Just gotta keep going... 2 weeks exactly.

I've just got to get through these details regarding surgery and then I think I'll be feeling better! Ok, let's get to it!

What will happen during the surgery?: (con't)

So, on wee babes, after the surgery, they close the skin on the chest, but they actually leave the breastbone open because the heart will be quite swollen. They will sew it back together in a few days once the swelling has gone down and she is stable. I don't think we'll see any of this, as she'll have a wrap of gauze around her that covers the incision.

This part I don't really like, but I do understand it, I suppose. I just don't like the idea of her being "wide open". I guess a few days post-surgery, they will have to do that mini bit of tidy up, though I am not sure when that will be. Hopefully it won't take long, or too much anaesthetic. Well, I mean, I hope they use an adequate amount of course, but geesh. Anyways...

There is also a chance they might put a tube called a peritoneal disalysis tube under her belly button into her kidneys to help drain any extra fluid. This could be removed a few days post, as well.

Another chance thing that might happen is that her heart rhythms aren't quite normal, or beat uncoordinatedly. The surgeon will place temporary pacemaker wires next to her heart after the surgery and leave the wires coming out of her skin, so that if needed, they can hook her up to an external pacemaker if her rhythms get too out of whack.

This is another one I shouldn't think about too much. Still, very Borg-ish. Poor robot baby. She will be temporarily run by machines. Though at least the machines are on our side... Yes, I do appreciated everything those machines can do.

These pacemaker wires can apparently be removes as easily as stitches. Just pull 'em through.

Another tube coming out of Piper will be some chest tubes. These will be draining extra fluid, air and blood away from the heart as it heals. These tubes will be placed in there after the surgery, before she heads to the ICU.

Will they stick out of her chest, too? Or will they pop out the side, kinda like a garden hose? I am not too sure. Apparently, they are hooked up to a machine that makes suction and "soft bubbling noises". The nurses keep an eye on these to make sure they are not becoming clogged or unconnected, and that she is keeping an adequate level of healthy fluids.

Done. That was the worst of it. The rest of this chapter is all recovery. I am just as nervous about that, but not so much the talking about it part... just the doing it part. I have a feeling that part will be the most mentally, emotionally and physically draining. Still, I like having this time to think about it, and sorta prep for it... as much as I can anyways.

Now it looks like Piper's fourth tooth (top right) is close to come in. This is causing a good deal of drama lately, or else something is... I just blame it on the teeth. She has been teething for just about 2 months on these bad boys... I am kinda tired of it. Is this just how it goes from now on? Teeth always coming in, disturbing nights (and days!) and reeking all sorts of havoc on these poor, bewildered parents... Like I said, I am just blaming it on the teeth. Maybe its something else. We will never really know, will we?

I am secretly excited for her to have those 4 teeth in. I always feel like their face is somewhat more complete that way.