Thursday, April 16, 2009

Oh Ems!!

Surgery day TODAY! We arrived at Primarys at 6am. Met with the new surgeon, Dr Kaza. Got all the details and headed into the surgery waiting room. They gave her drug to help speed up her heart so the anesthetics would work quickly. The anesthesiologist came and took her from me. They put her to sleep with a gas mask, then went to work with the IV's. She had one in her neck with a couple of openings, one in her ankle and one in her wrist. The surgery started around 9am. By 10am we got word that things were going well, she was still on the heart/lung bypass machine but they were getting close to finishing up. We got a call around 10:30am, they took her off the machine after testing her heart and all was well. the surgeon spent another 45minutes to and hour before he came out and met up with us. I was so relieved to know that it was done and she did amazingly well! I cried tears of joy and so much relief!



The doctor said the VSD (hole between the left and right ventricle) was very large. He also found a second hole called a PFO between the left and right atrium. He closed both holes and she was being sent to the pediatric intensive care unit. We got to see her after about an hour! It was so hard to not pick her up and love her. She struggled for the first few hours. Her heart rate was very high, they slowed it down. Then she stopped breathing and turned blue, I was the only one watching her. I screamed and man, those docs are so calm and patient about things! I about lost it on them, but they were doing their job and she recovered quickly. As of now we are 6 hours out of surgery and she is sleeping soundly. Pain is under control and they are keeping her mildly sedated.
The doc took out her breathing tube before they left the O.R. usually its in for a day or more, she was doing well. The surgeon was amazing, he is so impressed with her strength. The docs (there are 3 or 4 watching her) have said maybe tomorrow she will go out on the floor, or Saturday. Usual stay is 3-5 days in the intensive care unit, then 3-5days on the floor. So she is doing really well. We are happy with how things are going and can't wait to get through these few ups and downs, its SOOO hard to watch your baby suffer and not be able to just pick her up. (maybe tomorrow I can hold her)
*prob a lot of grammar errors, its been a long day :)
With a of the info and details we have received, Emily shouldn't have been doing as great as she was. We know it is all of the prayers being said in her behalf. I can't thank you all enough! Please keep them coming!!!
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bunny sack races

The kids...Justis won!

The girls/moms.... Corina won! (barely ;)

The boys/dads... it was close but after camera review...Keith wins! Go Arnell fam!!
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Ben is 30 years old!!

Happy Birthday to you!! Ben has hit a milestone, 30 years old!! He has set many goals for himself and has done amazing things. We are so proud of him and so grateful for all he does for us! Love you B!

Ben has wanted the Amazon Kindle 2. He has dropped more than hints about it and even said he was just going to order it for himself. It was hard to keep the secret from him. I had it hiding for about 6weeks!! Phew, pulled it off! He is loving it!
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Easter Sunday



It was a great day, we had all of the family together and the kids had a great time. Em and Liv even dressed up for the occassion. Ab and Iz got some fun rain gear (their fav thing), and some garden tools to help dad outside.
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Sunday, April 5, 2009

Home for now!


We are home for now waiting on the call. For those who aren't aware. We went in last Wednesday for a sedated echo and then planned on staying the night for observation and surgery first thing Thursday morning. We got and Aprils fools joke that wasn't too funny! While Emily was sedated and getting her tests done. We were told that her surgery would be postponed because the PICU is too full. The PICU is the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. They would have to watch Emily there after surgery to make sure she recovered well before be admitted to a room. Later that night, we were told that Emily's heart surgeon was just diagnosed with a deadly cancer and would not have been available to perform the surgery. We know that Lord is in charge and its obvious that it wasn't meant to be for Thursday and only He knows why.

For now, we are on call and the twins are happy to be together again. We are suppose to know more on the dates by Monday or Tues (I hope). We are trying to be patient and Emily is hanging in there. I know it is because of the prayers and fasting on her behalf, keep em coming! Thanks for all the love and support, it means so much to our family.
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Izza's tent

She started out with just a couple of burp cloths wrapped around the edges......

Then we lost Olivia, can you see her? (no babies were harmed during the tent game)


Izza had a blast and Olivia had no clue so it worked out for all of us!

She stood back a few times during the process with her hands on her hips asking us if it looked perfect. She would answer her own questions with, not quite perfect, and add something else to it. She placed toys in exact places and well as some pants, plenty of blankets, and stuffed animals! We love Iz!
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Emily: sedated echo cardiogram

1. Blood draw, so they can get her blood type and have it on hand for the surgery. 2. The IV is in, after TWO pokes, poor girl!



3. Right after the sedation, we just found out about the postponing of her surgery! 4. Awake and playing, she loved the new toy that was taped to her! (IV). She ate right away with no throwing up, rare I guess!

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Cousins


The newest cousins in the fam. We have Olivia, Emily, and Elliette. Pretty soon they will be running around causing trouble together! Who will be the ring leader??
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