Work(ed)-Up Day

The time had come for Annie's surgery.  Matt and I both dreaded, yet awaited, this moment.  It was time to finally put what had been consuming us for months behind us.  We had 100% confidence in her hospital and surgeons. We had heard countless success stories of surgeries similar to Annie's.  We had our army of family, friends and even strangers praying for us.  But this was our baby girl, who was not even 9 pounds!  It wasn't just Annie's heart they had in their hands...they had ours! 

Sorry OSU fans....Annie will forever love U of M!

On Tuesday, March 4, we dropped kids #1-5 at my (brave) sister's house and headed up north to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital for Annie's "Work-Up" day; a day of pre-op tests and introductions to the hospital and team (but not before receiving an abundance of well-wishes, visits, blessings and love from our amazing community of support!)

Our friend, Father Sam, came over to give Annie a special blessing before we left. 

Our first stop was with a physical therapist/nurse combo who are doing a study on the effects of surgery/recovery on a child's physical development.  They examined Annie and scored her at the 50th percentile in meeting her milestones for a child her age. (This was based on a "typical" development scale, not one specific to Down Syndrome children)  They reported that she is strongest in head control and weakest in arm strength. (Time for some dumbbells!)  During this evaluation, Annie started barking a nasty cough. (She had shown signs of a cold over the weekend, thanks to all of the "in-your-face" loving she receives at home!)  We watched as the nurse and physical therapist exchanged worried glances, and the nurse said to us, "I just want to warn you, it's very likely that they won't be able to do her surgery tomorrow with a cough like that.  It elevates the risks from anesthesia even further." 

Well wasn't that just fan-freaking-tastic?

After the physical evaluation we headed down to x-rays.  In my opinion, chest x-rays are the most difficult procedure for me to watch Annie go through. (She ended up having 4 more during our stay!).  There just has to be a simpler way!  She was put in the chair-like contraption with her arms, legs and chin restrained, giving the appearance of this precious little one transforming into a mini- Hanibel Lector before our eyes.  She glared at us through her piercing eyes (the only thing on her body that could still move) and seemed to scream, "Why??"  The nurses always "assure" us that screaming is good....it opens the lungs and makes for a better picture.  Um, great?  Thankfully it was over quickly and she was treated to a milkshake bottle.

Oops!  I guess she wasn't supposed to have that bottle.....We were in a room waiting for the next step when a nurse came in to get us and gently scolded us for feeding her.  Apparently she was not supposed to eat for four hours before her echocardiogram.  They either forgot to tell us that during the pre-op phone call, or perhaps (and most likely) I forgot.  Hey, there was a lot on my mind! 

They proceeded with a very thorough physical, and after listening to her and viewing her chest xray, determined that her lungs were clear enough to go ahead with the surgery (and Matt and I proceeded to exhale.....postponing this was the last thing we wanted to do!)  They also decided to try a non-sedated echocardiogram and EKG, and Annie cooperated like the champ that she is!  No surprises in either test.

Trying to get an accurate blood pressure on a squirmy baby is not an easy task!

A doctor met us back in the exam room to explain the surgery, and potential risks, in great detail.  This made me squirm.  A friend of ours, who has also had a baby undergo surgery, described this talk best when she compared it to a steak.  I don't want to hear the gory details of how it got to my plate; just get it to my plate. 

I don't want to hear what you'll be doing, or what could happen, to my baby; just get her back to us.

The last step to this long day was her bloodwork and it went flawlessly, thanks to a fast-working tech.  By the time she realized she'd been poked and released her scream, it was all over.  We declined a tour of the hospital.   We figured (correctly) we'd have plenty of time to get to know the place.

All the while this was going on, Annie's friend, Vincent, was undergoing and recovering from his surgery.  We are grateful to our cardiologist back home for requesting the kid's surgeries be scheduled together.  Their presence down the hall from us made the long days much more bearable!  I told Vincent's parents that chilvary is not dead, and that he went first in order to assure Annie (and Annie's Mom and Dad) that they would both breeze through this!  Many times throughout our days in the hospital, I noticed their brave little faces giving us looks like, "Heart surgery?  Yeah, no big deal."

We checked into our hotel (which was conveniently located right within the hospital) and relaxed for the evening, enjoyed Annie snuggles and, in the silence of our minds and hearts, stormed Heaven with our final prayer requests........

Annie and Daddy hanging out before her big day!

Her last bare-chested picture before surgery. Hard to imagine.......