Update: Surgery Six

Two days ago, on November 16^th , Kelsey was rushed into emergency surgery after having a heart catherization procedure done earlier that afternoon. During the cath it was found that Kelsey’s new mitra lvalve that was placed only 5 weeks ago, wasn’t working properly. The surgeon and other cardiologists were dumbfounded. Never before had they seen anything like this happen, especially, with a newly replaced valve just over a month ago. They had no idea what could have caused the valve’s malfunction. Nevertheless, they decided to balloon the valve to get it to function but were unable to do so. Shortly upon finishing the procedure, the surgeon came in and told John and Lisa that Kelsey was bleeding internally and he didn’t know where the bleeding was coming from. He said she needed to be rushed into emergency surgery and they needed to locate the source of the bleeding and that her new mitral valve needed to be replaced. John and Lisa were in complete shock. They had just seen their baby girl prior to the cath and she was playing around in her crib. This was beyond their biggest fear. Never could they imagine that their little Kelsey would have to undergo yet another open heart surgery.

Shortly after receiving this devastating news, John and Lisa were asked to say goodbye to Kelsey as she was going to be taken down to the operating room. When John and Lisa entered her room there were swarms of doctor’s all around her. Kelsey lay still and pale on her bed. She was intubated and her belly was extremely distended. As nurses were hanging blood transfusions John and Lisa touched her and kissed her goodbye. Thoughts of how she could possibly make it through one more surgery kept passing through their minds. Kelsey’s tiny little body at only 14lbs had been through so much, could never endure what lied ahead.

Kelsey went into surgery at around 4:30pm. About an hour later, the liaison came out and told John and Lisa that the internal bleeding had stopped and that the surgeon was going to proceed with the open heart surgery. What wonderful news that the bleeding had subsided however, the worrisome, long wait began for an all too familiar surgery. Visions of baby Kelsey’s body with her chest opened up again, more chest tubes and the possibility of coming up on bypass, kept entering their minds. The liaison updated them every hour thereafter as to how the surgery was progressing. For 6 hours, John and Lisa waited with anticipation. Would Kelsey be okay? Would her heart be able to beat on its own? Finally at about 11pm Kelsey’s surgeon walked in and told the family the surgery was finished and Kelsey came off bypass without any problems. A huge sigh of relief filled the room. The surgeon said he was able to replace the mechanical mitral valve with a tissue valve without any issues. Three more hours would go by before John and Lisa were allowed to see Kelsey.

At 2am, John and Lisa headed down to Kelsey’s room in the ICU. There she lay hooked up to the ventilator, 12 pumps, chest tubes, and an IV placed into her scalp. Kelsey looked pale and lifeless as her fight for life began once again. John and Lisa sat by her side and held her tiny little hands and whispered words of strength in her ear as doctors and nurses surrounded her bedside. The rest of the ICU seemed quiet but Kelsey’s room was brightly lit and full of anxiety. There was much concern because her heart rate was in the 180’s and considered extremely high. She was carefully monitored all through the night. About 12 hours after her surgery, Kelsey went into atrial fibrillation so they had to reset her internal pacemaker. As the day progressed, Kelsey grew extremely fluid filled and puffy while her heart rate continued to sit in the 180’s.

At this time, Kelsey remains very critical. Her blood pressure keeps fluctuating, her heart rate continues to be elevated and she keeps having these heart atrial fibrillation rhythm issues. The doctors are saying she’s just been through too much in such a short amount of time. That it will take a while for her little body to recover. All the while, John and Lisa have been right by her side, praying and hoping for yet one more miracle.