Norwood Operation

June 6th, 2022 | EP. 13 – Norwood Operation
Half a heart, twice the fight!

Grace Elizabeth had her Norwood Operation yesterday (June 6th, 2022). The Norwood operation was a success for Grace. The operation was supposed to take around six hours but ended up taking ten. When the surgeon saw the echo after they thought they were done, she noticed a few more tweaks that needed to be made. Specifically, the aortic valve had one of the sutures that came undone. This caused Grace to leak blood. That said, they had to open Grace back up and re-suture her aortic valve. You can imagine that this is like going through the whole surgery all over again, which is why the surgery took so long. Overall, the surgery was successful; but the recovery could take a bit longer than anticipated as the surgery also required more than they originally thought.

These next few days will be just as crucial to Grace’s recovery, and a lot of ups and downs are expected. All of the numbers currently being monitored for Grace are looking okay, but with the help of many medicines. We are praying and would appreciate Gracie’s Gang praying that her numerous medications can begin to be weaned. Her blood oxygen level is currently within her goal of 70%-85%; but her oxygen support is at 100%, so prayers that can be weaned. She is also intubated (as expected), so we would appreciate prayers for successful extubation in a few days, and she can soon be back to how she was prior to surgery, not needing any oxygen support.

The nurses and doctors are “playing with” or slowly tweaking her medication levels as the support each baby needs varies so much. Gracie is currently in some pain as they are doing all of this, trying to get the right balance for her. Prayers her pain will become more minimal; pain is of course no fun for her, but also very hard for mom and dad to see her face turning red and making movements to cry, while of course not being able to.

We still have some Gracie Gang Wristbands in stock. If you are interested in showing your support for Grace, click the button below. All profits from each wristband sold go towards the Grace Elizabeth Heart Warrior Foundation, where we will be using the funds to support Grace during her heart warrior journey. Any monetary funds left over will be donated to other families who have a similar heart warrior journey. Thank you in advance for your support.