Act II

So Dr. Su (Cardiologist) spoke with Dr. Kouretas (surgeon) ... TWICE, just to make sure- and we are a go for surgery. Though Dr. Kouretas would like Jack to be bigger, Dr. Su pointed out that if we wait till Jack is of "optimum weight" he will be 7 years old. So Dr. K said that he feels comfortable putting in the 18 gauge, versus the 20 gauge- which is the size of choice, so as Jack grows, there will be a good flow of oxygenated blood. So though we will most likely be putting in the 18, Dr. Su says that he has many many patients that have had an 18 put in that have not needed to come back for an upgrade.

If, for some reason Jack DOES become some, huge adult (by some anti-genetic miracle), then the risk of having another surgery to upgrade the 18 to the 20 is just the same as the surgery he is about to have, but as Dr. Su said, "the more times you open the chest, the riskier it gets."

SO, we are hoping that the 18 will be perfect for Jack, and last him his whole, long life. I also asked Dr. Su about the distant future, and what he projects, and he said he can't really predict the long-term outcome, but that Jack won't necessarily be one of those 50 year-olds carrying around an oxygen tank. He also agrees with me that Jack is one of the better candidates for this surgery, as his half-heart is very strong.

So now, we are scheduling a SEDATED echo, (because there is no chance in the world Jack would hold still enough for an awake one..) which will be next week, and tomorrow the surgical nurse will be calling us to set a date for surgery. I anticipate that it will be middle to the end of March, but I will certainly let you all know when we find out.