Post-Heart Surgery

Ava had heart surgery and is doing well. Praise God and thank you for the prayers. They made a 2 cm incision through the back of the rib cage. The surgeon said her blood pressure went up right after the gap was closed. (up in the good way). She is back in NICU III and on a ventilator. She will be on it for a day or two. She might need some blood through a transfusion but they are going to wait and see.

Ava - click to enlarge.

Elliot had a good day. He almost had to have the same heart surgery but they decided to wait. Her symptoms were more serious. He got upgraded to his first crib. He is out of the incubator. This means he reached the right weight (~4lb), can breathe on his own, and control his own temperature. In our world, this is right up there with taking his first step or first words. Plus, he got to wear his first t-shirt.

Did anyone notice? Of course not, in what is foreshadowing to be a lifelong pattern, his "older" sister upstaged him. She was born first. She had "heart surgery" on his big day. The nurses call her cute. The doctors call him "the wimpy white boy". This last part is not made up. There is consistent evidence that if you take 4 babies with the same characteristics but one is a black boy, a black girl, a white girl, and a white boy. They will graduate from the NICU in that order. The white boys have the most trouble. They say it is probably hormonal. It is most likely that he gets it from his dad.

While the "wimpy white boy" is said in jest, and with affection in a very stressful working environment, it will not go unanswered. His dad responded by ordering a set of mini boxing gloves from everlast.com. One set is blue and one set is pink. They both read "Not a Wimp" on them with a Sharpe. Elliot's has an extra special "WWB" with a circle and slash through it. They are taped to their cribs. You can see them in the picture below. Click to enlarge.