Jace's Heart Cath

Monday, June 6th

     We arrived at the hospital at 6:15 a.m. and got Jace registered.  He played with some of the toys in the waiting room until they called us back around 7:00.

Playing with Nanny, Poppy, & Gran

      We were able to stay with Jace until around 8:00 when they took him to start preparing him for the cath.  He was his usual happy self during this time.  He talked to the nurses, blew kisses, and waved bye.  When it came time to leave, he didn't want to go with the male doctor.  They decided it would be better to give him some medicine to calm him before they took him away from us.  It only took about 10 minutes for it to kick in.  He acted like someone who was drunk.  This made it so much easier on us when it was time for him to leave because we were laughing at him so much.  I can't imagine having to leave him if he had been upset and crying.

      By 10:00 we were already meeting with his cardiologist, Dr. Janssen.  He told us that everything looked as good as he could hope for.  This meant that more of our prayers were answered.  Around 11:30 we were able to go back to recovery and be with Jace.  He woke up earlier than they thought he would and was pretty upset.  When we got back there, he had already calmed back down and was sleeping.  At 12:00 they moved us up to a regular room on the 8th floor.  They wanted Jace to lay completely still for a couple of hours.  Thankfully, he slept the entire time.  I sat in the bed beside him and held his leg in case he did wake up.  Around 2:00 Dr. Janssen came by to check on him and let us know that they did an echo.  This means that will be one less thing we will have to do on Tuesday during our pre-op appointment.  It was about 4:00 before Jace was up and awake.

Just waking up

Sitting up but still a little sleepy.

Resting with the "get well" monkey Sissy brought me.

All smiles and watching tv.

Looking at my favorite book and laughing at something on tv.

Somebody went to Outback to eat supper and all I got was a coloring sheet and crayons.  Oh well, I did have fun coloring with Nanny and eating part of a crayon.

Getting settled down for the night  and some snuggling time with Mommy.

      We had a great night.  Jace settled down and went to sleep around 10:00.  He slept all night long, even with the nurses coming in to check on him several times.  This morning around 7:00 Dr. Janssen came in to check on him.  He said his echo looked good and he thought they were able to get all the blood work done that they would need for pre-op day.  I sure hope so because this is the part that I dread most.  They always have such a hard time finding his vein and he gets so upset.  He told us not to let him soak in water for 3 days, but that was his only restriction.

Awake early, but not quite ready to get up yet.

Finally up and playing with my new police car.

     By 9:30 everything was done, we were discharged, and on our way home.  Jace was taken out of the hospital by one of the care partners in a little red wagon.  I think this was the highlight of his trip.

I'm in the elevator on my way out.  I'm all smiles because I am going home.

     We arrived home around 12:00, just in time for Jace to eat and take a nap.  If you could see him now, you would never know he had been in the hospital only a few short hours ago.  He is up from his nap, running around, playing, and trying to climb on things. 

     Thanks everyone for your prayers.  Please continue to pray for his surgery next Wednesday.