Addison's Surgery is Booked

On Monday we met with the Neonatologist and the two Pediatric Surgeons and were advised that Addison is scheduled for her PDA Valve surgery Friday morning at 8:00 am. The doctors are going to perform the surgery right in the NICU unit so there will be less stress on Addison trying to move her out of NICU and down to the OR. The doctors advised that it is a difficult surgery as Addison is small and it is a very small valve that they are operating on. We actually got to see an xray of one baby who has received it and the clamp on the valve is no bigger than a small staple. It really is amazing what these doctors can do.

This surgery is necessary for Addison to have room to improve on her respirations, and heart and lung abilities that normally would have developed had she gone full term. She will have a tough recovery as the doctors advise that babies who receive the surgery normally get sicker first before they get better, as it causes more stress on the heart as it has not been used to working/pumping that hard. Lets pray that Addison can beat those odds and prove them wrong.


She has been remaining fairly stable this week, with a few bumps in the road. Without the valve closed the nurses constantly have to play with Addison's Oxygen and CO2 levels to make sure she remains balanced and can breath a balanced output on her respirator. The poor thing has been off food again because she was having problems digesting and doctor's don't want her sick prior to surgery. The best remedy was to stop her feeding again (breastmilk) and as a result she had lost some weight. It gets frustrating for us, but then we think how hard poor Addison is fighting and we just put our frustration back into strength for her.

As you can see she was sporting a cute little striped toque this week for mom and dad and of course we could not miss the photo op!! She even went so far as opening her eyes at just the right moment for this one. The cute factor is just beyond belief!!!!! Mom and Dad unfortunately missed that Addison had learned that she could still get her thumb into her mouth, despite the tubes and suck on it, but the nurses luckily know that mom is a photo crazed loon and took some pics for mom and dad to take home. We will share them once we get them scanned in.

Thanks to everyone for your kind words via cards and emails, as well as your kind gifts of food and gas cards. They really have come in handy with all of our travelling to and from London, and for those times when we get home late and just don't want to cook. We thank you for your patience and would love to accept any calls or visits when we manage to be at home, everyone's support is truly amazing.