Adoption Story --- Part 8

In case you missed anything:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
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Monday morning we had to be at the hospital by 7:00 am. We were told that they would take her to surgery whether we were there or not. We barely made it. It was one of those terrible Utah Inversion Fogs!! We could barely see 2 car lengths ahead of us.

We got to the NICU just as they were getting ready to take her for the walk to the O.R. We accompanied her as far as they would allow us to go. When they took her I fell apart. I could not and still cannot fathom how they can do open heart surgery on a heart the size of a walnut.

We went to the waiting room where we were assured that they would keep us posted. The surgical nurse practitioner came out several times to update us. At about 1:30 Dr. Hawkins came through the door. He sat down by us and told us that everything went great. He handed me a small square of fabric with a hold cut out of the middle. The missing piece is now a patch in her heart. He told us that they needed about an hour to get her stabilized in her new home – the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care).

After many phone calls and lunch we went to see sweet Micayla. She was full of more wires and tubes than before. We counted 15 IV drug pumps. She was swollen. It was hard to see her that swollen. It seemed like she had 10 doctors and nurses that day, everyone looking out for her best interest. That night we learned that she does not have a thymus. This is the gland that produces T-cells which are the cells that help fight off illness - this is why we have to work extra hard to keep her away from sick people.

Through that day and the next several it was watch and wait. I spent between 12-18 hours a day right next to Micayla. We had friends and family come to visit. The day after her surgery was Utah Jazz day. John Stockton and his son came and talked to me and took a picture with Micayla. Since it was the holiday season Micayla was blessed to receive many gifts, blankets and afghans from people that we didn’t even know.

On December 15^th , the night before my birthday, I got a great gift. I got to hold Micayla for the first time since the night before surgery. I was so excited! She was breathing on her own, with just the oxygen tube in her nose. The gift that Matt and I wanted for Christmas was to be able to get Micayla well and out of the hospital before Christmas.

On December 17^th she was moved out of the ICU and into the “Infant Unit” this was supposed to be the stop before we were able to take her home. She pretty much just needed to eat. We were prepared that she might be going home with oxygen and medications.

To be continued.........