On days like today I sometimes wonder how people can work through situations like this without the faith and support that we have. I can't imagine doing any of this without the love and support of friends and family. From child support, meals and even mowing the grass, our friends and family have stepped up in such a big way. Ashley and I have been free to process this and work through the details which have been much more complex and much more work than I think we anticipated. Not to mention the prayer from hundreds across the world....we are just so thankful for you all!
With that said, we are headed into the most complex day yet. Up until Saturday night Landen continued to do very well. As you know from previous posts, the ICU staff even felt that he was almost ready to move out of the ICU and over to the floor for less monitoring. But as a Dad, I had a gut feel that he really was not well inside, but just looked good. That started to ring true Sunday AM when his lactic acid test came back very high as I said this morning. At this point the teams have reviewed his status and it is unanimous that he will have the band surgery tomorrow.
This procedure is complex, yet has been done many times before. The basics are that they will open his chest and place a band around his pulmonary artery to restrict blood flow to his lungs (which is the reason for his issues currently). Since they will be placing him on bypass for this procedure, they will also open his heart and manually remove tissue to increase the size of the ASD. The procedure last week was a success for its purpose, but since they are in his chest, it makes sense to make that hole larger so he is better prepared for the next surgery likely to take place 4-6 months from now. Of course this is a bit more complex because they are now opening the heart, but Ashley, the doctors and I agree that this is the right next step.
Now what makes this procedure a little ruff for Ashley and I to process is the fact that they will possibly/likely keep his chest open for the next 24 hours after his surgery. This is due to a couple things. Children this age/size will likely send excess fluid to there chest cavity during trauma like he will have and if the chest is closed expansion for that fluid will restrict the heart and lungs during recovery. The bigger reason is more practical to me. In order to ensure that the band is tight or loose enough to balance flow, they will need to monitor post surgery. He will of course be sedated, intubated and immobilized with muscle "paralyzers" but over the first 24 hours his organs will be starting to "wake" back up and he will likely need some fine tuning of that band.
All in all, the next 48 hours are going to be very long for the Hatch family. We know that he is in the best hands he could possibly be in, and that he has a God who loves him more than I can comprehend (and I am his DAD!). We would appreciate your continued prayer and support! Thank you all and stay tuned for a short update tomorrow after the surgery to let you know how things went.
Enjoying the journey....here at this crossroad.
George, Ashley, Madison, Lyla and Landen
i'm praying for you all. I love you guys.
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