Tuesday, 1/12/10 The Day After Surgery

Lee and I are truly amazed at the strength of little Lily. So many people have shared that babies are resilient but I guess it was something that we wanted to actually "see" for ourselves before believing. She had a great night and was able to come off the ventilator very early this morning. By the time Lee and I arrived this morning her chest tube was out too. People have shared that you'll know the baby is making progress when things (lines, tubes, medications, etc) are removed. She was still pretty sedated and out of it with all of the pain medication. We could tell she was struggling to open her eyes when she heard our voices but she's a fighter and eventually opened them to say hello. Lily made great strides today. By the early afternoon she was feeding from a bottle again. The doctors told us that this is huge progress for the day after surgery. We are so proud of her and all that she has been through. Lee and I kept saying all day, wow it's only been X amount of time since the surgery and look at her. We just marvel at her strength.

CHOP is one of the best hospitals for pediatric cardiac care in the world. Dr. Spray is the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery here and world renown. There is a hallway at CHOP named after him called The Spray Way. One of the reasons Lily has made such progress is because she's a fighter but another huge role is Dr. Spray and his team of doctors and nurses. At other institutions, babies would be on a ventilator for several days following open heart surgery and their chests may remain open too. Although this can happen at CHOP, it is not the norm. We are very thankful for the excellent care she is receiving.