Surgery

So since the last update a lot has changed...we are having surgery, in fact it is happening as I type this update. Karter's spells began to become more intense and more frequent. They feared that if they did not take action now that they might not be able to pull her out of a spell; therefore, she was set up last night for surgery first thing this morning. They let me know at about 6:00 last night that she would be their first case. They felt that her heart just could not make it much longer without taking action. Jeremy came down first thing last night and we were able to stay the night with her in the ICU. However, I was sent to bed at about 3:00 this morning by Nurse Libby. Now you have to understand that Nurse Libby was not Karter's nurse last night but actually had the kiddo next door. She has attached herself to our little angel though calling her Princess Karter. So when Karter aroused at three this morning Miss Libby took over the duties of holding her through the rest of the morning. I really just think that she wanted to hold Miss Karter before she was sent back to surgery. I do believe that our Nurse Sarah then took over for Nurse Libby's other patient so that she could continue to hold her throughout the morning. It is amazing to me to see how many nurses have attached themselves to Karter. They actually usually fight over who gets to sit in her room at night to hold her. In fact there were many times that we heard of Nurses just going in their to hold her even if she was dead asleep! I love it how they make it a very loving environment from her and treat her as if she was their own child. The Nurses here at Children's are AMAZING!!!

Now on to her surgery. It should take anywhere from 6-8 hours. They took her back at 9:20 this morning. She will be on a bypass machine for her heart and lungs. They may have to replace her pulmonary valve with a fake one but they are hoping to save it. It is a 50/50 chance that they will have to replace it. She will also have in place a temporary pace maker for her heart. This pace maker could become a permanent part of her life but we will not know about it for days after surgery. If it does become permanent then she will have another surgery before we leave to insert it to be permanent. She will also have many tubes and lines inserted in order for them to be able to better access her throughout surgery. As we know more I will defiantly post updates on my Facebook and I will post on here as soon as she is out. Please pray for our fighting angel!

A note from Nurse Libby!

Daddy & Karter before she headed back.

Holding her duckie sucking away on her passie.

Mommy & Karter getting some last minute loving.

Much love,

The McHams'