Shirley arrived on her due date (2/23/17) at 7:29 in the evening! 7.5lbs and 18.5 inches long! We love her. She is at SCH in the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) and doing splendidly. She is beautiful! Photos at the bottom if you want to skip to the good part! ;)
Immediately after she was born she was whisked away for an initial assessment. Brianna and Shirley were able to snuggle for only a couple minutes before she went to the NICU. I was able to accompany her to the NICU where she was monitored and had an IV placed in preparation for transport to SCH. After being poked and prodded, Shirley was taken back to see Brianna for a few kisses before she was transported. I was able to accompany her in the ambulance to SCH. Upon arrival they order her first echocardiogram and confirmed here truncus arteriosus diagnoses.
Shirley had a relatively uneventful first night in the CICU. I was able to spend the entire day with little Shirley among a myriad of tests. The little girl is hooked up to all kinds of monitors and holding her can be a feel like you're on a leash but it was an amazing experience. The staff at SCH that we have met to-date are amazing and we feel very well cared for. Shirley is doing well but faces some challenges currently. Due to her specific condition and anatomy Shirley isn't able to have any food pass through her stomach until after surgery. The easiest way to explain why she can't feed is because her digestive system has poor blood flow.
Due to some issues that arose after the birth Brianna had to be monitored at UW and was finally able to join us at SCH nearly 24 hours later. She was able to spend some real quality skin-to-skin time with Shirley promptly upon arrival. On Tuesday they plan to have a very large conference discussing Shirley's surgical plan. Please keep our little girl in your prayers. There is so much more to say but I think that's enough for now!
-Joseph
The following photos are chronological. More to come!
