The first procedure
Corey had an 8:00 AM echo, which he slept right through. Good job, Baby! We met with the pediatric cardiology team afterward, and their prenatal assessment was reversed. They had previously thought he would be getting too much blood to his lungs and require a pulmonary band not long after birth, but the opposite appears to be the case. He was born looking very good, with O2 sats in the 90s, and stable, but the echo caused the PCs some concern with his ASD and VSD defects (which he depends on, given the lack of a tricuspid valve). They decided to do his first procedure, a procedural catheterization called Balloon Atrial Septostomy done through his groin (so not an open heart surgery), in order to maintain his ASD and keep his circulation (that must bypass the area where the tricuspid valve should be) strong. We heard this news, and though we knew something like this was on the horizon, we both started to cry. Our little guy was going to have to go through this procedure, and he wasn't even a day old! Poor baby!I immediately asked a nurse to get me into a wheelchair and get me to the NICU to spend as much time with Corey as possible prior to the procedure. We did. Then we waited as he had the procedure. The seconds ticked by slowly. Finally the PCs came by to tell us that he had done beautifully, thank God, and that he looked great! One down! Good job, Baby! We went to see him as soon as we could. Damian also took Shawn, Amanda, and the 3 present grandparents in to see him. He looked really good. Hooked up to a few tubes still, but good. I was thankful that I had prepared myself by looking at pictures of other heart babies before that moment. It made it easier to tolerate. Though seeing your baby with an oxygen tube in his nose and an IV line in his tiny little hand is never easy.
Jenn
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