Post-op

Arabella is recovering well, and so far she's experiencing very typical symptoms following such a procedure. We're all so very proud of her.

The surgeons made an incision somewhere between her ribs on her left side (you can see the drainage tube in the photo above). They used an instrument to spread her ribs apart very slowly, went around her lung to reach the PDA, and then used sutures to close it. It's quite an invasive procedure, and we were so relieved to have her back safe from the operating room.

Your mind will definitely take you places. The anxiety I felt reminded me of the day Arabella was born. You're tired, weak, and you feel like you're beside yourself.

Now we must patiently wait for her to recover. The ligation of her PDA basically changes the entire way her body deals with blood flow. Her blood pressure was a lot higher following surgery, and it will be for some time. They've since given her medication to help bring it down. The staff are being very diligent and are monitoring her very closely, of course. 

She's on extra morphine which should keep her calm and relaxed as the general anesthesia wears off. 

Since Belle's been back from the OR, she's had a heart echo and a chest x-ray to make sure she's okay. 

She was knocked-out all day and into the late night when we finally left her bedside. She barely opened her eyes and would occasionally flinch or move an arm or a leg. Poor girl has been through a lot.

We spoke to her a lot today, trying not to over-stimulate her with too much touching. I placed my finger into her hand at one point and she gave me the most delicate squeeze back. 

That was all I needed. It was enough 💜