Saturday, June 21, 2008

Meeting with the Surgeon

We met with the surgeon, Dr. Laughlin, and his nurse first thing this morning. We already had a pretty good understanding of the surgery, so it went fairly quickly. Ryan is the 3 case of the day, they predict he will go to the OR around 12, but it could flucate depending on the first two cases. They said the procedure itself takes around 3.5 hours, but the total time he will be away is much greater due to anesthesia, line placement and time afterwards to transfer to the PICU. The major surprise was that if all goes well, he will stay in the PICU for 3-4 days, then out to the floor and possibly home within 7-10 days. I was thinking 2-3 weeks and it completly freaks me out to think he could be having open heart surgery Monday and we could be taking him home the next Monday. We have the best nurse today. Actually, all of our nurses have been amazing, but Candy is a little older and gave us a good explanation about what to expect after the surgery. It's strange how things work out sometimes, that she was our nurse on the day we discussed the surgery.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Possibly home in a week!! That's so exciting. I can't wait to meet the little guy. I'm so glad to hear there is a good team of doctors and nurses working with you. Our thoughts will be with you.

Anonymous said...

Brandi - just got home from vacation in South Dakota, and one of the first things I did was look in my email for updates for Ryan. It's funny.... if by chance your surgeon is Dr. Martin O'Laughlin, then he is Eric's cousin! I can't believe there would be two heart surgeons in KC with that close of a name, so I do hppe you have him. He is one of the best in the country.

It's amazing how the nurse that you get can make all the difference. We've seen the same thing on our run-ins with Children's Mercy. I hope you will keep getting good ones.

Know that I thought about you all the way through South Dakota and you guys have been in our prayers. Obviously let us know if we can do anything (and really let me know if Ryan's surgeon is Martin!)

Hang in there... I know it's stressful!

Love you all,
Janet and the Scheiers

Anonymous said...

Good luck tomorrow! I hope everything goes smoothly. I'm so glad you had a nurse that was able to help ease your concerns. Somehow it's often not what they say, but how they say it that helps you with understanding.

I'm glad Ryan's been doing so well and hope the oxygen/prostin issues have been resolved.

You're in our thoughts and prayers.

Julie said...

I hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow! That is wonderful that he could go home next week! You remain in our thoughts and prayers.

Mary Meyer said...

We are thinking of you, and sending good wishes your way, Brandi and Jason.