Post Op - Day 3

Cully is now 48 hours post surgery.  He is stable and for Cully stable is very good, this is a marathon for him not a sprint. 

There have been ups and downs over the last 24 hours, nothing major but it’s been a journey getting him to where his care team would like him to be.  At this point the most significant measures for Cully are that his heart function remain steady (which it has consistently since surgery), all of his stats remain in “his” ranges, and most importantly, he begins to pass fluid by urinating.  They control all of these things through different medicines and his ventilator. 

Cully’s Ranges:

•  Heart Rate – 145-165
•  Oxygen Saturation – 65% – 75%
• Blood Pressure – 70 - 85
• Urine Output – Exceed the amount of fluid intake

Yesterday afternoon, Cully was not urinating at the rate they would like. To assist him, his care team started to give him a diuretic that triggered a large release of fluid. While this this fluid release was a step in the right direction, it also triggered a steady downward trend in his stats.  In an effort to get his stats back to where they would like them to be, adjustments were made, including, slightly increasing his fluid input to increase his pressures, restarting the external pacemaker to increase his heart rate, and an adjustment to his ventilator.  They also changed the amount and method of delivery of his diuretic.  

Since the change yesterday, Cully's averages have been within his ranges:

• Heart Rate - 152
• Oxygen Saturation - 72%
• Blood Pressure - 75
• Urine Output - Mid-afternoon it has exceeded the total from yesterday and is nearly pacing his fluid intake

Adjustments are very normal for an infant recovering from major heart surgery.  Each baby is different and requires different levels of every drugs and assistance from each piece of equipment. 

Today, Cully has taken over for the ventilator from time-to-time and breathed on his own! He has continued to open his eyes! The pace maker has been removed! And, best of all, he has stayed well within his ranges with only minor adjustments!

Over the next 24 hours they will continue to watch his fluid out put very closely, if he continues along this trend they could close his chest early next week.

Again thank you all for your thoughts and prayers! We very much appreciate the outpouring of support we have received and feel the power of all of you each and very minute.