Thanks to all the positive thoughts, helpful prayers and talented doctors and medical staff, Grair’s surgery has been very successful!

The entire procedure lasted around 3 hours, about half the time we originally were told to expect. About one hour in, we got a call from the operating room nurse letting us know Grair was on bypass, Dr. Hammel had removed the old, faulty valve and stent and was in the process of preparing for the new valve. About an hour later, Dr. Hammel was out of the O.R. discussing the procedure with us. His best quote to describe the operation: “that was fun!” (for those of you that have met Dr. Hammel, you know it’s great when he uses the word fun!) 😉

Grair was then brought to the PICU, where he will begin his recovery. Having done this before, we knew what to expect. A ventilator to help him breathe dozens of medical pumps with syringes of medicine, a pacemaker to monitor heart paces and a flush, comatose little guy. Much to our surprise, Grair had great color, was no where near a ventilator and only has a few medical pumps injecting medicines. He’s doing remarkably well given what he’s gone through. He’s exhausted, and obviously isn’t bouncing around the bed, but we’re extremely pleased with his condition!

During the procedure, Dr. Hammel quickly explored for visible signs of infection that we’ve been treating for the past six weeks. He did not see any. Nonetheless, he has taken some tissue samples to the lab, and they will run tests over the next 3-5 days to see if any cultures grow. If something grows, we have six more weeks of antibiotics and check again. If nothing grows, we have a couple of weeks of antibiotics.

The doctors and nurses expect Grair to move up to fifth floor tomorrow, given his current progression. He’ll be happy to go upstairs and reconnect with his nurse friends!