Our Strong Little Bear

I probably should have put a content warning on my last post. I'm going to be posting pictures of Isaiah during his CDH fight, and they might be triggering. Today's picture is no exception. I guess you've been warned. 

Today was the big day! Surgery day! One week old! Due date! Dr. Sun and pretty much the whole team had been planning on a thoracoscopic primary repair. Meaning Isaiah would be on his right side and they would cut a small hole between his ribs to attempt the repair via camera and small tools. We all assumed his hernia was Type A, the smallest/mildest, because he has been so good and consistent and strong. 

The anesthesia team arrived at 8:30 this morning to go over the plan with us and prepare to take him to surgery. They left with him at 9 am, leaving us with a little pager the nurse would send us updates on. 

So all was ready, the little cut was made and the camera went in. Full stop. 

Remember how all my plans have gone through the paper shredder? Well let's send this plan through too for the heck of it. Why? Well this little warrior doesn't have a Type A hernia, he has a Type C! Large! Almost as bad as it gets! What was up in his chest? Oh just almost everything! All of his small intestine, portion of his colon, stomach, spleen, and the tip of his liver just making their way up town. 

Plans changed, and we were warned they might. Camera came out, baby was repositioned to his back, and the abdominal incision was made. As they began to put all his organs on their proper place, they discovered A HOLE IN HIS STOMACH. Surprise! One of his tubes had poked through who knows when and he gave no signs of anything being wrong. It wasn't very big and the surgeon said there was "little spillage". He repaired it easily enough. 

Once that was taken care of and everything was where it should be they placed the mesh patch repair over the hernia. It has been domed to allow for growth, but the chance of reherniation with a patch is higher. And with a mesh patch and the addition of the perforated stomach, his chance of infection is higher as well. To combat that he is on slightly stronger antibiotics for a little longer than he would have been. 

The team believes he was doing so well the past week because while his lung volume is far from normal, his left lung is actually a good size considering his condition. His lungs are already expanding in their "new" spaces. 

Surgery began at close to 10:30 am, and they closed at around 2:30 pm. He returned to his room at about 3:45 pm. It was a very long day for us all I think.

He stayed stable throughout everything. He will stay heavily sedated for another couple hours probably and then they will begin to wean him off. It will be a back and forth game of weaning him off sedation yet keeping him comfortable. Most/many babies (CDH or no) come off surgery at 100/100 oxygen, and possible nitrous. During surgery he was stable at 35/100, and came back to his room at 40/100! He has been cleared to start wearing down to 30/100 through the night. 

As you can see he will have quite the scar, but I'm sure he will eventually have some fun ideas about stories of how he got it, heheh. It was so neat to see his little tummy so plump after a week of it being empty. Despite the length and intensity of the procedure, he is already doing amazing and well on his way to recovery. We will see what the next few days and weeks bring as his body relearns how to function. 

I finished a project and placed it in his room to watch over and protect him while we aren't with him. Also to give me something to cuddle and squeeze when I need it. We'll have to wait and see what Isaiah names him!

Thank you all for your prayers and love!