Surgery Tomorrow

We received the call this morning at 6 am that Logan would be moved to CHOP immediately and we managed to jump out of bed and rush over there to spend a few minutes with him before the transport. He said goodbye to his little brother (as did we) and the EMTs whisked him away to his new home for the forseeable future. I was permitted to ride in the ambulance with him, which was of great comfort to me as of course I was overly concerned that the move would be upsetting for him, but he slept through the entire ride and didn't even seem to notice his new surroundings. Upon arrival at CHOP he received a battery of tests and exams, most important being a CT scan of his brain. We then spoke to the neurologist who informed us that Logan will indeed need a shunt and the surgery will be first thing tomorrow morning (7:00 am). So once again, at only 12 weeks old, our sweet boy will undergo his 2nd major surgery with the placement of a VP shunt into a ventricle in his brain.

He was such a trooper all day, he did so well on the cannula (1 1/2L flow and 32% oxygen), only de-satting into the 80's occasionally, didn't have any bradys or apnea spells and took his bottle at every other feed. After the drama died down, Logan and I got to spend the entire afternoon and evening snuggling and sleeping together, it was actually one of the most peaceful days I've spent with him since his birth. While he was very calm and cooperative all day, he definitely seemed somewhat sad and I really think he missed his brother and primary nurses at Pennsylvania Hospital. His favorite primary, Lisa, is going to take time on her days off to come visit him tomorrow or Tuesday and I couldn't be happier about it (and I told Logan about it and he gave me a little smile as well). I really could go on for hours and hours about the love, dedication, and devotion these nurses pour into our babies but
words just couldn't do them justice. What I can say, without hesitation, is that neonatal nurses are undoubtedly one of the most undervalued and underappreciated contributions to this world and I mean that with all my heart.

In the meantime, Daddy went down to Pennsylvania Hospital later in the day to visit our other sweet angel, who is doing wonderfully. He is still completely off the oxygen and took almost all of his feeds today by bottle, a tremendous accomplishment as this is really the only thing keeping him from coming home with us. He is chugging right along and is more than willing to take the backseat to his brother while Mommy and Daddy focus on getting him through this surgery. At such a young and tender age, one of our sons' astounds us with his unrelenting perseverance, while our other son humbles us with his quiet gracefulness. I don't know what I did in this life to deserve two inspirational little boys but I can only thank God for choosing me to be their mother.

I will try to post a short update tomorrow night if I'm not too exhausted just to let everyone know how the surgery went. Please say extra prayers tonight for our little one.