The Big Day Approaches

Last Wednesday we went for Mason's cardiology appointment, and it went a little roughly for him. He tolerated the echo for about 15 minutes, and then he let us know that he was done and we should be, too. After that, the poor nurse didn't stand a chance of getting his oxygen saturation levels or finishing the EKG. He screamed until Chris and I were both so tense that we could have snapped. She did manage to weigh and measure him, though, and we were really excited to find out that he weighed 12 pounds and 9 ounces, just one ounce shy of a 3-pound gain since last month! (I weighed him last night, and he weighed around 13 and a half pounds, so we're making HUGE progress now.)

Eventually Dr. Kaushik was able to get some readings from the oxygen monitor. It got up to 92, but it was in the 70s a lot of the time because he was so upset. It's taking him longer to recover now when he has a crying spell, so Dr. Kaushik said this was the perfect time for surgery. She stayed with us for a long time, answering questions. I had asked her if he would face any developmental setbacks after surgery, and Dr. Kaushik told us that they do believe there's some neurological impact from being on bypass, so Mason might have some learning difficulties later in life. She shared that she had undergone bypass surgery when she was 10 and that two of her best friends were tet babies like Mason, and all of them are cardiologists, so that made me feel a lot better. I took that as a promise that Mason will be a cardiologist someday. Haha!

Two days later we got the call from the surgeon's (Dr. Christian) office, and we scheduled surgery for next Wednesday, October 14th. So now we're trying to get everything set up, including direct blood donation, for the big day. Dr. Christian's manager turned in all the paperwork for Ronald McDonald house, so we should find out pretty soon if we'll get to stay there. Mason will be in the PICU for 24-48 hours, and then he'll move out to the floor if everything is going well. Dr. Kaushik told us that he would be at Vanderbilt for at least a week to two weeks, so we're preparing for a long time away from home.

I'm getting more nervous as the 14th approaches, and I'm still having a hard time watching Mason undergo all the little tests and pricks. I had a breakdown on Saturday after we waited for 90 minutes so that Mason could have his blood typed; it was a miserable experience. It seems so unfair that he has already been through way more medical stuff than lots of people will ever endure, but I know...Mom always reminded me that life isn't fair. Besides, I try to focus on all the good and stay positive because I know he's in the best hands. Now all we can do is wait and keep praying!