It's hard to believe it's been a year since Jillian's Tetrology repair, but it has. We can remember every moment, struggle, and triumph like it was yesterday. I'll never forget the fear we all felt when we were given the news (at 20ish weeks pregnant) that our Baby B had a heart defect called Tetrology of Fallot. Dr. Roten came at us with loads of information that none of us could quite process, but she assured me that Jillian would go on to live a normal healthy life. It was hard to believe at the time, but she was right. Fastforward 14ish weeks to delievery (a story in itself) and we were ever so glad that Harris, Baylor All-Saints, and Cook Children's Perinatal and Neonatal teams work so closely together, because EVERYONE knew what to expect from Jillian and were prepared even at midnight! Jill recieved Prostaglandin (spelling?) for 10 days and had her first heart surgery. 4 months later we noticed that we had a bluer baby than anticipated so soon and her O2 sats were getting pretty low, not to mention she was getting really fussy. Something was up. Thanks to Dr. Roten we got in for a heart cath and had Jillian's Tet repair the very next day. Let's just say Dr. Tam (Jill's surgeon) is the bomb.com! We handed her over at 4:30 PM on Nov 8th and didn't lay eyes on her again until 4:30 AM Nov 9th. Talk about having to have faith in God and the doctors He provided for us, HE is awesome! Much to our dismay, Dr. Tam couldn't close her due to excessive swelling from being on the table and on bypass for so long. We waited 5 long days to get her closed and then we began celebrating every milestone! Closing, extubating (spelling again?), waking up, weaning off meds, moving out of PICU, going home, going home again, taking bottles, losing the feeding tube, getting a clean bill of health! We had our share of hurdles but today our sweet Jillian is doing everything she should be doing and more! We've been through things no family should have to go through, but are so blessed that we have such a remarkable outcome. It is no question that the doctors, nurses, surgeons, care partners, and volunteers who took care of both of our girls were called by God to do their work, and He is working miracles through them.
 |
| Right after surgery |
 |
| Closing day! |
 |
| No more breathing tube! |
 |
| Awake and drugged |
 |
| A sleepy visitor |
 |
| Up and cheering on the Pokes! |
 |
| Moving out of PICU |
 |
| Happy to be on the floor |
 |
| Mommy couldn't have made it without Anna, what awesome friends we've become! |
 |
| That yucky feeding tube! |
 |
| Clean bill of health with Dr. Roten |
 |
| And today...what a goose! |
 |
| Let's not forget sweet Avery, she was a supportive and wonderful Big Sister. : ) |
