Pre Surgery

It's hard to explain the thoughts and emotions that we have experienced waiting for Owen's first heart surgery tomorrow morning. There is anxiety, fear, sadness, as well as a little bit of hope and excitement about what is going to happen and what the future holds.

We spoke with Owen's heart surgeon, Dr. Morales, and he walked us through the procedure and what they were going to accomplish. There have not been any surprises and they are going to add a PA band to restrict blood flow to the lungs, they will connect his pulmonary veins to promote better circulation, and they are going to correct a valve in his ventricle that was a little bigger than it should be.

Owen has been getting lots of loving pre surgery because it will be a little while before we are able to hold him again. We've been so lucky to be able to hold him and play with him these past two weeks and we know that more fun times are ahead.

Owen will be taken down to the OR around 6:30 am Thursday morning and they will begin the sedation process. After that, they will continue to prep and place the tubes and IV's for the procedure. We were told that they will make the first cut around 10. From there, we were told it should probably take 5-6 hours, but could go longer. This will without a doubt be the longest day of our lives. 

We again thank you all for the kind words, cards, gifts, prayers, and support. We had another great homemade meal delivered to us that was made by Holly Jackson and Aunt Carol. We also received a beautiful blanket with Owen's name embroidered on it from the Gloeckler's and some styling outfits and golf clubs from my sister Emily's boss Alison. We cannot wait to get home and enjoy all of these nice things that everyone has done for us.  

Owen has been awake and alert all day today. It is the most awake that he has been. It has almost seemed like he is letting us know that we can calm down and everything will be ok. 

It will be so hard to watch him off tomorrow but we know that he will fight and come out strong. He looked at his mom today and let her know "I got this!".