QUICK UPDATE 9/12/07

I just discovered a computer in one of the waiting rooms! Gracie's surgery went extremely well yesterday and we are so thankful for all of your prayers you lifted up for her and us. They did a full repair and expect her to be perfectly "normal" after she recovers. They put a patch to close her VSD/hole between her left and right ventricle. It turns out that she didn't have a pulmonary valve stenosis because she didn't have a pulmlonary valve!! All she had was a blob of tissue that was blocking most of her blood from pumping into her pulmonary arteries which then go to her lungs, etc. So, they removed the tissue and said she is fine without the valve. They will keep a watch on it and if at some point they feel she needs a valve then they will put one in through a catheter procedure. The surgeon decided to leave her left pulmonary artery alone (the one that is half the size of her right) because he said that it was functioning perfectly and that it should grow as more blood flows through it. They will also keep a close watch on this and if it does not grow over time then they will enlarge it through a catheter procedure also. She is still sedated but has come to a little bit and is NOT happy!! It is very hard to not be able to hold her!!! They had hoped to be able to remove her chest tubes and breathing tube today but her blood is clotting slower than normal so they didn't get to. Usually children with her condition have surgery between 6-9 months of age but since she is 16 1/2 months then her heart has had to compensate for the abnormalities longer and so the clotting is just slow going. Hopefully they will come out tomorrow!!! Scott headed back home this afternoon and I've had a pretty quiet afternoon. We've had lots of visitors which has been really nice. We've met lots of other families here and it's definitely not a "fun" place to be with all of the sick children and it is really wearing on me. We have taken some pictures but they are pretty graphic so we will post some when she doesn't have so many tubes and is awake. One of our friends here is letting me borrow her cell phone so if you'd like to call the number is 509-279-9954. Love you all!