Sprinting

Today they are starting to "sprint" Will's vent. This means that they will begin turning down the vent and evaluating how Will is breathing on his own. This will be a bit of a practice run to see if he will be ready to come off the vent when his MRI is completed on Sunday. Otherwise, all is well and Will continues to improve every day.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Please pray for Connie, Al, CJ and Lyndsey as the girls will need to go back to school next week and Connie and Al will be staying in Ann Arbor.

Update

Will did have two more seizures during the night last night. They adjusted his anti-seizure medicine and continue to monitor him with EEG. He is scheduled for an MRI at 10:30am Sunday. They will need to leave the vent in until after the MRI. It is necessary for babies to be sedated and intubated for an MRI. Needless to say we have all learned a lot about pediatric medicine in the last few weeks! Otherwise Will's vitals are all good. The Doctors are pleased with his progress following the surgery. Thanks for your continued prayers for Will's healing and strength for his family as they journey through this together.

Seizures

Today, Will had two seizures. Understandably, this was very upsetting to the family. However, the Doctors have assured Connie and Al that this is a fairly normal side effect of the surgery. It is necessary to cool the body to almost freezing prior to the surgery. Then as the body returns to normal body temperature it can cause a little glitch (medical term!) in the brain that can cause seizures. Will had a CT scan today and it came back normal. He was also evaluated by a neurologist who sees this side effect often and is not concerned at this point. Will was put on anti-seizure medication. Further testing and consults will be done to rule out any further issues.

Will is doing great!

Will had a good night. They were able to back off the vent and his meds and he responded very well. His nurses are very pleased with his progress following surgery.

Our God Reigns!

Will is out of surgery and doing very well. The surgeons did repair two holes in Will's heart. One that we did know about and one that we did not know about. The surgeons are very happy with the procedure. Will is now in PICU. He will stay there as long as he is still on vent - at least 24 hrs. They did close the incision after the procedure. Connie and Al should be able to see Will in about an hour or so. The next 24 hours are very important. If there are any post-surgical complications, they usually appear in the first 24 hours. All in all, a good day for the Arny Family. Thanks so much for your continued prayers.

Almost Done!

The surgeons are just finishing up with Will. He is off the bypass machine and his little heart is beating on its own! The surgeons are very pleased with everything at this point. We will have more details when Connie and Al meet with the Doctor after the surgery is complete.

Update

Aorta reconstructed: check; Ventricle work: in progress; prayers: in progress