Praise God!!!

Today has been a very long day but so many long awaited prayers were finally answered.

We had to have Rylan here at 6:00 am this morning for her surgery. When we got here they gave her a dose of liquid medicine to help calm her. Up to that point this morning she had not shed one tear over her surgery. I think the reality hit her this morning and she was having a very rough time. Seeing her cry was the hardest thing for Scott and I. The medicine worked its magic and she was asleep before they had to wheel her back to surgery around 7:30 am. Scott and I were both with her up to that point and it was a relief to both of us to see her asleep.

The nurses called us with hourly updates throughout the surgery. The surgery itself did not begin until about 9:30. At that point she went on bypass so they could repair the defects. Everything went smoothly and they stitched her back up around 1:30 pm. They took her straight to the ICU where Scott and I were able to finally see her about 2:30. It was a little overwhelming to see her with all the tubes and wires, but at the same time such a relief to see that my baby was alive and well!!!!!

While she is in ICU she can only have 3 visitors in her room at one time. Scott and I couldn't bear to leave our baby's side again so all the family members that were here took turns coming in to see her. She slept through most of it, but would wake up occasionally to say I love you or ask for a drink of water. She was so thirsty and had very bad cotton mouth. She would wake up and ask for a "little, tiny, cup of water" or take my finger and want me to feel how dry her mouth was, but they wouldn't let her drink anything for awhile in fear it would make her sick to her stomach. We kept her somewhat satisfied for the next few hours by swabbing her mouth with a wet sponge or occasional ice chips. At about 7pm they finally let her have a few sips of tea, but it later made her sick to her stomach and she started to throw up. So after that we decided to just stick with the occassional ice chips.

Scott and I have taken turns most of the night staying up with her. She is hooked up to so many monitors so it is so hard to not jump up and run to her side everytime one of them beeps or flashes any number different than what the nurses said was normal. So far they say all her numbers and stats look great and that she is doing wonderful. We just pray that her recovery keeps going well and that we will have our baby girl back in no time.

We are so very thankful for the ALL the wonderful doctors, nurses, and staff that we have had so far. They have all been nothing but AMAZING and are giving Rylan nothing but the best care.

We are also want to say thank you to all our friends and family members that were either here with us throughout the day, stopped in to see us, or were just praying for us. It means so much to us to have all of your prayers and support. We could not have gotten through this without you.

Rylan is starting to stir and wake up so mommy duty calls. I will try to post again when she is up and better or there is anything new to report.

God Bless,
Lindey