Just got the news from the nurse practitioner. Who’s the happiest daddy in the world? That’s me! We were told that he’s off the heart and lung bypass machine and his heart is doing it all on it’s own. His little heart started right back up and is kicking hard… good boy! It will be an hour or so in the OR while they monitor his blood pressure since his blood gets thinned during the procedure. Then he will head up to the 5th floor where we will spend the next week or so in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCTU). It’s still going to be a couple hours or more until we get to see him. Once he gets up to the floor they need to hook him up to all their monitors, ventilator, and get his meds going. It’s going to be a couple days until we can hold him but just being able to see him and touch him will make mommy and daddy so much better. Dr. Hirsch will be stopping by the waiting area once she leaves surgery to definitively tell us how it all went. Words cannot possibly express how relieved I am or the gratitude that I have for Dr. Hirsch and the entire U of M team of doctors, nurses, and staff. I might even get a U of M shirt before we leave.
Tag: Surgery
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Quick Update #2
Short and sweet – We just got briefed on Evan’s progress and so far everything is looking great! Big boy is doing awesome and continues to kick ass in the OR!
Dr. Hirsch is now working on installing the BT shunt that will connect the subclavian artery to his pulmonary atery. She is also going to install an IV that will lead directly to his heart to improve administration of medications as well as monitor his blood pressure continuously. It will stick out of his skin but will be better for him after the surgery. She has already completed the Damus-Kaye-Stansel (DKS) procedure, which combines his pulmonary artery and aorta. She also whittled away at his atrial septal defect (ASD) to make sure it is sufficiently large that it will not close on its own. She has also tied off his patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) because it is not needed for blood flow to the lungs, now that he has a shunt.
When the anesthesiologist was carrying Evan away and Will and I started crying she said, “I know… I have your heart in my arms. I promise we will take good care of him.” I have no doubt they are and that he will recover beautifully. Everyone here is awesome and we are so fortunate to have such a facility close to home. This is the first step to going home and hopefully that is only a couple weeks away. 🙂
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Quick update
They have taken him back to the operating room. We probably won’t have any updates for at least a couple hours. Here with Sarah and I are my mom (Terri Seiwell), Sarah’s mom, dad, and sister (Nancee, Phil, and Kate Wood). Everyone here at U of M is amazing, we’re so happy that such an amazing hospital is so close to home. Here are a few pictures from this morning including the surgeon that will be fixing Evan’s heart today, Dr. Jennifer Hirsch.
If nothing else updating the website keeps my mind off of what is going on…it’s very therapeutic.
Evan’s Surgeon Dr. Hirsch 
Anesthesiologist 
Mommy loves you 
So peaceful -
Pre-Surgery
Just sitting with the little guy getting in our last cuddle time before his big day. He’s so amazingly peaceful this morning especially for not having been fed his least two meals. I’ll be posting here as we hear news throughout the day. Please send all your positive thoughts and prayers Evan’s way today.
