So here's what's going on...

Home sweet home! 

I've already forgotten what all I told you yesterday, aside from the events leading up to our fun little late-night flight, so I'll just run through what all has happened since we got to Seattle.

The first step was an echo, which happened right after we got in. One of our concerns was that the shunt was starting to clot, which would be something of an emergency, so that was the first thing to get checked off their list. Thankfully, they didn't find one, and we were able to get a little sleep that night. I had dosed off while they worked on that and was woken up a little while later by the doctor that had met us when we came in. He wanted me to know that there wasn't anything concerning at a preliminary glance, and also, no one is quite sure what to do about all the homemade formula you brought with you, so we'll have to get the okay from the higher-ups to use it and until then, is it okay to use what we have on hand for now, instead?

Early morning, pre-hair brushing selfie!

As it turns out, the phone call I made a couple weeks ago regarding this exact issue didn't quite cover all the bases. When I asked a nurse if it would work to bring this formula frozen in breastmilk storage bags, she assured me that they would just treat it like breastmilk and it wouldn't be a problem! Turns out, she was only speaking logistically. Yeah, they had space in the freezers, and they had a way to warm it up, but apparently this is the first time any kid has been brought in on homemade formula, and it sent the whole place into a tizzy. A nutritionist came in to ask me about it, and I relayed the story--how I had pumped for three weeks and didn't have the time/energy/resources to continue at home, so I put him on this recipe having seen it work really well with my nephews. I tried to switch him to canned formula for the trip out, knowing the current option would be a pain, but it tied his guts in knots for the week I attempted to make the transition, so I gave up. When she looked him over and saw that he was definitely well nourished, she agreed to it and, I found out later, went to bat for me and was ultimately the one that got it approved! I'm wishing now that I had caught her name!

Found this adorable blanket from Project Linus
sitting on the foot of the crib this morning.
That little horse is pieced together with
dozens of tiny pieces!

After we got all of that figured out, we got news that because our case wasn't an ICU-worthy emergency, that they were planning to move us to the floor until they had decided on a plan of action. In the meantime, they needed to run a nose swab from Brandt to the lab to see if he was over his cold. Turns out that he isn't. His symptoms are essentially gone, aside from being a little snuffly while he sleeps, but apparently the virus can hang around for up to eight weeks post-symptoms. So now we're in this fun thing called Isolation where we get our own room! It stinks for the nurses that have to don some super cool yellow robes, masks, and gloves every time they walk in, but for us it means a private bathroom and days that are largely uninterrupted by outside traffic. It's a big enough pain to put on all of the garb that no one comes in unless they absolutely have to.

Throughout yesterday and today, there's been a rumor floating around that, because they've decided his desats are caused by Brandt having outgrown his shunt, the surgery that was postponed until June will now be scheduled for Monday afternoon. This isn't the first choice of any of the cardiologists, because even just trace evidence of a cold can make the process a little harder on any kid, so the more recent adjustment to that plan is a cardiac catheter done the morning before surgery. If they find the cause and can fix it while they're in there, they'll go that route and send us home, keeping our original surgery date scheduled so he can be well and truly over his cold. If they don't find anything, they'll have to assume that he really is just outgrowing the shunt too early, and they'll go ahead and send him off to surgery.

So now you're just as caught up as I am!

This was our ride, Thursday night...a slightly better picture
than I was able to snag!

Today is a gorgeous day in Seattle...not a cloud to be seen, slightly breezy and maybe 70 degrees...and there's nothing on our schedule at the hospital, so after I put Brandt down for his afternoon nap, I decided to take a walk to a grocery store about a mile down the road. When I announced my intentions to the nurses, they looked at me like I was crazy. "Why not take the bus?! Or drive?" Well, first, because paying to take the bus in lieu of a free fifteen minute walk seemed a little ridiculous, especially since it was only a trip for shampoo and snacks, and second, because I don't currently have one! It was well worth it, though...and I figure I burned enough calories to counteract at least some of my Snapple!

It looks as though Tanner will be driving out Tuesday and flying back Thursday afternoon, which will fix the car aspect. It'll be nice to have one, nice weather or not, because last time we were out here, we discovered a bomb burger joint, but it's a little too far to walk to. And in the meantime, Shawna visited yesterday and plans to again Monday. Brandt seems to really like her and her barber shop/acapella covers!

So that's the news for now...I may or may not post tomorrow, because I have a feeling it'll be another day like today and there just won't be enough information to make a blog post worthwhile! So I'll talk to you all again post-cath and possibly post-Glenn!

These two pictures are to kind of give you an idea of what we've been seeing with Brandt. I didn't used to notice much color change in him, but it has gotten a lot more dramatic, lately. These were taken within two minutes of each other, but the one on the left is him at 80%, and the right is 70%. (His sats always drift around to some extent.) Now, to really freak you out, try to picture what 45% (his all-time low) would look like.

Yup...we have a good reason to be here.