Post Op - Day 2

Santi is exactly where he should be in the recovery process.

Yesterday they removed his urine catheter and V wires. We didn't even know he had V wires pacing his heart. But it's standard Fontan protocol. They also removed the arterial line from his groin and the IV from his foot. And he's down to 1 liter of oxygen. 

​He returned from surgery with a lot of accessories. It's nice to see them go away, one by one, until eventually I will just be looking at my sweetheart and his fresh incision. ​

The fluid output from his chest tubes are average. His pain management is on track. Everything is as it should be, except my baby is sad. 

He's sad he can't have as much water and milk as he'd like. His fluid intake is restricted to 1oz per hour. For a kid who's used to 30+oz of water and 30+oz of milk (goats milk) a day, it's a very difficult adjustment. He's sad he can't sleep on his belly. He's sad we can't go home. His nasal cannula and IV  are upsetting and annoying. He's so sad.  It's a very confusing situation for a toddler. Throw some pain meds on top of that and ​you get an unhappy, disoriented, thirsty little dude. 

The gifts are helping by offering a brief distraction.  I'm hoping to see Santi's big, bright smile ​again soon.