today was the day.

*i want to start with a disclaimer that this post will have pictures from today.  they may feel graphic to you.  if you can't handle graphic, you have been warned.*

shilo six days before we were admitted.

shilo when she was first admitted and intubated.

shilo this morning before surgery.

all of shilo's pumps.

post surgery.

post surgery.

post surgery

post surgery

surgery went well.  there are lots of technicalities with it, but i'll try to keep to the basics.  shilo had three holes, instead of the two that are common in an av canal.  so she has three patches.  she also has another defect called cor triatriatum that we knew about but weren't sure if it would need repaired because the membrane wasn't all the way acrossed.  but apparently once the holes were closed, it would have grown closed as well, so they removed that membrane.
she also has pulmonary hypertension (very common with an av canal as well) and so she is on nitrous oxide to help bring the pressure in her lungs down for now.  they closed the skin in her chest, but not her sternum to make certain that she would pace her heart by herself (if not they will just put in a pacemaker) and to give her belly some time to get rid of some of the air before they close her completely.
for that reason she is on meds that paralyze her for now.  she will come off of those, but still be on her sedatives once the sternum is closed.  and she can come off of her sedatives once she is ready to be extubated.
so there's all the medically talk.  jason and i are doing really well.  we cried when we handed her off.  we spent about nine hours in a waiting room before we could come back and see her again.  the nurse came every hour to update us and tell us how things were going.  we felt incredibly peaceful all day, and even seeing her afterwards wasn't as traumatic as we thought it might be.
the doctor said he really thought shilo would have a rough first night with lots of ups and downs.  and while the night is by no means over, she has been stable as can be.  we are just continuing to pray for a very fast recovery, but are so grateful tonight for an amazing surgeon, great nurses, and technology to make this all possible.
also, after being here for two months, people start to know you.  i can't even count the number of doctors, nurses, and r.t.'s who stopped by today to tell us how glad they were she was having surgery, and ask how she was doing (and just to see her).  abigail's pulmanologist has stopped by multiple times, and has even asked how jason and i are doing with all of this.  so while there have been some frustrating things while we have been here, the overall tone has been one of being well taken care of, and our little being in great hands!!