Monday, June 22, 2009

The Results.

Jack marched himself down to the cath lab and it began at 1:30. (remarkable..) They buzzed us around 3:30 and Dr. Gray explained the readings from the cath. The news was bittersweet. The heart function is good, pressures look great, and the only problem is that the left PA is small. Not narrow, small. And it should grow as Jack grows. That is all wonderful- however it doesn't present an obvious cause of the multiple pleural effusions. After the doc's bounced some theories off of eachother in front of Josh and I sitting there wondering what in the world they were getting at- they told us they'd talk to the surgeons and then get back to us.

Jack was in recovery screaming for me and fighting off the nurses holding his body straight, as you MUST lie flat for 6 hours after the cath to prevent bursting the arteries and veins that they used for the cath. Jack calmed a little and we went back to the room.

Dr. Kouretas came up in a timely manner and explained VERY CLEARLY what his thoughts were. He said there were 3 options, and described each, then plainly told us which one he thought was best for Jack. It is much easier talking to him than it is the little pack of doctor's that run in and out of our room. He has a way of explaining things in a way that we understand, without too much context and a confidence about him that makes us feel like the choice of what to do medically isn't left up to us... Love him.

So his decision was to do surgery tomorrow called "thoracic ligation" where he will tighten the thoracic duct to prevent the fluid from filling up and accumulating again. He says this should take care of the problem.

Though surgery wasn't exactly what we had in mind, after the fontan, we are comfortable with his choice and feel satisfied with the plan.

He will go in tomorrow sometime after noon. I'll let you all know tomorrow's events.

9 comments:

Allison said...

Oh wow. Truly not what you were planning on, but I sincerely hope that this is the right direction to take to keep you home for good. Poor Jack.... two days of NPO in a row. I hope that you guys can get some sleep tonight. As always, we're praying.

carter said...

Hang in there, you guys.

Mindi said...

Oh Lisa. Yuck. I wish I had something great to say, but all that comes to mind is just...yuck. I truly pray this is the answer for Jack and its all progress and forgetting this horrible little speed bump after tomorrow.

They actually grafted donor tissue into McKay's PA during his Glenn. I wonder if this serves the same purpose? Fill us in on the details of the surgery if you feel like it--it's a something I have not heard of and I'm curious.

You'd better be long gone when we get there next Tuesday, okay?

Hugs,
Mindi

Wright Family said...

We hope and pray that this surgery is the "fix" that Jack needs - that he recovers quickly and that you guys can go home - stay home -and move on with your lives. Your family will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. Jen...p.s. can they put in a picc line for blood draws while he is sedated for surgery?

Laura Lee said...

Good luck today! Sending prayers your way.

kimberlee shaffer said...

I will call your names in right now. I am sorry, I hope and pray this is the answer. Will be checking back for an update. love you all.

Jergs Family said...

Lisa,
I'm glad that you are at PMC and that you have a good surgeon whom you trust. What a blessing! Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with your family. I wish there was more that we could do!! Love you guys.
Monica

Liz said...

Good Luck today! The kids will be coloring pictures like mad and hopefully I can bring the pictures up to Jack myself. We will be checking for updates.

Andy's Mommy said...

As always, we are praying for Jack. Please keep us updated when you can. Hopefully, this will be your ticket out of Primarys for a while!

Much love to Jack and his family,
Amber and Andy