Surgery Update :: [day one]

Leighton has been beyond amazing today. We checked into the hospital at 6am and her surgery started around 7:30am. She had to stop eating by 3am so we were a little nervous she'd be hungry and crabby, but she was a gem. So smiley and happy. Surgery took about 5 hours, so she did well! She was on bypass for 55 minutes and they did have to stop her heart for 13 minutes while Dr. Kaza (her beyond amazing surgeon) over-sewed her pulmonary artery that is now detatched from her heart. She came off bypass well and even came out of surgery breathing on her own (which isn't always the case) we're proud of our strong little girl!

She's in the CICU (cardiac ICU) recovering now and doing pretty well. Her stats are right where they should be. From 1:00-5:00 she was pretty irritable (rightfully so) and it's taken us until now to get on top of her pain. She had a rough time coming out of anesthesia & I think that's where a lot of her discomfort came from. She moaned and cried pretty continually for the entire 4 hours and there was absolutely nothing we could do to help her. It was heartbreaking. Hopefully she continues to rest tonight so she can heal and the stitches in her heart don't become too stressed.

We again are so grateful for all the love and prayers being sent out way. We have been blessed ...