Good News/Bad News Update

A bit of fun before procedures today.

It’s been a one step forward, two steps back kind of week. Or maybe it’s been a one step forward, one step back kind of week. Essentially, all good news seems to be tempered with bad news on the rare days we get good news.

Here’s the high level: We discovered several days ago that Matthew had a large pericardial effusion, which means he had fluid around his heart. This was keeping the fluid output from the lungs high and is why we had the chest tubes far longer than we wanted. Draining the effusion effectively dried out the lungs so we could remove the chest tubes. Those came out two days ago.

Draining the effusion, however, also meant we had to put in a new tube, to drain and measure additional fluid building around the heart.

Earlier today Matthew had a sedated echo to get a good look at his heart. The result was positive in that they pulled the drain and, for the first time since surgery, he is tube-free. We were high-fiving and celebrating for about 30 seconds until we learned that, during the echo, they were unable to get a clear view of his left pulmonary artery (PA). 

If you recall from an earlier post, they found that the left PA was "tortuous" or a bit obstructed during surgery and they did some work to enlarge it. The Fontan (the procedure Matthew has had) does best when there is unobstructed blood flow to the lungs so we don't want to take a chance on this.

Because Matthew has already been without food or drink all day (yet AGAIN this week) they have taken him straight to the cath lab to get a better look at the left PA and decide if it needs intervention (i.e.: a stent). 

We are now awaiting word from the cath lab on what they find and will let you know. We're all so ready for this kid to catch a break and be able to come home again!