Day 2

Darby Kate had a rough morning and had to go for a heart catheterization and 2nd open heart surgery. The high lactate numbers they were concerned about had come down; however, her oxygen saturation was low. She was very unstable as they moved her; however, they were able to stabilize her once she was in the cath room. Updates were posted on the prayer page:

6:45 a.m.  The doctor just came in and stated her lactate had come back down but her saturations are low and they don't know why. They are sending her back for a catherization and he stated this could be serious at the point that she is at. He told us with everything going on she's on the edge of the cliff and it's very important that they get her saturations back up. Please pray. If the catherization does not work she will probably have to go back into surgery.

7:20 a.m.  She is about to be transported to a different floor for her cath. During the catherization, they will shoot dye into her heart to see if something is blocking the shunt that was placed into her heart tying her right ventricle to her lungs. He said that it was necessary to keep her alive and they hope to see the shunt restricted in some way so they can return to surgery and fix it. Dr. Alten said he is going with her to try to keep her as stable as possible but just rolling her down the hall is very risky. He did not hide his concern at all and said that the next few hours will determine her fate. Please keep praying!

9:45 a.m.  The doctor just stuck his head in and said that they have her stabilized and are about to start the catherization process and it will take about two hours. I will update as I receive them. Thank you for your unwavering support and prayers!

3:30 p.m.  Dr. Dabal came in and said he found another major malfunction of the heart. They went in to fix the valve that had flowing issues and uncovered a totally different issue. There were membranes growing in the pulmonary arteries which were restricting the blood flow to the lungs. They realized that her left lung has not been used since since she was born. "She is one tough cookie". They fixed the issue and are warming her back up. She will stay on the ECMO machine for approximately 24 - 42 hours to give her heart a chance to rest. He said her heart has not even realized that it has not been getting enough oxygen. Her saturation went down to 40 which would have sent most hearts in to cardiac arrest. She is still not out of the woods but he was very optimistic. They said this is the most difficult case they have seen at this location and she is a little rock star! Dr. Dabal said he has never seen a ase like this in all his years of practicing medicine. She is truly a testimony of Gods love. Thank you so much for the prayers!

This little boy knows how to make Mommy feel better!