Haven came through her surgery in good shape.  She is back in her room now and everything looks pretty stable.  The surgeons were able to perform all the procedures they planned to do.  First they looked around her lungs and chest to see if they could find a specific source of the fluid in her chest.  They were not able to locate a specific leak so they believe the fluid is just draining out of all her tissues.  They performed the pleurodesis to eliminate the space where the fluid was accumulating on the left side.  Hopefully that procedure will stop the drainage on that side of her chest and on the right side too.  Then a new surgical team performed the rest of her procedures.  They were able to do the Nissen to keep her from vomiting and also insert a G-tube into her stomach.  She now has a new incision on her left side, two new chest tubes, an incision on her stomach, and a tube coming out of her stomach…but she no longer has any tubes in her nose.  She will appreciate that when she wakes up!

For the next couple days we will let Haven recover from the surgery and keep a close eye on her vital signs.  Once she has regained some strength, they will begin to wean her off the ventilator now that the feeding tubes are out of her nose.  They will also slowly begin feeding her through her new G-tube when she seems ready.  Since Haven’s skin and underlying tissues are very puffy and full of fluid, the doctors have some concern with her incisions healing quickly and properly.  They will need to keep a close eye out for any infection in the next couple weeks.

 Needless to say, Mom and Dad are very proud of Haven and how well she did with the surgery today.  We are ready to see her moving forward in her recovery and see her do the normal baby things like eating and breathing and not draining fluid.  We are thankful for each day we have with her and each milestone that she crosses.  Thank you for joining us in thanksgiving for her life and prayers for her continued recovery!