Charlie's Surgery Tomorrow

This afternoon we were called in for a meeting at Children's Hospital with the surgeon who will perform Charlie's Norwood Procedure. The surgeon drew us a few illustrations of Charlie's heart and explained to us in detail the operation and the risks associated with it. The surgery is expected to take approximately six hours and is scheduled to begin at 8:30 am tomorrow. We will have a transport team take Marina to Children's before the surgery to spend some time with him before the operation. Children under 12 are not permitted in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) so Noah will not be able to join us. Once they take Charlie, Marina will return to Washington Hospital Center to be reunited with Noah. Josh will remain at Children's to wait on the results and spend the night with Charlie while he recovers. The twins are only days old and already have us wishing we could be in two places at once. The Norwood Procedure is very complex and affects virtually all of his vital organs. One major risk during surgery is bleeding. Charlie will likely need several blood transfusions during the operation. With so much uncertainty around his operation and recovery, Marina and I really have no idea what the next few days and weeks will require of us. All we are left with is the reality of the situation that since diagnosis we have tried so hard to ignore. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from our family, friends and colleagues. We ask that everyone keep Charlie in their prayers tomorrow. Charlie has surpassed his doctors expectations up to this point and we continue to hope that his strength will not leave him during the difficult days ahead.

With Love and Many Thanks,

Josh and Marina