Post-Op Day 5: More Tests

Sharon posted late last night, but I let you all know what is going to be happening today. I spoke with one of Evie's cardiologists last night, Dr. VanBergen. There are two main issues with Evie: heart function and the constant bleeding in her lungs. By this time after a surgery like Evie's, the doctors expect her heart function to be better. Dr. VanBergen explained that it's entirely possible that once they fill her heart back up with blood (it sounds weird to write that), it's entirely possible that her heart will function better as its actually working at its normal rate.

The other problem is her continual bleeding in her lungs, so they want to discover the source of that. Dr. VanBergen did not know what the results of the transesophageal echo were because as of 9pm last night the data hadn't been downloaded to the hospital's intranet for the doctor to review yet.

Dr. V also explained that there was too much blood for them to be able to see anything with the flexible bronchoscopy procedure that was done. As soon as they would suction, more blood would fill in to block the view. So, at 1pm today (Tuesday), they are going to do a rigid bronchoscopy.

The difference between the flexible and the rigid procedure, is that they can suction out the blood at the same they are scoping so that they can see better. If they happen to see an artery that is bleeding, they can then cauterize it.

However, the cauterization equipment is not owned by the hospital (it's rented) and will take a day or two to procure. The bronchoscopy can be done in her room under general anesthesia, but the cauterization would have to be done in the operating room.

We're also going to have an assessment meeting with Dr. Ilbawi and other staff on Wednesday at 3pm.

I'm sorry the video Sharon posted of Evie last night doesn't seem to be showing up. It seems to be a problem with all videos across Blogger.com blogs, and not the video itself. Check back in a few hours (and refresh the page) and it should be up and running.