I just wanted to take a minute to update everyone on Carson's surgery. Carson had open heart surgery on June 24th to repair his Tetralogy of Fallot. We were extremely excited for him to have the surgery, but nervous about it at the same time. Pre surgery, Carson had a blue tint to his skin, especially his hands & feet, his oxygen level was 65-70 and he would tire very easily eating a bottle. The surgery went very well. It took about 4.5 hrs and they had no unexpected problems. Immediately following surgery, Carson was a beautiful pink color. I couldn't believe it!
He looked so good, but the recovery is really the hard part. He has had a very slow recovery. Carson likes to do things at his own pace. He took his time leaving the NICU as a preemie & he is doing the same thing now. He was in the PICU for 5 days & is now recovering on the 3rd floor of Peyton Manning's Children Hospital in Indianapolis. John & I rotate each day & sleep in the room with him. One with Carson & one with the other kids....it is exhausting some days.
Carson's incision, heart & breathing are doing great. However, he is not eating well. He is on a special formula that is not very popular with the babies. It tastes terrible & he does not want to eat. The formula has a higher calorie count & has no fat. Of course, it doesn't take good. Fat is what makes food good, right? He now has a feeding tube to help him receive the nutrition he needs. This is allowing him to get rest & we can get some rest too!
We are so grateful for the family (especially my sister, Jenn) & friends that have helped us through this moment. We could not be more pleased with the success of Carson. He is off his oxygen, his fluid drainage from his chest is slowly decreasing & he had his last IV removed today. We are hoping he comes home soon. We are all anxious to snuggle & squeeze on him.
I will post some pictures later this week. Thank you for all the thoughts & prayers.
