I think he's actually second case, but regardless will be in the OR for a few hours. We expect to speak with his doctor around 2pm or so and then I plan to spend Friday night there at SCH with Job.
A "cath" is foremost the best diagnostic tool we have to assess the state of Job's heart. A small spaghetti noodle sized catheter will be inserted in his left groin area or his neck and then be threaded through his vessels to 1.) assess the pressures and oxygen levels throughout his heart and 2.) locate any narrowing and 3.) check his heart function and 4.) monitor his tricuspid valve regurgitation.
But beyond diagnostics, a cath can also be interventional with options to balloon up a narrowed vessel and then employ a stent (essentially chicken wire) in a vessel to keep it from narrowing and thereby restricting blood flow. Job has one stent in his pulmonary artery that made a world of difference for his lungs last year and we expect some sort of intervention this time. Actually, we are desperately hoping for an intervention because that would bring some immediate relief.
This will be Job's fifth cath but they haven't seemed to get easier. I still find them really scary. In a twisted way, perhaps even more so than open heart surgery. Job has had 9 clots following his caths. His body is bigger and stronger now, and, most importantly, his vessels ought to be big enough now that there will be more room for the cath to move through them without causing clots and scarring (which have caused pretty scary and/or long term complications).
I'm also quite curious how a 2 year old with definite opinions and increasing awarenss of his independence will handle the pre and post op work. Especially the 4 hours of laying completely flat on his back following the cath.
This has been a hard week. Job has had some digestive issues and has been generally lethargic and sad. He gets really tired really quickly, like today playing at his water table. He didn't last long standing by it and walking around it before he was breathing so heavily that I made him sit down to play.
It seems that this has been the case almost every time we've needed an intervention: A few months beforehand I can't imagine giving my baby off to the cardiac anesthesiologist and watching him disappear down the hallway to the OR. But then we watch Job decline and quickly become desperate for intervention - we even wish it could be scheduled sooner. Not that I'm actually excited about it, of course. But we really love and trust SCH and being there has always been the most pleasant experience a hospitalization ever could be.
I don't know how I wrote so many words for a relatively simple procedure, but suppose you don't expect much less by now.
We really appreciate the prayers and child care and meals offered up to us this week. As I've said, you have been the hands and feet of Christ to us and we're so grateful.
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