Charlotte and Tom were able to spend some time with Ruby in the PICU and here is the update they sent: “There were at least 8 people in with her when we arrived. They have someone monitoring the ecmo machine (the pump) at all times and there were multiple nurses adjusting her medications and lines to keep her safe and comfortable. It was overwhelming at first, but once we watched them doing there thing it was reassuring to see how attentive and professional her care givers are. All of them took the time to introduce themselves to us as we sat and watched and explained what they were there for. The ICU doctor was very helpful in explaining things and just very kind. He said basically her heart is stunned and needs time to rest and relax the tissues so it can beat without having too much pressure causing it to beat too fast or having it take too much work or meds to keep it going. They had to have a very high dosage of meds to get it to normal in the OR. Dr. Horne (surgeon) was there to answer a few questions initially, but left soon after. He said that if everything he repaired stays as it was when they left the OR her heart should be okay once it has time to recover, but that sometimes sutures can come undone, it's uncommon but it can happen. So we'll just have to wait and see. Once her heart starts giving them some good arcs on the monitor (my terminology could be way off here) then they'll know that they can try to take her off the pump/ecmo machine. She is stable and comfortable. Right now they are working on getting a bit more rhythm going in her heart to make sure the blood doesn't just sit there too long. We can come and go as often as we like and we can touch and kiss her, just have to be careful of the important lines to her heart.” Thank you for all your prayers and kind words today. We will keep you updated.
