Grace's First Surgery

Day three of Grace’s life, she had her surgery for her pacemaker. We have been working with Dr. Frank Cecchin for months also (Dr. Cecchin is now at Boston Children’s Hospital http://specialists.childrenshospital.org/directory/cecchin). I was unprepared for seeing her after the surgery. She was hooked up to all sorts of machines. She had no bandages on her incisions at first, so they look massive on her tiny body. There were three incisions: 1) one vertically down the front and middle of her torso about three inches long, 2) one much smaller incision beneath that one, and 3) a horizontal incision where her pacemaker was implanted in her abdomen. Due to her size, the pacemaker had to be inserted in the abdomen area rather than underneath the collarbone; this is termed an epicardial implant. The incision in the chest allowed the leads to be attached to the outer wall of the heart. This surgery was more serious than a normal pacemaker implantation, in which the leads are placed tranvenously (through the veins). The bulge from the pacemaker in her belly looked so large. The physicians reminded me that the scars will stay the same size throughout Grace’s life; however, her body would grow—making the scars much smaller proportionally.

Grace remains at Seattle Children’s Hospital for one week. It is a tough week for me. I have not healed or rested from the C-section. I am also weaning off of the steroids. Bill spent the nights with her, while I attempted sleep. A nurse commented to me about how wonderful my husband was to Grace; she says he talked or sang to her throughout the nights. He softly sang her Irish lullabies to calm her crying. I did not know this at first, but finding it out was one of those defining moments in life. I knew I had married the right man. Imagining this U.S. Army Special Forces/Green Beret singing to his tiny daughter in the stillness of the night still warms my heart.

Grace grew strong. She cried loudly, in a NICU where many babies were not healthy enough to cry. The nurses told me she is a fighter, and it was time for her to go. Grace was transferred back to Madigan Army Medical Center, where she spent another five days. We were then allowed to take her home. I felt a mixture of emotions—elation at us making it to this point and fear of being away from the monitors and medical staff.