Pre-Admission Day - 2 days left.

In a nut-shell, today was a pretty successful day. Nothing too crazy, nothing too new. All seems as I thought it would be.

We started off by seeing a few nurses, the physiotherapist, then the anaesthetist, then getting a tour of the ICU, then 3M, then some waiting rooms etc, then off for a chest x-ray and some blood work. All in all, we were out of there by 1:30pm (having arrived at 8:30am, it was not so bad).

Cute outfit that didn't last long... spent the rest of the day in a diaper and not much else ;)

Some nice things to note about today:

- everyone was very understanding and taking our case seriously, but not being too intense

- we got to see the spaces we would be in (which was really good, as my idea of the ICU was actually quite different than what I thought it was- all good), and became familiar with them

- we were shown a photo album of one baby, who had the same surgery and could really get an idea of what Piper might be looking like (hoses and all)

Some not so nice things about today:

- we had to "nap" Piper on the go, which was actually ok, just a little tiring for all of us

- we saw some pretty sad, sick little kiddies who make Piper's scenario look like a walk in the park

- found out we won't be able to hold Piper for about 3 days or so after surgery...

- Piper had to get some blood taken (2nd attempt worked), which she did not like (really, who does?), and upon coming home, we were called to say that we have to go back and re-do that part because it was contaminated or something...

So, we are home now, but yes, we will be going back tomorrow to re-do the most traumatic part of the day. Yeah, not fun. Hopefully it was just a mucky sample (it was a bit of a gong show in there), and there isn't any real complications.

I am still really glad we didn't have to meet the surgeon today, as that would have made it really intense. I got to ask all of my questions and feel like happy with all the answers.

So ready for a nap...

It was nice to think about Heading Home, as the cardiology nurse suggested that as soon as we are up on 3M, to start asking "what do we need to do to get this baby home?". In the book, they recommend asking for information in small installments, and writing it all down. Don't get the full low-down at once.

We'll need to know what kind of medication she will need, how to see signs of infection, or other problems, what kind of care does she need at home etc...

I already love thinking about taking her home, but it also kinda freaks me out. It was really great to see some pictures of a baby who was about 7 months when she had this surgery, and even from day 7 until day 13, there was a night-and-day difference. One day she looked kinda drained and off-color, whereas a few days later, she was kicking and smiling and looking like normal (minus a new pink scar).

Anyways, we'll be back at BCCH again tomorrow (not so impressed), and we'll see how that goes. We might end up spending a good portion of the week there, I guess.

Must make this one short as we are now going out to dinner with the fam (traditional Keg birthday dinner- it just gets better every year). But we still feel good about Wednesday.

Thanks for all the prayer and support for just getting through today! We felt it:)