~The Speth Family~: He went in for a tune up and got an overhaul....

Thursday, January 20, 2011

He went in for a tune up and got an overhaul....

Today I love Dr. Gray. He is the cath Dr.

Ammon's cath turned out a little different than we expected. When the same day surgery nurse called yesterday she told me they had booked a room for Ammon, just in case. I laughed at her. She is probably laughing at me now :) The intention pre-cath was to balloon the aorta and possibly the stent in the LPA. After it was all said and done they had balooned the LPA stent, the right carotid artery, another artery that leads to the brachial artery and put a stent in his aorta. He will also be on oxygen until his Fontan (3rd surgery @ 30 lbs) to help alleviate an abnormally high pressure in the LPA (his is 19 and ours is right around five - if it doesn't come down he might not be a candidate for the Fontan). His sats look good.

The narrowings that they ballooned are not new, they just haven't grown with him and that is a concern. The carotid atertery leads to the brain and was seriously narrow, but luckily they think he has been getting blood to the brain through the left carotid artery. The artery that leads to the brachial something or other is malformed (which we already knew) so they ballooned it just to make sure it stayed open. The new stent is in his aorta and since Ammon has grown some, Dr. Gray was able to use an expandable one that can be ballooned periodically and last into adulthood. (As opposed to the other stent which will have to be cut out or cut open and patched during his Fontan.)

These unexpected "maintenance" issues always remind me of the fact that Ammon's road is going to be pretty bumpy and that I need to have patience as Heavenly Father works with us and teaches us to be better than we are.

Anything else? They put us in the CICU for the night for observation. Its been super fun to see and talk to everyone, but I am super glad that we should be out of here some time tomorrow.

Same Day Surgery waiting room


Pre-procedure exam


Discovering his IV

pre-op room

post-cath

When he finally got to eat he guzzled five ounces (personal best!)

They wouldn't let him sit up for 6 hours - he was not happy about that!

3 comments:

Tyler & LauraJanuary 21, 2011 at 6:19 PM
We are praying for you guys :)
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OurEyeWitnessJanuary 29, 2011 at 3:47 AM
Suzi,
My name is Teala Wilson. I have been reading your blog since last May when my baby Gideon was in the CICU at PCMC and I met Amy Sabin and started following her blog about beautiful little Annie. I saw your husband one time, but I didn't meet him, I just recognized him from the pictures. I found your blog when I was "blog hopping" looking for other parents with my baby, Gideon's same CHD. He does not have the same condition as Ammon, but I LOVED the way you write and the way you are with your children and the way you are dealing with life. Just wanted to let you know that you are inspiring someone you don't know, who thinks your family is pretty great. We are inspired by Ammon's incredible progress as well. He is very handsome and your girls are beautiful! We will be back again. :)
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UnknownJanuary 31, 2011 at 7:37 PM
wow - Thanks Teala, that was really sweet and its nice to hear that people care about us! Good luck with your son's health!
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