Yesterday Ellie had her last echocardiogram before her surgery. It's always a worry whether or not they are going to go through with the procedure because of an illness or something else. Things went as planned despite her runny nose and cough. Ellie was lightly sedated and even gave and smile and a giggle as the medicine kicked in. By the time the echo was done she was pretty much awake and ready to eat. The recovery was quick and by the time we were ready to walk out, Dr. Pinto was making her way up to see us to give us the results of the echo. Everything was "normal", the occluders looked good and weren't showing any signs of leaking, and there were no surprises. We talked about her left atrial isomerism, where the heart mimics the left side on both sides. The heart's natural pacemaker is on the right side of the heart and the surgery can interrupt it. Because of this, there might be the possibility of her needing a pacemaker either soon after the surgery or years down the road, or never and that is what we are praying for.

At this point Ellie looks good for surgery. The congestion that she has is all in her nose, her lungs are clear and she is moving air well. Let's hope it at least stays that way.

Next week is the big week. On Wednesday we will go in for her pre-op workup which includes blood work, xrays and talking with someone on the surgery team. Then Thursday is surgery day.