Tuesday, November 18

Alexis was born October 28th, at 10:36 a.m. At birth the doctors found a heart murmur. Our family physician thought it was probably a mild murmur, but suggested we have it looked at by a cardiologist "just in case". We had an echo-cardiogram done at BVH on Thursday, November 13th. On Friday, November 14th, we met with the cardiologist at the BVH. He looked over the test results and was concerned with Lexi's results. He immediately admitted her to "the special care unit", and before we knew it she was being transported by ambulance to the Nationwide(Columbus) Children's Hospital.

This is a picture of when I was first born.
This a picture of my sweet ambulance ride.

This is me after my surgery.

Alexis went in for surgery for coarctation (narrowing) of the aorta on Monday, November 17th. It was a very long day. She started surgery prep at 11:00 a.m. and was done at 3:30 p.m. Basically during the surgery the surgeon cut out the damaged part of the aorta, stretched the good parts and stitched it back together.

Here is some amazing news and proof that God was watching over her: Every baby is born with a third "valve" in their heart. Within 3 weeks this "valve" closes itself off and your heart then uses the remaining two valves for the rest of your life. Miraculously, Alexis' third "valve" had not yet closed. The usually happens by day 21 of life, Alexis was 19 days old. This delay in her third valve closing quite literally saved her life. If it had closed before surgery her heart would have gone into cardiac arrest. Praise the Lord he sent the right doctors to diagnose this problem at the right time, because time was literally running out for her. We got her to the right hospital and the right doctors at the right time.

She seemed to do well during the surgery and were hopeful for a speedy recovery. They told us we would be able to see her about 45 minutes later and we could possibly even hold and feed her later that evening.

However, during the recovery process some compliations arose. We were finally able to see her almost 3 hours later. Her blood pressure was very high and having a difficult time regulating itself. Her heart was used to pumping through the kinked aorta. After surgery her heart continued pumping blood too hard which resulted in her high blood pressure. Her blood glucose level was also very high, resulting in an insulin drip. She was also kept on the breathing tube to help her breathe. All of these complications were the result of her body dealing with the stress of surgery and her body trying to adapt to her new heart configuration. Because of her stress and blood pressure she was temporarily paralyzed after surgery so she wouldn't move around and cause more stress or damage. It was difficult to see her little body hooked up to so many tubes and equipment, but also a relief to see that she had come through the surgery and that obstacle was behind us.

That's the background information. Today's Tuesday, November 18th-a.m update is:

Alexis is basically the same as last night, although she is beginning to be a little more alert, which is an encouraging sign. She is also off of her insulin, which is another positive step. She has developed liquid on her lungs, which should be able to be taken care of with medication. The doctors expect her to be on her breathing ventilator for another 24 hours and are working to wean her off the machine a little at a time today.

Here are some specific prayer requests:
She needs to regulate her blood pressure with less medication, and come off the breathing machine before she can move from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. We are hopeful this can happen within the next couple of days, but really have to take her recovery plans a day at a time.

Check back daily - we hope to update this each morning and evening to let you know how you can pray. We appreciate all of the prayers and support! Some have asked how best to contact us. We are currently staying at the Ronald McDonald house but it is easiest and fastest to receive mail at our home address. Family is there each day with the twins and are up here almost every day and are able to deliver mail to us.

Love from Alexis Mae!

Cherie & Jon