Surgery Day (Warning! Long post!!!)

Hi again!

Let me start by saying how amazing our nurses and doctors have been. They have truly been a gift to us. From the labor and delivery ones to the NICU and PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) ones, we have been so grateful. We cannot thank them enough.

We are also thankful for all of the kind words and prayers that you all have been saying for Ella. We know that the Lord is with her and has her in His hands. It's kind of amazing to think about how much God loves His children. Until I had kids I don't know if I fully understood His love for us. I think I love my children a lot, but it's incomparable to the love that He has for us.  She is such a trooper. She has gotten poked and prodded more times than I could have imagined and she's still a content little girl that likes to be snuggled by blankets or our hands.

We are so thankful for our family too. They have been a great support for us. Whether they were here with us or watching Eli (thanks Tyra!), we cannot thank them enough.

Matt and I have fallen completely in love with Ella. She is sooo cute, how could you not? We were looking at pictures of Eli when he was born and they look so similar, as many of you have also noticed. When Eli was able to meet her on Saturday he was totally in love with her as well. He kept touching her head and asking if he could hold her. It was such a special moment when he saw her. During the time he was down here, he kept pulling over a chair or asking us to pull a chair over so he could see her. He's going to be such an amazing brother.

We of course have had our ups and downs since she has been here but we know that God has her in His hands. I feel like I cry every now and then for about one minute or less, then I'm good. Matt has been such an amazing support for me and I don't know how I would ever get through something like this without him. He is so strong, yet allows his emotions to show. I am a blessed woman!

Today is the surgery day. We are currently sitting with both sets of parents in the waiting room. So far these are the updates that we've gotten and I will try my best to post in the next post the other hourly updates...

We arrived in Ella's room at 6:20 this morning to see her totally happy and cozy. Her nurse was so sweet to her and knew that she liked her feet to be covered and bunched up. They haven't been able to really cover her feet very much because they've been looking at them when they assess how she's doing. I have been holding them for her and bunching her legs up, as if I was holding her. She would get fussy when I would take my hands off of her so I was on my feet a lot of the day and would switch with Matt every once in a while. It was a sweet day bonding with our daughter. It made us feel a little more needed since all of her other needs were being met by the nurses (we haven't even changed a diaper yet because it's too risky with the UAC line in her umbilical cord).

Here are the updates so far...
7:30 we got to walk with Ella and the nurses down the the OR
9:10 first incision 
9:35 surgery started 
10:35  finished bypass and started the repair of her heart 
11:35 everything is going well, still repairing the heart
12:40 everything is still going well, still repairing the heart
1:40 done with surgery, finishing up (probably won't be for a little while still)
2:30 waiting for oxygen level readings to get read properly, having a little trouble getting the correct measurements
4:20 nurse came to tell us that surgery is done and she is heading down to help get Ella from the OR which could still take up to an hour
4:53 we saw her for a couple seconds through a window get wheeled down towards her room with a "train" of people and equipment