Surgery, round two

I know many people are anxiously awaiting news so I wanted to post a quick update to let you know how things are.  First off, right now, Christopher is doing well.  Breathe a sigh of relief and take a minute to thank God, the universe, whoever you thank, because Someone definitely held his hand (and heart) today through all of this.

Christopher came out of surgery sometime in the late afternoon and the surgeons came to tell us that things went very well.  They were able to repair the aorta nicely and even closed the tiny hole in his heart.  His blood pressure was a touch high but he was stable.

While we were waiting to be told that we could go in to see him in the ICU, we heard an overhead page for our surgeon to go to the ICU, stat (which means immediately).  Then, suddenly, it seemed that every doctor who has ever had anything to do with Christopher went running past the door of the room where we were waiting, all of them heading for the ICU and yelling for equipment and such.   One of them yelled, “Is it Christopher?” and when we heard the “yes” in reply…it was awful.

It turned out that when he got to the ICU, he was stable at first but then his blood pressure started dropping lower and lower.  His heart never stopped beating but the blood pressure got low enough that that was a serious concern.  One big concern in a cardiac patient right after surgery whose blood pressure drops is the potential for bleeding in the chest.  They actually reopened his chest in the ICU to look for serious bleeding and thankfully, there was none.

He was taken back to the operating room so that they could carefully look things over and make sure he wasn’t losing blood anywhere.   Everything looks fine and the surgeon just came back out to tell us that Christopher is stable now and will be going back to the ICU soon.  Hopefully we will be able to see him in the next hour or so.

Thank you, thank you for the prayers and positive thoughts.  Please keep them coming because as we’ve really discovered, getting through the surgery is just one step along the road.

 

Comments

[Gailnew2003]

Nikki & Brad - all the Crowley hearts are with you every step of the way - our "hotline" is very active and we're all checking constantly for updates. We're calling on all our "connections" for help for Christopher. Stay strong - you will ALL get thru this.

[Farandolae]

Oh my Nikki. I've been checking obsessively all day. I'm keeping the prayers & love coming to all of you and to his surgical team and his wee little body. He is definately a trooper and so are you all. Love and big cashmere hugs to you all.

[Peter Vos]

Nikki and Brad,
Our hearts and thoughts are with you.

Peter and Monica Vos

[Trina]

I am thinking about you constantly. I hope you're with him now.

[Lisa Gozzard]

Praying for you and your family and little Christopher! Praying that God is guiding the hands of all the many doctors and nurses that are caring for him. I thank God for CHEO and Sick Kids (without Sick Kids I wouldn't BE here!) and all the wonderful people there!
Thank you for the updates and I will continue to pray for your family!
May God bless you and keep you and hold you in the palm of His hand!
Lisa

[Carolyn Bell Moloney]

Nikki & Brad,
Just know Marty, Maia and I are saying our prayers and thinking of you all.
Carolyn.

[MK Murphy]

Sending prayers from St.Joe's and lighting a candle today - and sending hugs - for all of you - I am going away tomorrow - but please call Andy if you need him his phone is 613-233-4095 ext 222 or call the reception desk and ask them to have him call you-
the extension for reception is 0.

[Joyce Speirs]

Can't even begin to imagine how awful all this has been for the two of you..Kayle and I send all our love and prayers to you both and if there is anything at all that we can do please don't hesitate to ask. Give Christopher a big hug from us both.