"LOVE"Summer is HOME!!!!
As many of you know Summer had open heart surgery on Tuesday October, 3rd and was back home on the 6th!! We have been so amazed at the quick healing of our little girl!! We are so thankful for all of the prayers that went up for her. Summer's surgery went off without a hitch!! One of the risks was the possiblity of needing a pacemaker after surgery due to the hole being in the same location as the "wires" which cause the heart to beat regularly. From the minute that Summer was off of the heart lung machine her heart began beating regularly on it's own...it didn't even skip a beat after that!! What a huge relief!! I didn't realize how difficult it would be to sit and wait knowing that our little girls heart was not pumping as they were doing the surgery! It was like a HUGE weight lifted when they called and told us that she was off the heart lung machine and her heart was pumping on it's own!! The surgeon was able to fix the hole in Summer's heart along with a leaky valve and another small hole between the atrium!
Summer's recovery was amazing. She did have some difficulty with breathing after the surgery which was difficult to watch. She was heavily sedated the first day and was having difficulty with apnea...she would forget to breath. She also developed stridor and really had to work to breath. However, after breathing treatments she did better. She also didn't make any friends at the hospital. I had an idea this would be the case during the pre-op screening. But it was worse than I even thought it would be. She would literally scream when anyone that wasn't her family walked into the room. It was so hard to see her so afraid. She would cry so hard and even took up breath holding until she turned blue. However, Darren and I were so encouraged because she took comfort from both of us, and we were able to stroke her face and whisper to her and she would calm for us. I am so thankful that the surgery didn't take place when we initially arrived home before she had time to build trust in us! God's timing is perfect! We truly saw the little fireball side of our Summer! When she wasn't screaming at a nurse or a doctor she was giving them the dirtiest looks...which of course kept us in stitches!! Due to her difficulty with medical personel, Darren and I stayed at the hospital the whole time and were able to secure one of the lovely "sleeping rooms" at the hospital. (I called it the sleeping tomb!!) It was a little 6'8' room with a bed and a clock and a phone (so they could call when we were needed) And when the door was closed it was pitch black!! We were so thankful that Darren's parents were able to come and stay at our house. We didn't have to worry one bit about the boys!! Did I mention they cancelled a trip to Scotland?? What a blessing to have them here. Darren enjoyed the cafeteria tremendously!! I must say that although I didn't really like the food...I did love the "no cooking" part of it!! Yay for the cafeteria salad bar!! Did I mention they had self serve milkshakes and frozen yogurt with toppings??!! Anyway, we had quite an experience and, overall, we were just so encouraged with Summer's progress. Every time anything was off...a lab, breathing etc....it always was quickly resolved. We know that this was a result of God's answer to all of the prayers for this little one.
On the fourth day Summer was discharged from the ICU to our home. She literally got down on the floor and crawled straight over to her toys and started playing with them. She then crawled around like an energizer bunny for an hour!! She continues to act like nothing has ever happened and you would never know that she just had open heart surgery. I am amazed at the resilience of this little girl. I know that God has special plans for her life. We have been asked by so many people if we knew about the heart defect before we adopted her. When we reply "YES", we often get responses like bless you, or you are so nice to do that for her...what a gift you have given her. But we truly feel like we were given the gift. This heart surgery pales in comparison to the joy that this little girl has already brought to our family. We truly can't imagine our lives without her and have NEVER ONCE questioned our decision to adopt a little one with a hole in her heart! To us it seems so minor!!
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers for this little girl. We have all been so blessed!
I will post some pictures tomorrow. So for now...goodnight!
Summer's recovery was amazing. She did have some difficulty with breathing after the surgery which was difficult to watch. She was heavily sedated the first day and was having difficulty with apnea...she would forget to breath. She also developed stridor and really had to work to breath. However, after breathing treatments she did better. She also didn't make any friends at the hospital. I had an idea this would be the case during the pre-op screening. But it was worse than I even thought it would be. She would literally scream when anyone that wasn't her family walked into the room. It was so hard to see her so afraid. She would cry so hard and even took up breath holding until she turned blue. However, Darren and I were so encouraged because she took comfort from both of us, and we were able to stroke her face and whisper to her and she would calm for us. I am so thankful that the surgery didn't take place when we initially arrived home before she had time to build trust in us! God's timing is perfect! We truly saw the little fireball side of our Summer! When she wasn't screaming at a nurse or a doctor she was giving them the dirtiest looks...which of course kept us in stitches!! Due to her difficulty with medical personel, Darren and I stayed at the hospital the whole time and were able to secure one of the lovely "sleeping rooms" at the hospital. (I called it the sleeping tomb!!) It was a little 6'8' room with a bed and a clock and a phone (so they could call when we were needed) And when the door was closed it was pitch black!! We were so thankful that Darren's parents were able to come and stay at our house. We didn't have to worry one bit about the boys!! Did I mention they cancelled a trip to Scotland?? What a blessing to have them here. Darren enjoyed the cafeteria tremendously!! I must say that although I didn't really like the food...I did love the "no cooking" part of it!! Yay for the cafeteria salad bar!! Did I mention they had self serve milkshakes and frozen yogurt with toppings??!! Anyway, we had quite an experience and, overall, we were just so encouraged with Summer's progress. Every time anything was off...a lab, breathing etc....it always was quickly resolved. We know that this was a result of God's answer to all of the prayers for this little one.
On the fourth day Summer was discharged from the ICU to our home. She literally got down on the floor and crawled straight over to her toys and started playing with them. She then crawled around like an energizer bunny for an hour!! She continues to act like nothing has ever happened and you would never know that she just had open heart surgery. I am amazed at the resilience of this little girl. I know that God has special plans for her life. We have been asked by so many people if we knew about the heart defect before we adopted her. When we reply "YES", we often get responses like bless you, or you are so nice to do that for her...what a gift you have given her. But we truly feel like we were given the gift. This heart surgery pales in comparison to the joy that this little girl has already brought to our family. We truly can't imagine our lives without her and have NEVER ONCE questioned our decision to adopt a little one with a hole in her heart! To us it seems so minor!!
Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers for this little girl. We have all been so blessed!
I will post some pictures tomorrow. So for now...goodnight!
posted by Julie at 8:45 PM
3 Comments:
Wow! I feel like I've been holding my breath this whole time! What a relief to read this and know that everything went so well. Phew! Your family has been through so much! I can't wait to see you all return to normal!
Hugs!!
Donna
Double Happiness!
Praise God!! We are so thrilled for Summer's amazing recovery and for our Lord's faithfulness. Continuing to keep you close in prayer!! Lilly Li giggles with delight everytime she sees Summer's pictures on the screen! Love, Sandy, Scott, & Lilly Li
Hooray Summer! We knew she'd pull through with flying colors! What an amazing girl! Can't wait to see more pictures of her pretty smile!
Love, the Becks
P.S. I hope you got a picture of one of her dirty looks! Two months ago could you even imagine using the term "fireball" and Summmer in the same sentence? How fun to see her personality blossoming--fireball and all!
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