Evie at the Hospital

The day started at 2:30AM for Evie when Sharon woke her up to give her the last bottle she could drink before the cardiac catheter (i.g., angiogram) procedure. I got up at 3AM and was out the door with Evie around 4:30AM. We picked up my Mom and got the hospital about 5:30. We were the first ones in the waiting room and after some drama about finding the referral paperwork, they checked Evie in around 6:15.



In the waiting room, 5:30AM.



Short video of Evie; bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6AM!

We were taken back to the outpatient procedure recovery while we waited for the doctor and nurses to arrive, and changed her into a gown that would have been huge on Gavin. We waited for quite a while and by 7:00AM it had been more than 4 hours since Evie's last feeding. She usually doesn't go more than 2 hours, but luckily she wasn't too fussy and took a half-hour nap in Nana's arms (and heated blankets).




Around 7:45Am they were ready to take her back. She would have a general anesthetic and luckily they wouldn't put her IV needle in until after she was under. She looks ready to punch somebody's lights out in the picture below.



"Just let 'em try and stick me with a needle!"

The first time Evie had an angiogram it took almost 2.5 hours, but this time they were done in just over an hour! When I saw her in post-op, her face was beet red. The nurse told me it was just "flush" from the anesthetic, and her temperature was normal. But about 25 minutes later her temp shot up to 101 and she was an even brighter red.


"My next impression will be that of a tomato. Ta da! I'll be here all week folks."



Evie tells me in no uncertain terms how she's feeling at the moment.

The doctors thought she had some sort of allergic reaction to the anesthetic and gave her some Benadryl through her IV. Her fever went down about a half hour later and her color started to look better. Nana lulled her to sleep with the help of her Winnie-the-Pooh song pillow.



After she woke up, she was starving, and quickly downed to bottles... then she spit up part of the last one all over my shirt. Little Evelyn Rose was a big hit in the recovery area (she was the only baby) and all the nurses took turns holding her while Mom and I grabbed lunch in the cafeteria.




Typically, Evie would only have to stay in recovery for 6 hours following the procedure and could then come home, but because of her fever, the doctor wanted to admit her overnight to make sure she didn't have any more reactions. So, we moved her from outpatient recovery over to the pediatric ward in Hope Children's Hospital. Coincidentally, we got the same room number that Evie has been in for her last two stays at the hospital. Maybe I should have bought a "Pick Four" Lotto ticket on my way home?

Around 2:30PM, all of the sedatives had worn off and she was starting to perk up and act like her normal self (i.e., fussing). Her color looked really good and she took a few bottles and short naps.



My Dad arrived around 3:00PM and my parents stayed with her until 8PM when she finally fell asleep for the night. I took off for home when my Dad arrived to relieve Sharon, who had been watching Gavin all day. I'll be calling the hospital on Thursday morning at 7AM to see if she had a good night and if I can take her home that morning. It's a real shame that Evie had to spend the night, becuase she is always a reck for about 2 days following an overnight hospital stay, because her nap and sleeping schedule get all messed up.

Evie's cardiac team has their surgical pow-wows on Wednesday afternoon/evenings, so they will be reviewing her test results and hopefully we'll get some information on Thursday about the results of her angiogram and what the surgeon wants to do. Check back here Friday morning for test results!