case things don't go well and someone tries to clean my house for me or looks in a closet...If you have OCD tendencies like I do you get where I'm going with this! I am not looking forward to tomorrow and the days ahead but know that Taryn needs this surgery if she is going to live a long, happy life, which is what I want more than anything for her! I'm praying that I will have strength to handle whatever the Lord has planned for Taryn and our family, no matter the outcome. I have faith that her heart can be repaired but struggle with the reality that other parents with faith greater than mine have lost their babies to odds that were better than ours.
I will post updates throughout the day tomorrow. I'm not sure how long surgery will be but expect it to be 6 to 8 hours, we'll get a better estimate in the morning. Kenny has the day off and will be with me. Thank you for all of the thoughts, prayers, fasting, and offers to help! We certainly couldn't do this alone and are grateful we don't have to!
Michele
Taryn is healthy and has been cleared for her surgery, which will be tomorrow (April 28th) at 7:30 am. We check in at 6:00 am and will meet with her surgeon, Dr Hawkins, at that time and he will give us the details on how he is planning to repair her unique Double Outlet Right Ventricle (DORV) and Ventricle Septal Defect (VSD) . I just returned from getting her pre-op stuff done and everything went well except that they weren't able to get a urine sample so I get to do that at home tonight, which should prove to be fun since we all know how skilled babies are at peeing on demand!
I have learned recently that some have received inaccurate information concerning Taryn's and our current situation so I am going to take this opportunity to answer some of the questions you either didn't know you had or don't dare ask me...
* The survival rate for Taryn's particular heart surgery is 70%. There is a 30% chance she won't make it. Her first surgery was 90%/10%.
* This is open heart surgery, which means they will stop her heart to work on it and she will be placed on heart & lung by-pass. Most likely they will not close her chest after surgery due to swelling and so that if something goes wrong they will have quick access to her heart.
* Babies very rarely die during OH surgery because they are on by-pass. If they are unable to successfully get them off by-pass then they come out of surgery on life support. It's generally the first 24 to 48 hours following surgery that complications arise they loose them. So, unfortunately once we hear she has made it through surgery we won't be able to have that "deep sigh of relief", just a shallow one.
* She will spend the first few days recovering in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). I will be sleeping at my Aunt Grace and Uncle Jim's house, which is 5 minutes from PCMC. (Thanks Grace & Jim!)
* We won't know until recovery whether or not Taryn will need a pacemaker. Once they close the VSD (hole between the lower two chambers of the heart) there is a strong possibility that her heart will not be able to "keep pace" on it's own. She will have an external pacemaker place post surgery and we won't know how her heart is going to do until they remove it. If she does need a pacemaker they will wait until she recovers from OH surgery before they put it in (most likely in her stomach).
* We just don't know how long she will be in the hospital. It all depends on how recovery goes. I'll let you know what Dr. Hawkins thinks. I'm planning on three weeks and hoping for less.
* The rest of the kids will be well cared for this week. Kim Welling, my sister-in-law, arrived yesterday and will be running the house and kids for the week. Kara Welling, another sis-in-law, is coming to relieve her on Friday. (Thanks Kim & Kara!)
* Taryn is healthier than she has been in 8 weeks and is now walking all over the place. She's got a fighting spirit and a little "spit fire" if she doesn't get her way.
* I AM OK. I did have to switch to water-proof mascara this week but I'm not a "basket case" by any means. As a distraction I attempted to do a weeks worth of Spring cleaning in two days, something I don't recommend. I went a bit overboard but kept thinking that every closet, base board and corner needed to be clean just in case things don't go well and someone tries to clean my house for me or looks in a closet...If you have OCD tendencies like I do you get where I'm going with this! I am not looking forward to tomorrow and the days ahead but know that Taryn needs this surgery if she is going to live a long, happy life, which is what I want more than anything for her! I'm praying that I will have strength to handle whatever the Lord has planned for Taryn and our family, no matter the outcome. I have faith that her heart can be repaired but struggle with the reality that other parents with faith greater than mine have lost their babies to odds that were better than ours.
I will post updates throughout the day tomorrow. I'm not sure how long surgery will be but expect it to be 6 to 8 hours, we'll get a better estimate in the morning. Kenny has the day off and will be with me. Thank you for all of the thoughts, prayers, fasting, and offers to help! We certainly couldn't do this alone and are grateful we don't have to!
Michele
Monday, April 21, 2008
Happy Birthday Michaela!
Michaela truned 10 years old yesterday...she is getting so grown up! She was excited to get an MP3 player and cute new clothes. We love you Michaela!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Easter Photos
The Kingsford Kids
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Taryn is walking...well sort of. I did some fun editing with this photo but yesterday she took four steps all by herself. She gets so excited that she looses her balance...too cute! She still has a junky cough but seems to be getting over her ear infection. Of course she's teething now and I'm hoping that's the source of the runny nose and restlessness at bed time. Her color is looking more blue this week so we are still praying that she will be well enough for surgery in a few weeks. Thanks for keeping Taryn in your thoughts and prayers.
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