The Big Reveal

The surgery went really well. They took him in at about 7:30, and he was finished around 12:30. The doc said that Carter had an unusual cleft, but that he felt the repairs went very well. We haven't been able to see the prosthetic palate yet, but are excited to when we can. After the surgery Carter was sent to the PICU to recover. He decided to help out the docs by pulling out his breathing tube before he was really ready. The docs had to put another one in, and expect that he'll be on it until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Carter just has to get off of the ventilator and back to his baseline on his O2 to come home... we're not really sure how long that could be, but are furiously PRAYING that it could be before the weekend. As of right now he's being sedated and will be until they are ready to take the tube out. They just want to be sure that the swelling in his airway has gone down to prevent the problems that we had the last time. The plan had been to try out the Bipap and do a sleep study, but nobody took into consideration that Carter wouldn't be able to do it with all of the wounds in his mouth. We'll just have to deal with that portion in a couple of weeks. Carter did have a really good CO2 level today, but we're not sure if it was the ventilator helping it or if he is just getting stronger. Some of the indicators are that he had improved since the last hospital visit, but we're trying not to get our hopes up. On another positive, the Cardiologist looked at Carter's echo and decided that we don't need to have another visit with him for six months... Yay!

So...... are you ready for the big reveal??? Keep in mind that he's still really swollen. Let me explain a few things too. First the little cut looking thing on the left side of his lip is just dried blood. They didn't do anything there. Second, there is a blue string coming out of his mouth that is taped to his cheek... that is connected to a stitch in his tongue that they use to pull it so it doesn't interfere with all of his new hardware. That stitch will be taken out tomorrow. The nasal stents are in his nose to help shape it to prevent the one side from sagging. He'll probably have to wear them for about two weeks. His oxygen canula should fit inside those holes.