SURGERY DAY!!!!

Yesterday Cooper had his exploratory surgery called the cardiac cath. They went inside of him and took pictures of the heart to make sure there is nothing they did not know about. They took him to surgery around 8am yesterday. By 10:30 am or so his surgery was complete and we were in a consulting room looking at the film ourselves. There were no surprises and they said they would let us know later in the day when they would schedule surgery. They told us that Cooper would be asleep all afternoon and they probably would not restart feedings until today. About 30 minutes after surgery they let us go back in to see him. He was wide awake and doing great. Everyone was surprised. By evening they were feeding him again, yet another surprise. The biggest surprise came when the cardiologist came to talk with us and said that they were taking him to surgery first thing this morning. We were a little taken back only because we had originally been told it would be 7 to 10 days yet. They thought he was doing very well and was ready. We arrived this morning at 6am and were able to spend about an hour with him before they came to take him off to surgery. Currently he is in surgery and doing well so far. The last update was that he had about another hour left in surgery but he was doing great! Letting him go this morning was very difficult but we are all holding up pretty well. After surgery, he will be sedated for 2 to 3 days. His chest will be left open until the swelling subsides. He will be on a breathing machine as well. They have prepared us that he will look a little lifeless for the next few days. From there, if all goes well, we are looking at about 10 more days at the hospital. We will then be able to return home and Cooper's next surgery will be in 6 to 12 months. I realize now that we will all be very familiar with Children's Mercy Hospital. Which by the way is an amazing place full of amazing people. Little Cooper himself is quite amazing. He is adorable and everyone here has fallen in love with him. We will keep you all posted and please keep the prayers coming!