SURGERY DAY....

I know most of you are waiting for an update on surgery so I will start there.  We arrived about 7am and Coop went into surgery about 8:45am.  He was doing great!  He is really quite amazing when it comes to all this.  We received a few more details about today's procedure.  Coop has a partial blockage in the conduit/valve the placed in his heart  1 1/2 years ago.  They cannot tell from the Echo whether the blockage is scar tissue or something else.  The plan is to balloon this area out or if necessary to insert a stint in the conduit.  They will also do a little exploration to get a good look while they are in there.  Every procedure we have, it is amazing the advancements they have made.  They now do a 3D imaging while in there that gives them greater details.  We also discussed other procedures that Coop will likely have in the future and even in the past 2 years they have advanced in such a way that some may be able to be done with a surgical cath like today which is great news!!!  The issue of his low heart rate is still in question but time will tell more about the cause and course of treatment.  What they are doing today and looking at today will not address that issue.  Today's surgery is consider low risk although his cardiac surgeon, Dr. O'Brien is on standby if needed.  Today's surgery is performed by his cardiologist, Dr. Kaine.

  UPDATE:  They just called down and Coop is asleep and the IV's are in.  He did get a little nervous but the amazing nurses talked to him about his Lion, Courage, and how brave he needed to be and he did just fine.  They are getting their first pictures now.

This morning went well.  We didn't wake Coop until we were almost ready to walk out the door.  He woke up well and didn't hesitate at all.  Steph came over at 6am so she could take Raelynn to school.  She also agreed to take my place and read to the kids at Deerfield this morning.  I don't think she knows how much that meant to me.  I really love starting every day with Raelynn at her school and talking with all the kids.  It meant a lot that Steph would fill in for me because I knew the kids would receive the same love from her that they get from me to start their day!  Steph said it went great and I received a couple texts from staff saying the same.  Thank you so much Steph!  I love you!!!

Coop and I drove separate from Terry since he will go back to Lawrence tonight to be with Raelynn.  Coop was VERY quiet.  I asked him if he was doing ok and he said he was a little nervous and then said, "maybe a little scared too."  As I drove I literally choked back tears.  Then my thoughts wondered to previous surgeries and his time on ECMO and everything else he has been through.  I cannot tell you how wonderful Coop has handled it all, Raelynn too.  We have been given the most wonderful, adaptive, loving children anyone could ever ask for.  We arrived at CMH and Coop never looked back.  He was brave and patient and the perfect kid all the way to surgery as always.

Leading up to today we have had so much holiday craziness to keep us busy which I think was a great thing.  Friday, Raelynn woke up with a terrible stomach ache and felt like she was going to be sick.  Of course this was not good news for so many reasons. First and foremost Coop could not get sick.  Second, it was also my last day of work before 7 days off with Coop's surgery and then Christmas.  She was amazing though.  She let me work for a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon with absolutely no complaining.  I had so much to get done and as things go, I was able to get twice as much work done from home than I would have at the office so I actually felt more comfortable leaving than I would have.  When I picked Coop up from school on Friday, his last day before surgery, he was there with so many thoughtful gifts I was overwhelmed.  His class made him a book that they all drew a picture and wrote what they liked about Coop, his art teacher gave him an entire bag of art goodies and a homemade nativiity scene, the list went on and on.  His teacher dropped off a bag for both Raelynn and Coop which Raelynn thought was very special and I so appreciated.  Terry and I always make sure Raelynn is not overshadowed during these times but as Coop gets older and has so many loving friends, it gets a little harder. The gifts continued to pour in over the weekend all things he could use at the hospital and even a special Mickey Mouse that was autographed and came all the way from Disney World with one of Coop's preschool friends who had been there last week.  It was all so touching and I know Coop felt special.  When he is older and looks back at all of this, he can't possibly feel anything but amazing.

Saturday rolled around and we had a birthday party to attend for friends we do not see often anymore.  It was great to see everyone.  Then Saturday night we had a surprise visit from Santa Claus!  It was a big hit!

Sunday I had a Baby Shower (Sprinkle) for one of my really great friends and then wrapped up Christmas shopping while the kids were home having a free for all with Terry.  I say this because they made there own lunch about 11am which consisted of Blueberry Pancakes and pepperonis.  This is the report I got when I called about 1:30 to see if they had had lunch.  Lucky for them I do not leave them often, hahahaha!  Anyway, Sunday afternoon we headed to Steph's to celebrate her birthday.  It was so much fun!  I love just hanging out with my sisters.

Monday we kept Coop home from school as per doctors orders.  He went into the office with me most of the morning and then we did some Christmas gift deliveries.  We picked Raelynn up after school and headed to Orange Leaf as per Coop's request.  I had asked him earlier in the day if he wanted to go get Orange Leaf but he said, "Sissy would not like it if we went without her."  He is such a sweet boy and ALWAYS thinks about his sister.  So we waited until we picked her up and away we went.  The two of them were inseparable yesterday.  It was obvious someone was a little worried about her brother.  Thank goodness I had 101 things to do last night.  I had cookies to make for Coop's preschool and peanut butter balls and chocolate pretzel sticks to make for Raelynn's.  Both I had signed up for before knowing about Coop's surgery but I was glad I had it to make my night shorter.

I am so excited to be past this surgery and onto Christmas.  I am so excited for it this year and I don't know why.  I guess the thought of multiple days just hanging out with the best family ever is enough to excite anyone!!  Raelynn loves Christmas as well and as much as she loves getting presents she seems to really love the family time and the true meaning of Christmas.  She talks about it often and the other day I found this in her backpack.  Inside the card was signed by several of her friends and classmates.  When I complimented her on it she said, "Yea, all of my friends that I told about Jesus and his birthday signed his card!"  She is a better disciple than I will ever be :)

Our elf has continued to be busy as well.  Between the elf and the 12 Days of Christmas gifts my nightly duties are getting a little longer.  But seeing the kids faces in the morning make it all so much fun!!!

Leaving a note....

Aunt Bonnie's elf, Curly, came to visit!