Post-Fontan Day 3

Hi all!  Sorry this update is running a little late. I thought I saved the draft I was working on earlier, but apparently not. So lets try this again...as a quick addition to yesterday, Atticus ended up having the IV in his right hand removed, his LV heart line removed, and the arterial line in his left leg removed. This is awesome because it means Atticus can start getting out of bed and moving around. It also means some cuddle time is in the very near future (as soon as he feels up to it!). 

The main goals for Atticus today are to get him moving around more (to help with the fluid in his chest and around his lungs to drain) and to get him to eat. Robbie managed to get him to eat a few goldfish crackers and a piece of chocolate today, along with some more apple juice.  Its extra important to get him to eat because we can't get his chest tubes out until he does.  We have to see if he'll be able to handle fat in his diet. Many post-Fontan kiddos have trouble with a milky discharge that drains from their chest tubes as result of their bodies not being able to process the fat found in foods. Pray that this not the case for Atticus.  Thankfully, it hasn't been an issue in any of his previous open heart surgeries, so I'm hoping it won't be a problem now. 

Another bit of good news is that there is talk of moving us to 8D!!  Hooooraaay!!  That's the step down unit for heart kiddos, and the next step in our journey to go h*me. (We don't spell out or say the "H" word until we're there...heart patient superstition. We don't want to jinx ourselves, lol!). This is awesome news!  Its also another reason why its so important to get Atticus to eat. They treat his pain with just Tylenol and Oxy on 8D, so he'll need food in his stomach to prevent him from getting nauseated.

Atticus seems to be in slightly better spirits today. I finally remembered to bring in his brother's stuffed "Froggy" from the car. His big brother sent it with us (because Atticus loves it and often steals it to sleep with) to "help Atticus feel better".  He's such a good brother!  :)  We played around with them earlier, and now Atticus is peacefully sleeping cuddled between Froggy and Cookie Monster.

On another note, Robbie and Baby H had to go back home today. :(  She turns 3 months old today. Pray that they have a safe and uneventful trip, and that we'll all be able to be together again soon.  This just means I'll be able to focus on Atticus more, since I won't be trading out with Robbie to nurse her.  But it stinks being seperated from my newborn. 

All in all we still have a lot of healing to do. I'm so thankful that we are continuing to move in the right direction. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I'll try to update again if we end up making it to 8D today. But in the meantime, just keep on prayin'!