Post-Op: Day 1

Sweet Kellyn Rose continues to progress well. Day one of Post-Op found us singing her unofficial theme song to John Denver's Country Roads - "Kellyn Rose take me home to the place I belong..." on continuous loop (for the record this is the only half way decent John Denver tune). Singing seemed to pay off as she cleared the critical first 12-hours post coming of the heart lung machine.

The day began with her connected to a number of things including:

-Ventilator
-Catheder
-Chest tube
-Central IV line
-Arterial line
-Line in groin.
-EKG leads
-Pacemaker leads

As of about midday she was extibated from the critical ventilator and was breathing with just a small amount of oxygen through a nose canula. She also has had the catheder removed. The idea is that over time she will shed more and more of these - when they are all gone she can go home. She's started whimpering a decent amount and has opened her eyes a bit. Her medications have been gradually dialed back and are one by one removed. The idea is to keep her comfortable as her heartrate comes down and she gets more comfortable.

Ruthie had the sweet opportunity to hold her for a bit which while akward with all the leads, was quite sweet. She continues to progress well and the staff is quite impressed with her.

Its been pretty wild in the PICU with a pretty full unit, tight nurse staffing and some pretty rough cases so we have spent a lot of time bedside advocating for the girl and holding her hand. At this point we ask that no one visit because of this.

Thanks so very much for the messages and tremendous support. Its been intense and incredibly meaningful.

Win the day!