Whew! He DID IT!

What a roller coaster day! Tanner left at 6:45am and the surgeon FINALLY came to talk to us at 12:30pm. What a long wait. But, we had a wonderful surprise visitor, my girlfriend Chandra, came to distract and entertain us. We felt a bit guilty at times; laughing at ourselves but trying to keep the atmosphere postitive. Both Mark and I can't thank her enough...she was there too when they brought Tanner back up to the PCICU and we were able to jump up and leave her to watch all our stuff. AND when we tried to go get some snacks...I had left my wallet in the room with Mark...so Chandra had to pay! JEEZ! Guess my mind was elsewhere!!!!

Tanner is doing remarkable. Surgery went as perfect as perfect could be. He DID NOT HAVE TO GO ON THE BYPASS/HEART/LUNG MACHINE! EXCELLENT! Then, they took him off the breathing machine after just 3 hours! He's been fighting some phlem in his throat, and it hurts to cough, so we just keep encouraging him.

Our first nurse, Bob, came from Philediephia, and had worked with other Fontan patients! He had even met a few older kids that had the same surgery, one was 23 and Bob said he looked like a NORMAL KID! Bob explained everything in basic terms...and just kept telling us how fabulous Tanner was doing. He told us that really the chest tubes are the most uncomfortable part of the surgery. They are so long that any movements pushes them around...they will stay in about 3-4 days. He also explained that because this should be Tanner's last surgery, they closed his rib cage with Titanium wires, twisted them close to the ribs and then in time, the bone will grow around them. This will make his chest WAY STRONGER than any of ours! What a perk!

The other picture is of Propofol...to keep Tanner asleep after surgery...and relax until his body was ready to go off the breathing machine...and the same drug THAT KILLED MICHAEL JACKSON! Talk about weird!

Okay...enough for tonight...more tomorrow...have to help Tanner cough.