Ready for Surgery

 Hello Everyone,

Well, we made it. Here we are. I was at Children's hospital all day yesterday with Lucas doing all the pre-op appointments that get us ready for his surgery. I met with the surgeon, the nurse that talked in detail about the prep we have to do at home & what arrival and recover will look like, Lucas also got his blood drawn, got an xray and also go an echo cardiogram done. We were there from 8am-2pm. He got a commemorative heart pillow that all heart surgery patients get.

Result is if it didn't feel real already, it feels real now. I feel like I left the hospital that and walked into a fog of thoughts and feelings trying to process that this is actually happening. Each day keeps slipping by and inching us closer to the "big day". It's definitely weird to want something to happen, but be afraid to have it happen at the same time.

I can say that I have been preparing for this spiritually and have been practicing surrender and am committed to having God's abundance flow in and through this whole situation. So I will continue what I have been practicing which is to notice emotions or thoughts. Absolutely acknowledge them as what they are and remember that any fears, worries, or sadness is simply because I care so deeply about him and I can accept them as a natural process of going through something challenging like this and give them up to God. I'm so grateful that I've been practicing this because I would say it is working to have me feel centered and connected to love and in general, the thoughts and feelings I am having are bigger and pack more of a punch than I've been having up til now. Luckily the practice is that same. 😊

So if you are reading this, I would ask you to join me as you are able. To be present to the love that surrounds you in your own family and relationships and the beautiful weather we've been having, in nature or in the hobbies or activities that you do that feed you and fill you up and inspire. Do an extra dose of those things over the next few weeks as a prayer and offering of love to surround Lucas and support his surgery and recovery. Hug your loved ones a little more, have a little more patience and grace with those you care about and yourself and send all that energy of love our way! 💙

We have been blessed to have people offer to help watch the girls and step in to support us since Fernando's family will not be staying with us for this round of hospital stays. I remain so grateful to be so supported and can always use more so feel free to overwhelm us with messages and love. I can guarantee it will feed us. Thank you for being a contribution. Truly.

So this first message will serve as a reminder that Lucas' surgery is on Tuesday 7/29. I'll arrive at the hospital with him early in the morning at 6am, I plan to send an e-mail out once he goes back to surgery with an estimate of when the surgery will start. The surgery will take 4-6 hours. They will be calling me with updates throughout. I'll be hanging out close to the hospital with some friends. Once I hear that the surgery is complete, I can go to the hospital, it'll take about an hour for them to get him situated in his room in the ICU. I will send another e-mail once I get to lay eyes on him in the hospital.

In the ICU, there will be nurse dedicated to his care exclusively. It sounds likely that he won't be awake through the first night so someone suggested that I spend the night at home to get some good rest. If it seems like that the day of the surgery after talking to the nurses then I may do that. Then I'll be staying with him in his room for at least a couple weeks for as long as it takes. The first 3 days will be the biggest ones to get through. Around that time the chest tube (the most uncomfortable) will come out and he will be more likely to be more alert and move around a bit.

So that's the plan, stay tuned and I'll keep you updated. Don't hesitate to text me.

Lots of love, thank you for caring and being on this journey with us,

Christine & Family