If at first you don't succeed, try again.

Today was scheduled to be the day the surgeon closed Charlie's chest. It's an important milestone in the recovery from the Norwood procedure. A closed chest indicates that the heart is functioning well and that the long, slow recovery will begin. After close, Charlie will remain hospitalized for weeks of observation to see how the rest of his body responds to the procedure. Closing the chest after the Norwood procedure is a tricky and unpredictable process. Sometimes a patient will show signs of regression within minutes of surgery and the surgeon will have to reopen the chest. Unfortunately, after less than fifteen minutes Charlie regressed. His blood pressure dropped and heart rate increased as a result of too much fluid in his chest that exerted pressure on his heart and lungs. The surgeon responded by quickly reopening his chest to relieve the pressure. After a scary couple of hours Charlie stabilized.

Tonight Charlie is resting comfortably. He began receiving Epinephrine and Dopamine right before the attempted chest close and will continue to receive them in decreasing doses throughout the night. The hope is that Charlie will improve enough overnight to be back off Epinephrine by morning. Charlie continues to lose fluid while on dialysis and is now producing 10 cc's of urine per hour. There is a chance that his surgeon will attempt to close the chest again tomorrow if enough improvement is made. Please pray that God grants the surgeon wisdom to make the right decision for our sweet boy.

With many thanks and much love,

Mina and Josh