The Longest Day...

Wow, what a day for the Kang family. Madi's surgery was a success and she is doing well as we speak. The surgery ended up being a lot longer (about 6 hours) and much more complicated than originally anticipated. Here is a quick explination (to the best of my abilities) of the complication that was found:
Madi's heart needed a patch between the two (right and left) ventricles. Once the surgeon was inside her heart he noticed that her chordae tendinae (chord-like tendons that connect the muscle of the heart to the valves) were crossed through the center of her heart where he needed the patch to go. At that point he had two decisions...he could not repair the heart and she would always have one ventricle, or he could give it a shot and do his best to continue with the repair. He told us that if it was his child he would have wanted her to have a shot at it so he went ahead with the repair. He literally had to weave the patch through the tiny tendons in order to close the hole and repair the valves (which is why the surgery took so long). They did an ultrasound once he was done and as of now the valves are functioning and not leaking!!! This added complication does increase the risk of the valves eventually leaking and possibly needing another repair (10 years down the road). All in all (and despite the ulcers formed by mom and dad) things are looking good so far. Madi is doing well and continues to be a strong fighter!

Madi is resting comfortably and is heavily sedated. They are going to definitely keep her on the ventilator through the night and therefore they are keeping her very sedated. It was so extremely hard to see her with all of the wires and tubes. It amazes me how much strength I have gained from her. Watching her literally fight for her life is incredibly inspiring and moving for me. I would do anything to switch places with her. I feel so completely helpless! As her mom it is my job to protect, care for, comfort and provide for my baby. It is so hard to just stand by and watch as doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists etc tend to her. We just lef the hospital to try and get some sleep and it is so odd to be home without her. I know she is in great hands and she has an a amazing team working on her. It is insane how chaotic her room in the ICU is...there is constantly someone monitoring or doing something. I keep telling myslef that each minute that passes is a minute closer to a healthy and happy life for our sweet girl. We know she is on the road to recovery and we pray that she has a good night!

We will be back at the hospital by 7am so we can catch all the doctors on their rounds. Thank you again for all of the support, love and prayers. It means so much to us! Here are some before and after pics. Just to warn you...the after pics are a little tough to look at! :( One day we will be able to show her how strong she was, even as a tiny baby!