Maddie's Surgery

Maddie goes in for heart surgery this Thursday.  When she was two days old, we found out she has tetralogy of fallot.  A condition in which her heart did not fully develop properly when she was in the womb.  She has a large hole in her heart between the right and left ventricles and her pulmonary valve is a bit restricted.  So on Thursday, she is getting her heart "patched up" as Jake likes to put it.  It is a fairly routine surgery; at Children's Hospital LA, where she is having the surgery with the best heart surgeon in California, they perform 7 heart surgeries a day, 4 of which are to fix holes in children's hearts....

Saying it's routine helps but not much.  It isn't routine when it is your 5.5 month baby girl.  Jake is very positive about her condition and her surgery but, of course, I am the doom and gloom Italian that has all these crazy thoughts running through my head.  I have to have faith, though, that she will be ok.  When I start having bad thoughts about what could happen, I try to take a deep breath and look at my baby girl and say thank you to God that I am fortunate enough to have her.  There are babies out there that aren't as lucky as she is.

The surgery is 3 - 4 hours long and she will be in the hospital for a week.  I will be spending my 30th birthday on Wednesday in pre op tests at CHLA with my little girl.  The best birthday present will be my healthy Maddie.

So as Jake has been saying to me, "Come Thursday night, we will have a healthy baby girl."  Please keep little Maddie in your thoughts.  I know she will be ok, but the more positive energy, the better, right?

Here is our little munchkin.  Mommy has been keeping her warm and bundled up so she is well for the big day.