Remarkable Recovery!

We saw Lana's cardiologist today and he said that her recovery is remarkable! One of the best surgical outcomes he has ever seen! We feel absolutely blessed and grateful that Lana is doing so well. Thank you all for your prayers, we believe that God has answered our prayers beyond expectation.

Although Lana cannot fully communicate her joy, she really seems to be happier than before surgery. Her laughter is more frequent, heartier, and she seems more free to laugh. Da Da put up some Christmas lights this week and I explained to Lana that she would see Christmas lights on our house when she got home from school. When we came around the corner and she saw the lights for the first time, she just giggled! Lana just seems to glow!

"I Got Beautiful House"

At dinner tonight Lana was trying very hard to tell me a story. Her English is coming along very well, but she was struggling to get her message out. Lana was obviously trying to communicate something more complicated than " I want apple juice". She repeated one phrase about 3 times "I got beautiful house". I think she was trying to tell me that she is happy here! Even after all the doctor's appointments, procedures, and open heart surgery, I think she is happy!

This is such a huge relief to me! I worried so much that doing surgery so soon after adoption would interfere with our new relationship. I thought she would resent us for putting her through surgery. But Lana clearly feels that this is her home and that she belongs!

"I got beautiful house!"

Surgery One Week Ago Today!

One week ago today Lana had heart surgery and she is doing great! Lana is happy and giggling and we are having a hard time making her take it easy. She wants to run and climb and we keep saying, "slow down, watch out for your owie!" Lana has virtually no pain, except if she gets bumped or sometimes rolling over in bed she will say "ow". She had a really bad allergic reaction to the surgery scrub and has a rash on her chest, and that was her chief complaint, itching! The itching is finally calming down now. Lana will start back to kindergarten next week!

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers, this experience has been miraculously smooth!

The Butterfly Has Landed!

We are home! The echo and EKG were good, and all the docs were happy with Lana's recovery, so they sent us home. They actually said we could have gone home yesterday! Open heart surgery and only 3 nights in the hospital, I can't get over it!

Day 3

We had great day! Lana was moved out of ICU, she is eating well, we went to the play room, she had a shower, and all of her "tubes" are out! She may actually get to go home tomorrow! Open heart surgery and only three nights in the hospital, a miracle for sure!

Lana, 28 hours after surgery

Our Brave Lana!

The Best Mei Mei ever!

Lily has been the best little sister, ever! Lily was very patient and cooperative yesterday as Lana was getting ready for surgery. They played volley ball with a blown up blue hospital glove while we waited! When Lana was out of surgery Lily insisted on seeing her big sister. We were not planning on Lily seeing Lana on the ventilator with all sorts of tubes, but Lily was so upset at not seeing Lana, that we decided to go into ICU and have Lily wave to Lana through the window. Well, that was not close enough for Lily, so we moved a little closer and eventually took Lily to the bedside. When Lily was satisfied that Lana was o.k. she proceeded to ask the nurse a thousand questions about the monitors and machines!

Upadte on Lana

Lana is doing great! She is breathing on her own and her heart is beating normally (no pacemaker), she ate strawberry ice cream today and even got up and walked a few steps and sat in the chair with DaDa for about an hour! Lana will probably be moved out of ICU today, too. Amazing!
Yesterday the surgeon said that she had an unusual heart anatomy and a "gigantic hole" in her heart (I wonder how often a cardiac surgeon says gigantic when describing a VSD?). It sounds like the surgery was challenging and we are thankful that she had her surgery here. The surgeon assured us that she has the best patch possible. They were also able to patch her pulmonary artery to widen it, rather than replace it with an artificial tube. The artificial tube would not "grow" with her and it would have meant that she would most certainly need another surgery in the future. With the patched PA, the chance of needing another surgery are small, YEAH!

SUCCESS!!!

Lana's surgery was a great success!

Here is a time line of today's surgery:

6:15 Arrive and register. We met our translator, and he was awesome! He was very comfortable talking with Lana and was really humorous! Lana played shy and did not talk but he was able to get a few grins out of her. He helped us explain to her that she was going to have surgery to fix her heart and that lots of kids have surgery on their hearts. We explained that she would be able to ride her bike and not get tired and out of breath, and that her fingers and toes would not be purple any more and that they would not be so cold all the time.
7:45 The doctors took her back to prepare her for surgery. The anesthesiologists would need about 1 hour to prepare her medicines and put in her I.V.
9:00 Surgery began
10:15 Lana is put on the bypass machine
11:15 Lana is off bypass! (Only 1 hour on bypass!)
12:00 Surgery is over and the doctor came out to talk with us. He said that the surgery went well and that Lana's heart was beating normally, no pacemaker!
1:30 We got to see Lana and she is PINK and WARM!!! She is doing great!
5:00 Lana is "out breathing" the ventilator, which means that they will probably take her off the ventilator soon.
6:45 Lana is waking up and asking for water. They took her off the ventilator and she is breathing on her own! She is in and out but did wake up long enough to blow bubbles with Lily.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers on our behalf! It is an answer to prayer that Lana is doing this well so fast.

Lana the Brave

Lana's kindergarten teacher calls her "Lana the Brave"! Her teacher is amazed at how quickly Lana has transitioned and she is so eager to learn. Lana can write her name and loves to show off her work when she comes home from school. She even rides the school bus home! I cannot imagine riding a Chinese bus by myself and here is this little pip squeak of a 6 year old girl, riding the school bus by herself!

Since coming home, we have made four trips to Children's Hospital for Lana's medical appointments that included a cardiac catheterization and a 45 minute MRI, not to mention a doctor appointment with our local pediatrician, and two dentist appointments including the removal of two teeth! (They were wiggly baby teeth that would probably have come out with a good sneeze, but the doctor wanted them out before Lana's surgery) Lana has indeed been brave!

Lana's heart surgery is scheduled for November 13th, next week! We will go to the hospital on the 12th for the pre-operation appointments and Lana will probably be in the hospital for about a week and then there will be some activity restrictions for a few weeks. But the doctors say it should be a one time surgery and she will have a "normal" life afterwards.

Pray for the surgeons, and nurses for a successful surgery and a rapid recovery

Pray for good communication with Lana. That we will be able to explain the surgery to Lana and also help her during recovery. Her English is really coming along great, but it will be difficult in a hospital setting and complicated by pain. We have arranged for a translator to be at the hospital, pray that it will be someone who will be compassionate and patient with Lana and us.

Pray for Lily. How do we help Lily through this ordeal? Lily will not understand why she cannot see her sister or what all the medical equipment is for, and that Lana will not be able to play as usual for a while. Lily has been great going to all the appointments with us and there are lots of activities for siblings at the hospital, but waiting at the hospital is not going to be easy for a 3 year old.

And for us, it is hard to wrap our brains around what it will be like to see our daughter in the hospital, on a ventilator, with lots of tubes and wires, and a large incision on her chest. Pray we will be able to do and say what is needed for both of our girls.

Lily and Lana playing with the medical supplies sent from Children's hospital to help familiarize them with the things they may see in the hospital.

Our precious butterflies!