The Cath Lab

Owen's next step was The Cath Lab. The Cath Lab would send a catheter through his groin and up into Owen's heart to measure the pressures of his heart, lungs, and to take some pictures to get a better idea of everything that was going on inside. Owen was going to have this procedure before his Glenn surgery (2nd heart surgery) regardless, so they decided to move it up in hopes of getting more answers on why he was having his desaturations.

The Cath Lab was scheduled for Thursday, September 18. This meant that we had about another week and a half to just hang out. Thankfully, they decided to let Owen have a break and not to subject him to anymore tests. Owen deserved the chance to sleep and play without being poked and prodded.  Owen loved this. He played and smiled and let Mom dress him up in some of his cool outfits that he wasn't really allowed to wear. Owen has only been allowed to wear outfits that button up because of the wires and frequent examinations.

He even got to show off some more of his dance moves

Owen still had his desats and it was clear that these would occur depending on the position that he was in. When Owen is held, he doesn't have any issues. When he is laying in bed is when these issues seem to occur. The results of his previous sleep study showed that he had some sleep apnea. Because of this, they decided to do a Flexible Bronchoscopy and Microlaryngoscopy which are two scopes that would go down through his nose to get a better look at his throat and lungs. The hope was that we would get a lot of answers from this procedure.

 Cath lab day arrived and the procedure began at 7:30 am. The Cath Lab was right next to where we were in the step down unit. We carried Owen to the lab and gave him some kisses. The entire procedure was supposed to take around 2-3 hours. After we dropped off Owen, we were told that we had to pack up our stuff and move back to the CICU where Owen would recover. We were hoping to get to stay in the step down unit, but the protocol was to go to the CICU. Because of Owen's previous arrythmia issues, the Cath doctors were fairly sure the procedure would trigger another event while the catheter was in his heart. The CICU was the safer option.

The two scopes went first and took less than an hour. A doctor from pulmonary and ENT stopped by to discuss the results around 8:30. Owen's tongue rests back in his mouth when he sleeps and causes some airway obstruction. They also noted that inside of his lungs, some of the lobes were a little floppy, which means when he exhales, they collapse a little bit more than normal. This was positive news because both seemed to contribute to his desaturations and both would hopefully be corrected with time and growth.

We hauled our stuff over to the CICU and waited to hear the results from the cath. The procedure finished up around 10:30 and we got word that Owen did great. He did not have any arrhythmia and had handled the procedure wonderfully. Owen was brought to the CICU and we discussed the findings with the doctors. The doctors explained that everything looked good and it appears that the main culprit, along with some of the airway obstruction, is that the PA band that was placed during surgery had gotten too tight. As Owen has grown, the band does not adjust and therefore gets tighter. The band was always going to be removed during the Glenn procedure, so now this gives even more reason to move it up and have it done sooner. Since Owen had done so well during the procedure and recovered well for about 4 hours after the Cath Lab, we were sent back to the step down unit.

The fact that so many people continue to reach out and support us has been incredible. We received special notes and gifts from The Folke's, The Klecka's, The Goodfellow's, Ken and Linda Graham, Barry, Amy, Mary, Will and Meg Fagel. We were treated to a nice dinner and gift for Owen and us from Amy Karpowicz. We also received a note from a special girl named Isabel Ganz. She ran a lemonade stand in Owen's honor and donated the proceeds to Owen the Little Warrior. We were so touched by her care, generosity, and selflessness and it was a special and surprising moment to she what she did for us. Thank you all so much for your thoughtfulness. It means so much to us to feel so loved and supported.

We will hopefully get more answers on the plan on Tuesday when the surgeons and doctors get together for a surgical conference to discuss the best plan going forward. Until then, we will be hanging out in the step down unit enjoying our time with our little warrior.