Day 1

Out of the hospital! Last night I went to bed at 7:30pm! I cannot remember ever going to bed that early. I set my alarms to wake up and give Laila her meds and then we just kept sleeping until it was time for medicine again this morning at 9am. So far the medicine Laila is on now post surgery its totally easy. She is on Enalapril, Lasix 3x a day, Aspirin, Atenolol, and amoxicillan for Asplenia. She may get to come off the Lasix eventually. I am hoping that heart rate will stabilize and she can come off the Atenolol as well. I have been checking her heart rate and it has ranged from 52 to 119 totally dependant on what she is doing. She will go back on the 31st and they want to do a Holter monitor study to see where things are.

Something I have to share... There was a family whose baby boy had surgery the day after Laila. We were passing eachother in the CVICU waiting rooms. A couple days after surgery he had some setbacks. Eventually we ran into each other on the 15th floor. Its kinda cool when you see a family you recognize from the ICU and you know they "made it" to the floor. So we chatted a few times and we discovered we had the same surgeon. Well eventually I did not see them again. I figured they got to go home. All of a sudden a few days later I saw the husband pulling the little boy in a wagon. Come to find out they had been discharged and were cleared to go home. They loaded up and everything and they got stopped in the elevator!! Their son had to be readmitted for another surgery. Well they were BACK onto the 15th floor. I finally asked them what the surgery was for. Ironically their son had the same "common AV valve" that Laila does. It is actually pretty rare. Well I am so glad I ran into them again and we exchanged diagnosis. I think it really helped them seeing Laila and seeing how great she is doing. I think it perhaps mildly shocked them to know we adopted Laila fully aware of her having this heart condition. We got asked that a lot by nurses and other staff...."Did you know?" When we said "Yes we knew"... People usually want to praise us for what we have done. It makes me really uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable actually. We did not adopt Laila so we could get a pat on the back by anyone. We adopted her because we wanted another child, thats it! When Laila is not in the hospital our life with her is VERY normal. The medical condition is not a big part of our lives. I am so happy that we are going to be able to focus on even more things not related to surgery soon! But about adopting... It pains me to think that she sat in China for years needing this surgery. No surgeon would do it and I totally get that it was too risky to be done there. It does pain me to think of the other kids in China who are waiting for heart surgery. I pray that people would be more open to kids with these complex heart issues. Its not as scary as you think and you wouldn't believe how strong you are until you do it. God provides strength where you lack. He also provides strength through family and friends who are there to help as well. Everyone who did something for us during this time has NO idea how much it means. Every prayer and evey single gesture is very very much appreciated!!! So thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!!! :) :)

Ok so this has been a rambling post!!! Laila and I are just hanging out in this hotel having a very UNambitious day! I thought about maybe going to do the laundry, but changed my mind when I went outside to see how cold it was. It can wait!! We are enjoying NO IV, NO telemetry monitor, NO IV flushing, and no weighing at 4am, no chest xray at 5am, etc etc... Laila's personality has really opened up as well. I think the fear of the white coats coming in had her so closed up!! So far today has been really good. I just am ready to be home with Jarrod and Krissy!!! Only a few more days and they will be up here this weekend!