Catheter day

The people that plan the cath labs must like us, because they managed to squeeze us in this morning, as the first case! Yay! Sierra was up visiting yesterday afternoon, and when she heard that Brandt was going to have a rough night, what with no food and all, she decided she wanted to spend the night with him in the hospital! He seemed to appreciate it, and spent a few hours in her arms, rocking away the hunger until it was time to go down to the lab.

They brought him back around eleven, already woken up from anesthesia and extubated. He was still a little sleepy but didn't waste time in telling us that he was hungry! When we finally got his usual three ounces warmed up, he proceeded to down it like he hadn't eaten in months and promptly demanded more! Five ounces later (a total of eight), he threw in the towel and fell back to sleep with a satisfied smirk. That was the first full feed he's had since a week ago Monday! What with the surgery, then the anesthesia, then the pain and associated morphine, then the sedation, then today's cath, he hasn't had much opportunity to get back to normal. With the timing of this dramatic return to large portions, I suspect now that he was also having a hard time because of the oxygen starved feeling that's associated with low sats.

During the catheter today, they went back to the stent that they placed last time and discovered that their suspicions were well-founded. It had definitely kept the artery from growing like it should and the result was that the left lung wasn't getting nearly the amount of blood that it should. When he ballooned it open, it added about a millimeter and a half in diameter (doesn't sound like much, but that's a big deal in such a small human), so it now matches the right side much better. They also pinched off a rogue blood vessel that had formed after the Glenn as they sometimes do in funky heart situations like this. It was essentially stealing blood from the PA's and taking it back to the body without reoxygenating it.

Brandt is a much happier little beastie today! He's smiling and flailing around and flirting with all the nurses. We're still in the ICU for now, and from what I've heard, we will be until the end of the week, most likely. Not only do they want to observe him for a while and make sure that he won't be back after twelve hours when they send him to the floor, but they have to take their time in weaning him off of all the medications he's been on the last few days. While they aren't narcotics, going cold turkey can cause weird types of withdrawal.

I've enjoyed having company the last few days! Sierra and Allyson came by yesterday afternoon, and it definitely appeared as though Brandt enjoyed all the extra female attention! Allyson just stayed for the afternoon, but (as I mentioned earlier) Sierra stayed the night, and we actually ended up going to the aquarium for a little fun this afternoon. Apparently I'm turning all "metro", because I've figured out how to get myself all the way down there without a glitch...or a car! My world is expanding past the hospital, and it's a wonderful thing.

Tanner was also here from Friday night until about one this afternoon (he just texted to say he made it home safely), and it was awesome having my other (better, more sane, logical, level headed) half here for a while. I don't remember if I've mentioned this before, but the guys Tanner works with have been following along with Brandt's story from the beginning and are pretty invested in him. When they heard that he was running out of vacation days from all his time in Seattle, they all decided that they wanted to donate some of their own PTO! It's a huge load off my mind to not have to think about that anymore. Because of their generosity, Tanner is planning to fly back out with Wade when we get discharged (that kid is going to be SO excited to find out he gets to go on an air-pane!) and drive back with me. Those guys are pure gold.