Day 6, Thursday 1/23/14

We were released on Day 6.  The record for this surgery is 5 days and the average is 7 days.

On the morning of Day 6 a doctor came to remove her chest tube.  It was held in with a suture which was removed then the tube was pulled straight out.  They covered the wound with a pressure bandage and we have to care for it for five days.  We removed the bandage 24 hours later and replaced it with a simple band-aid.  Then we have to change the band-aid for the next 5 days keeping the area clean and dry.  The hole looks pretty big to me but apparently it will heal fine on its own.

I put Katie in some cute Valentines heart jammies and then we had to wait for a final heart echo.  The lady came to her room with the machine and the echo took about 40 minutes.  Katie didn't like it, I think the goo and pressure on her chest was hurting her.

She was given a prescription for Lasix, a diuretic, to help her kidneys remove any excess fluid.  We filled the prescription at the hospital pharmacy before we left.  We have to give her this medication for one week.  She can also have Tylenol as needed. 

The nurse scheduled a follow up appointment with the pediatric cardiologist in Syracuse for Wednesday 1/29/14.  That was it!

We were free, six days after surgery, with a bandage procedure, one medication, and a follow up appointment.

Katie is amazing.  She is so sweet and calm natured.  She lets us know when she is hurting but recovers quickly.  We are so thrilled that the surgery is done, Katie is healthy, and we are HOME!