Eddie 3, Invasive Foreign Objects 0

I forgot to mention that Eddie pulled his chest tube out last night. For those keeping track, that makes one breathing tube and two mediastinal drainage tubes.

The good news is that we were seeing only 10-20 ml of serous fluid each day and were pretty close to removing already. The incision site is hidden under his Berlin dressings so we can't access it until his next change (tomorrow). So we're hoping the biggest problem will be a round scar rather than a nicely sutured incision.

As a precaution, we ECHO'd him today and there didn't appear to be any significant pericardial fluid buildup as of yet. We'll keep an eye open, but as usual, Eddie knew what was best for him and took matters into his own hands.

Eddie's friendly Hermit Crab

On a walk to see the Hermit Crab

Through the fish tank

Fun with trains, markers, and Aunt Courtney

[Correction]: Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin

As Eddie was preparing to go to the OR, we told him the surgeons were going to take away his "other" heart. He gave us a funny look, screwing up his eyebrows, as if to tell us he didn't think that was such a good idea. As it turns out, he had the last laugh since he just came back to his room still attached to his Berlin heart!

So a couple surprises to note. First, after exploring with the transesophegeal ECHO, there were no signs of either left or right ventricular blood clots. We believe the LV clots dissolved or otherwise left the heart last night or this morning with no noticeable effect. The RV clot was clearly there during this morning's ECHO so we think it may have dislodged during today's procedure. But most importantly, there is no evidence of the kind of pulmonary distress associated with a pulmonary embolism.

Second, and perplexingly, we still found no bleeding in the pericardium. Since Eddie's bleeding seemed to have stopped about two hours before surgery (we thought it was probably due to a clot in his chest tube), Dr. Cohen was inclined to trust his eyes and leave good enough alone. That means the Berlin stays in place and we'll wait to see if the bleeding eventually stops.

Since the clots have disappeared, we're more comfortable turning off the Heparin for a couple days which should help the bleeding slow down. If we can get the bleeding to stop, then we'll turn the Heparin back on which should keep the Berlin pump clean. Regardless, we're back to playing the "wait and see" game and it's far too early to declare any definitive victory . . .

Sarah and I were treated to a bonus once Eddie came back to the room. Typically the nurses ask us to leave while they change his Berlin dressings (both for sterility reasons as well as some parents have been known to faint), but they thought it was about time we saw what they do each day. Neither of us fainted, but we can assure you it's not a sight for the "faint of heart" (pun intended). The combination of his ECMO and heart surgery incisions, two Berlin heart cannulae sites and two chest drainage tubes would have brought a smile to Victor Frankenstein's face.

So that's it . . . we'll keep the (non-alcoholic) champagne corked for now :-), but will celebrate each small victory as we find them.