Surgery Souvenirs & Milestones

We gathered some souvenirs so we can explain what happened when Katie is old enough to understand.

1. We saved Katie's ID band and the green bands Mike and I wore to show we were approved visitors that had received the flu vaccine.
2. On one of our night walks around the hospital we stopped in the gift shop.  I bought Katie a small silver angel, with a heart, that says "Live, Love, Laugh".  
3. A Rochester charity, Pirate Toy Fund, gave Katie a pink polka-dot bear blanket to play with. http://www.piratetoyfund.org/
4. The Ronald McDonald House Charities gave us a tote bag, helpful for getting all our things back to the car! http://www.rmhc.org/
5. My mother found a book called "Matty's Heart: A Child's and Parents' Guide to Open Heart Surgery".  This book explains open heart surgery at two levels one basic and one more advanced.  It also has an area in the back for milestones, memories, coloring pages, and games.  It was from Kids With Heart: National Association for Children's Heart Disorders, Inc. www.kidswithheart.org
6. My mother also found a teddy bear that has a zipper on its chest.  You pull the zipper down and expose a heart inside that is stitched up.  It is used to explain the chest scar, where the heart is, and how it was fixed. Bummer Bears: Mended Heart Bear www.bummerbears.com 

Here are the milestones we recorded in her book:

• Surgery, how long did it take: 1/17/14, Bypass 1hr22min
• Date NG (nose tube) removed: 1/18/14, 6am
• Date ET tube (ventilator) removed: 1/18/14, 6am
• Date Foley (catheter) removed: 1/18/14, 1pm
• Date you could be held: 1/18/14, 5pm
• Date arterial line comes out: 1/18/14, 8pm
• Date central line comes out: 1/19/14, 9am
• Date moved to private room: 1/19/14, 2pm 
• Date first able to drink (milk): 1/19/14, 2:30pm
• Date chest tube comes out: 1/23/14, 9am
• Date peripheral IV line comes out: 1/23/14, 12pm
• Date you get to go home: 1/23/14, 1:30pm