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| Photography by Guenard Photography |
Where do I begin? So just like Dr. Rutledge
predicted, Evanna's cardiac cath took just over 4 hours. I am honestly still
trying to digest everything she told me, as sometimes keeping up with
everything Dr. Rutledge says isn’t that easy (she an incredibly smart and
talented woman). While I know more than the average mom (I think I deserve some
sort of Respiratory or Nursing degree after all of this), I still have moments
where some things just go completely over my head and wish Nick were here to
catch what I miss (unfortunately Nick had to work today, and while I'm sure his
boss would have given him the day off if he asked for it, Nick tries to be
really careful of what days he really needs to request off. Unfortunately, the
world continues to move forward no matter how long your child is in the
hospital and the bills don't just pay themselves).
Anyways, from a "procedural" point of view, they only ended up ballooning one collateral on the right side and didn't insert a single stent. Dr. Rutledge stated that Evanna’s collaterals on the right side looked good, but they are incredibly concerned with her collaterals on the left. Her left collaterals are very narrow where they come into her conduit. In fact, they are only about 1mm in size and they were unable to thread a wire into them. However, as you get closer to her left lung, the collaterals begin to widen a little bit, and so tomorrow Dr. Rutledge and Dr. Rebeyka will be going over the cath done today, her cath back in December and her last CT Angio to discuss options. What they're hoping is that her collaterals will be big enough just before they go into lung tissue (once arteries reach lung tissue, surgeons are unable to touch/do anything about them... am I losing any of you yet?) and see if they can either place a shunt or somehow use grafts to help increase blood flow to Evanna's left lung. So to sum everything up, we are mostly likely facing another MAJOR surgery in the very near future (like in the next week). They'll probably do another left thoracotomy, but until Dr. Rutledge and Dr. Rebeyka can meet and talk about everything, I have no details to share. All I know is that Evanna needs another surgery, and sooner rather than later.
Anyways, from a "procedural" point of view, they only ended up ballooning one collateral on the right side and didn't insert a single stent. Dr. Rutledge stated that Evanna’s collaterals on the right side looked good, but they are incredibly concerned with her collaterals on the left. Her left collaterals are very narrow where they come into her conduit. In fact, they are only about 1mm in size and they were unable to thread a wire into them. However, as you get closer to her left lung, the collaterals begin to widen a little bit, and so tomorrow Dr. Rutledge and Dr. Rebeyka will be going over the cath done today, her cath back in December and her last CT Angio to discuss options. What they're hoping is that her collaterals will be big enough just before they go into lung tissue (once arteries reach lung tissue, surgeons are unable to touch/do anything about them... am I losing any of you yet?) and see if they can either place a shunt or somehow use grafts to help increase blood flow to Evanna's left lung. So to sum everything up, we are mostly likely facing another MAJOR surgery in the very near future (like in the next week). They'll probably do another left thoracotomy, but until Dr. Rutledge and Dr. Rebeyka can meet and talk about everything, I have no details to share. All I know is that Evanna needs another surgery, and sooner rather than later.
Evanna tolerated the procedure very well, they gave
her all fresh lines (arterial, IJ and a new head IV….can’t wait for that one to
stop working) except her trusty ol’ PICC line, and they changed out her trach
as they reintubated her for the procedure. I just told Dr. Rutledge that she
did my job for me, as Evanna needed a new trach change today anyways.
It’s been another long day, and I’m still processing the news. The fact that we are facing yet ANOTHER major surgery is heart wrenching, and I just don’t know what else to say at the moment. We are no longer looking to transfer back to Calgary in a couple of days like I was hoping, and it looks like we’ll be sticking around in Edmonton for a little while yet.
It’s been another long day, and I’m still processing the news. The fact that we are facing yet ANOTHER major surgery is heart wrenching, and I just don’t know what else to say at the moment. We are no longer looking to transfer back to Calgary in a couple of days like I was hoping, and it looks like we’ll be sticking around in Edmonton for a little while yet.
Thanks for the continued love, support and prayers.
xo The Irvine Family
+ On [[JUNE 12]] @compassionauction has graciously asked if they could hold an auction for us on Instagram, and will donate all of the proceeds to our family. Please do me a favor and follow these steps:
+ On [[JUNE 12]] @compassionauction has graciously asked if they could hold an auction for us on Instagram, and will donate all of the proceeds to our family. Please do me a favor and follow these steps:
1. Follow @compassionauction on Instagram to get in on
the action. If you have something you would like to donate, email them at compassionauction@gmail.com In the email include
a photo of the item or your logo for store credit, a short description of your
item, the retail value, where you are willing to ship the item too, and if your
including shipping or how much shipping will be.
2. Tag any friends and encourage them to participate as well!
2. Tag any friends and encourage them to participate as well!
3. Tag any of your favorite IG/Etsy shops that you
think would be interested in donating (we are still in need/search of items for
the auction).
4. Most importantly »» be sure to bid and
participate on June 12!!
+ If you take a look on the right hand side of this blog, you can see that I have set up a You Caring page to receive funds from the auction. However, it will also accept monetary donations that anyone may wish to contribute. While most things have been covered during this journey, the length of our situation has dug into our savings just a little bit. This is why when @compassionauction contacted me asking to do an auction on our behalf, I couldn’t turn it down (I liked the idea of people receiving something in exchange for a donation). Overall, the amount raised isn’t really as important as the support, love and prayers we have received. So while donations are appreciated, more than anything we ask for your continued prayers and support. The account will only remain open and active until June 30, 2015.
+ We now have an official Facebook page! I only do blog updates every 2 - 6 days, but I try my best to do daily Instagram (@kierrai) and now Facebook updates for those following closely to our little heart journey. If you want your daily fix of Miss Evanna, click HERE or search "The Irvine Home // Evanna's Special Heart" to find our Facebook page.
+ Did you know that STARS Ambulance tweets about their calls? I looked back and found the one of them that was for Evanna, however even through an advanced search and trying to scroll to Evanna's February 26 STARS transfer, I was unable to locate that tweet (it won't let me scroll back past March 3 for some reason...grr). They don't reveal any patient information, but based on the date and call type, I was able to figure out which one was ours:
STAR-1 (Calgary) has been dispatched for an inter-hospital transport in the Calgary, AB area.
— STARS Ambulance (@STARSambulance) May 10, 2015
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