update

Baby Elaina had her heart surgery last week and everything went pretty well. The docs decided the morning of the surgery to ditch the bypass procedure in favor of a less complicated operation, due to her size (4lb9oz). They did open her up under her right arm and spread her ribs to get in and install the shunt. They encountered some minor glitches and the surgery took about 2-1/2 hours longer than anticipated. Hollie was a nervous wreck, but Elaina pulled through! Poor little dear looked just awful afterwards, (although, who doesn't look a sight after major surgery?) and she was obviously in considerable pain, despite being heavily medicated. It was a rough day for all involved. Hollie had a very hard time leaving the baby that day but her own health had been declining considerably due to the stress and travel. I took Hollie home that night and stayed with her for the next 2 days while she rested. She had severe edema in her legs and had also developed a mild fever and a cough, so she stayed home while baby recovered. Baby Elaina scared the nurses a couple of times over the next 2 days with temperature spikes and bouts of low blood pressure, but they kept a very close eye on her and kept her stable. They gave her a round of antibiotics and adjusted her pain meds to stabilize her BP. Cardiologists gave her the all-clear on her shunt implant and she is doing as well as they anticipated. As of Monday, she was off of the ventilator and had several tubes and wires removed, and she finally got rid of the prostaglandin IV, which then allowed her heart ductus to close on its own. This also allowed her to have her very first tube-feeding of breastmilk! Mommy got to nurse her for the first time Tuesday (non-nutritive feeding, more for skin-to-skin contact, bonding and recovery), which was a huge milestone, although baby is not a vigorous nurser yet and may require gavage for at least a month. Still, Hollie is overjoyed and tremendously relieved to get this far.

We are all so glad that Elaina's first surgery was less eventful than docs originally planned, and we look forward to further uneventful recovery and growth. It's been almost a week now, and she is active and alert and seems to be thriving. Hallelujah! Docs are hoping she's well enough to go home by her "due date" (Feb 11). She will still definitely need a series of operations as she gets bigger; the next one will be when she is 3-4 months old.

So, now to my venting...My mother is in from Nebraska and will stay with Hollie until the baby is home and settled. She's in the process of a "deep clean" of Hollie's house so it will be suitable for the baby to come home (Elaina's immune system is compromised not only by her recent surgery but by her fragile heart in general). Hollie and Mike had just moved in to this new place when Hollie got put on bedrest, so she never got around to unpacking and organizing, and (what's a nice way to say this...) Mike is a disgusting slob. Their living conditions are appalling. My mom has said she can't keep up with Mike's reign of terror; every time he leaves the room it's like a hurricane just hit. He's completely remorseless about it and he has no respect for other people, his home or himself. It's shameful, really. He's also been giving Hollie grief about being bedridden and not attending to his "needs" (like sharing her meds with him or continually waking him up for work in the morning. HELLO!) Hollie had a huge fight with him and the stress levels around there are out of control. Now he's "afraid" of my mother (awesome ) and is holed up in his bedroom, living in... well, heaven only knows what kind of squalor. Mom and I spent most of last weekend chipping away at the mess. (We joked that we should call a disaster clean-up crew in to clear out and disinfect things so we don't die of dysentery in the process. My mom used up a gallon of bleach in the storage room alone. sick.) The big fear is that the baby will have survived all of these complications, only to catch a fatal disease just by being at home. One little germ could kill this baby. I imagine Hollie would do more to keep things sanitary, if she were physically able, but Mike doesn't seem to care (bringing it up to him is "insensitive, critical and attacking"). I need primal scream therapy.

I've also mentioned before that my 5-year-old nephew, Ben, is extremely energetic. I decided to get him out of the way for a few hours on Saturday, which really took a toll on me. We went to lunch, the park, the library, the carwash, the movies. He wore me right out. He was being very difficult and I ended up bringing him home much sooner than I'd initially intended. My mother is a very industrious, stalwart and golden-hearted lady but it still amazes me how she finds the strength to endure this kind of living situation day-in and day-out. I was there for 2 little days before I came home and had a nervous breakdown. oh the drama. [vent over.] *sigh*