August 8, 1999
Kyle went in to have his cath done prior to the Glenn. He was slow to come out of the anesthetic and reflux was acting up again. The reflux had gotten better. He still had severe TR. Surgery was scheduled for September 7th.
September 8, 1999
We got bumped a day. The day started at 6:30 AM. Mom and Dad were a wreck all over again. It was hard!!! I held Kyle until it was time to go into surgery. He fell asleep in my arms. This time we got to walk down to surgery and the anesethologist took Kyle from my arms and brought him into surgery. Again we waited...............................................
This time Kathy Massato gave us a report on Kyle every couple of hours. The news was positive. He was doing well. The surgery began at 7:30 AM and lasted until 3:00 PM. Dr. Tweddel did a few stitches to help close up his tricuspid valves. One of his leaflets was slightly deformed. His TR went from severe to mild! Finally we saw Kyle wheel pass us at 4:15 PM. His breathing tube was immediately removed because the lungs needed to do the work. There were not as many IV's as the first time.
The hardest part was from 6:00-9:00 PM. Kyle had started to wake up and was in such obvious pain. He was wriggling and crying. It broke our hearts. There was a fine line between giving him enough pain medication and sedating him too much. They needed him awake enough to breathe on his own but quiet and in no pain also. Finally, the right combination was made and he fell calmly asleep.
The next few days, Kyle continued to improve. His appetite was good and slowly the IV's and drainage tubes were removed. By Day 6 he was moved from PICU to the fourth floor. On Day 8, September 15th, Kyle came home again!!!
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