Heart Surgery

The night before the heart catheterisation

It was 12 years ago today that Miss K had heart surgery. In many ways the heart surgery was much easier than the heart catheterisation for us emotionally and for Miss K physically. It was during the heart catheterisation that her heart stopped and as they told us "she had major bleeding." It was the night after that procedure that we were told she would not make it. Three days later she was going in for heart surgery.

I discovered an email we sent on 1 August, 2004.

Last Monday the surgeons at Xin Guang Hospital in Taipei successfully removed the stenosis from Miss K's aorta, which allowed her for the first time to have adequate blood flow to her legs. The blood pressure in her upper and lower body has now equalised and her feet no longer feel cold. We have a lot to give thanks for!

This surgery was considered to be high-risk because:1) her heart had stopped completely a few days earlier and had to be restarted, 2) she had been through a major surgery on her stomach only 10 days earlier, 3) in general, operations on the aorta in this age group have about a 15% mortality rate. Complications during surgery could have included stroke, heart attack or damage to the lymphatic system.

We are grateful to report that, thanks to your prayers, the surgery went smoothly and no complications occurred. This past week Miss K has made lots of progress -- she is beginning to breastfeed which is hark work for her and has moved out of the ICU, she is gaining weight and they are beginning to talk about discharging her.

on Friday, July 23 we were informed, in a brief phone call from the doctor's office of the cause of her heart and stomach deformities. Miss K has Down's Syndrome, which originates in a chromosome disorder and cannot be cured. We heard this news at about the same time that we learned of her need for heart surgery. After all this, we were in shock for about 2 days, but found strength in God. Still, it is a very severe trial. We are gradually adjusting to Miss K's condition now and thinking of how we can get the training we need to provide her with adequate care.

Thank you for your prayer for Miss K! God has already answered them in a wonderful way. Please continue to pray that she can recover and come home soon. She is nearly 3 weeks old and knows nothing of the world outside the hospital.

Now 12 years later I look back and remember some of those emotions. I remember sitting in plastic aqua chairs watching Chinese TV while she spent hours in surgery. I remember walking down the hall. I remember the doctor coming out and saying, "everything is okay".

As I look back on what we wrote and some of the emotions, I reflect on God's goodness. I am reminded that God is good when he healed Miss K and God is also good even when healing doesn't happen.

Beth