Last week in Edmonton

Hey Everyone!

So, I tried putting together a post with an update about how our trip to Edmonton went last week, and it just wasn't happening...so, I decided to just post the emails we sent out to our family while we were there. I should be hearing from Hannah's Cardiologist today regarding how they want to proceed for surgery, so I'll be sure to post about that when I can.

In the meantime, here's what you missed...

Sent December 2, 2009 (I wish I could put the times, but they didn't post right in my email):

Hi Everyone!
I just wanted to send an update to everyone...

Hannah is currently with the Doctors. Craig went with her while they put her to sleep, and apparently she had the room laughing! They were asking her about Santa, etc and she made it very clear that she wanted a My Little Pony for Christmas! She wasn't breathing hard enough for the face mask to work, so quick-thinking Craig asked Hannah to show the Drs how she can whistle. That did the trick and she was out quick!

Today they are doing several tests on Hannah. First, they are going to see if there are co-laterals being formed. If they are in the right places and the right size, they will coil them off. If they can't do that, they will just be sure that the surgeons know about them for her next operation, and they will address them then.

Second, they are going to inject a small bubble of Carbon Dioxide into her system to see if any bad blood is mixing where it shouldn't. This "could" be the cause of Hannah's fatigue and blue-ness. If there is bad blood mixing, then they will address it appropriately.

Finally, they are going to do an echo of Hannah's aorta from inside. They're going to put a tube down her throat to do this. She has always had some narrowing in this area and they want to see if there is a cause for it.

All in all, along with the tube, she will have small incisions in her groin and throat/neck from the catheters. If they only get images and no procedures are done, they will likely discharge her tonight. Otherwise she'll spend the night. Either way we'll be in Edmonton for one more night.

Once Hannah is done and settled in her room, we'll give the parents a call to let them know how things went. Brothers and sisters...please touch base with them since we won't be able to call each of you individually. For those on Facebook, I'll do my best to post updates there too.

Thank you for your support and positive thoughts!
Love,
Sharon

Sent December 2, 2009:

Me again...

Just another update...she's out and we get to see her in a few minutes. The Cardiologist said everything looked and went great! I'll update more later on after we see her. They said that provided that she does well in the next 6 hours, she will not have to spend the night!

Keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming...they're working!!!!

Love,
Sharon

Sent December 3, 2009:

Good Morning!!

Well, we've been discharged and are going to head back to Calgary shortly. It was a long night at the hospital, but thankfully not because of anything heart related. Between the bells, buzzers and crying children, Hannah and I didn't get much shut eye. Hannah also woke up around 3:30 this morning screaming. She was still asleep, and it took a nurse shining a bright flashlight in her face to wake her up. My fear is that she is developing night tremors from this hospital visit, but we're not jumping to conclusions, and we're hoping that a good night in her own bed will make things better for her.

As for Hannah's heart, her levels stayed in the appropriate ranges all night, and she's back to eating well. The Doctor up here that did her cath is sending the images they got to our Cardiologist in Calgary and they are going to present her at conference next week. Once they discuss what things look like, they're going to call us and give us the long-term plan. Apparently there are two ways to do Hannah's next operation, the Fontan, and the surgeon that has been assigned to Hannah does a method that doesn't rely on weight for success. So, there's a chance that her next operation will happen sooner than expected...now that we're not waiting for Hannah to gain more weight.

Well, I'm off. I just took a shower to get rid of the "hospital funk" and we're going to check out of the hotel in a few.

I'll be sure to update you all once we hear back from Cardiology next week.

Have a great rest of the week!
Sharon

Have a great week everyone!!
Love,
Sharon